July 01, 2024

Milenomics² No Annual Fee Episode 72: Q3 5x Categories, International ATMs and eSIM Data Plans

59 minutes

0:24 Q3 2024 5x Categories

Chase Freedom: Gas (and other stuff)

Discover: Grocery Stores, Walmart (For the first time in FOREVER!!!)

Citi Dividend: Gas

Why do banks have these cards? To move our spending onto these cards long after the quarter ends.

04:05 Transfer Bonuses

Citi -> Cathay Pacific 15% (7/20)

Chase -> Aeroplan 20% (7/31)

If the space is there and these miles will be used, great to get a discount. Probably not worth speculatively transferring.

08:33 New DeltaOne Premium Lounges Coming in 2024 (OMAAT)

JFK: June

LAX: Late 2024

BOS: Late 2024 (adjacent to already-open 3rd SkyClub in BOS, in International Terminal E)

13:26 Staggering Decline in Usefulness of giftcards.com Visa/MC GC

At one point these were a fantastic way to earn miles and even hit sign up bonuses

Recall buying Amex GC and then flipping those to GC.com.

Now what can we do with these?

There's certainly a draw with 5-10% off sales. But those are usually small dollar cards

Scale vs spread

None of this really matters because there's nowhere these cards even work

19:34 Checking Account with Free ATM Withdrawals Worldwide?

First Republic had this for $15k

Chase requires $75k min balance Sapphire checking to avoid fees

The louses at Chase deactivated First Republic debit cards before the Chase cards arrived. Gah! Do they have the same PIN? I think so? But I go to the ATM infrequently in the US so I’m not sure.

Am I over-thinking it? Just pay the fees? Well, it’s not just the ATM fee, there’s a “foreign exchange rate adjustment fee” that’s a percentage (usually around 3%) of the amount withdrawn on top of the ATM fee:

“Surcharge Fees from the ATM owner/network still apply. A Foreign Exchange Rate Adjustment Fee from Chase may apply for ATM withdrawals in a currency other than U.S. dollars.”

When presented with the question of whether you want to be charged in foreign or USD choose the local currency if your bank here has no Foreign Transaction fees. (Say no to Dynamic Currency Conversion). Example:

But the real scary thing is where the ATM you’re withdrawing from tacks on a dynamic currency conversion fee, they don’t disclose the percentage, the ATM interface makes it confusing to figure out what’s going on, and you end up paying what is or feels like a lot more than you should to take money out of an ATM.

I really just like to be able to withdraw a reasonable amount of foreign currency as I go without worrying about fees adding up.

Schwab Checking has free international ATM withdrawals with no minimum balance

Schwab debit card was expired (never used), I don’t know what the PIN is, and their phone tree sends me in circles. Thought to go in branch but is there no such thing as a Schwab checking branch?

Chatted, guy told me I “may have to speak with Schwab Checking. I thought I was chatting with Schwab Checking!?

Maybe Volcker doesn’t get the credit he deserves

Update as Robert is leaving to Japan and will be using this debit card.

36:48 International Data for Cellphones. Current Status

Being connected is pretty much a necessity at this point

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By Sam Simon and Robert Dwyer

4.4

5050 ratings