Credit Card Question - DS in Japan for Fall

[magickingdomprincess]

I am hoping some of you credit card gurus could help offer suggestions for my DS. He is 19 and will be spending the fall semester studying abroad in Japan. I have never been to Asia and have been trying to research how he will need to handle money while he’s there. He doesn’t have any credit cards yet, but he has a checking account with an ATM card with a local bank. I think he should get a credit card, hopefully one without foreign transaction fees. Any suggestions on what card? It appears Discover is not widely used in Japan, so I think it needs to be a Visa or Mastercard. I’m not sure if he’ll qualify for one on his own, so if I need to co-sign (is that even a thing anymore?) and he gets a Chase card, will that count against my Chase limit? I’m assuming to get cash, we should just check with the local bank to see what fees they charge to use his existing ATM card? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I am hoping some of you credit card gurus could help offer suggestions for my DS. He is 19 and will be spending the fall semester studying abroad in Japan. I have never been to Asia and have been trying to research how he will need to handle money while he’s there. He doesn’t have any credit cards yet, but he has a checking account with an ATM card with a local bank. I think he should get a credit card, hopefully one without foreign transaction fees. Any suggestions on what card? It appears Discover is not widely used in Japan, so I think it needs to be a Visa or Mastercard. I’m not sure if he’ll qualify for one on his own, so if I need to co-sign (is that even a thing anymore?) and he gets a Chase card, will that count against my Chase limit? I’m assuming to get cash, we should just check with the local bank to see what fees they charge to use his existing ATM card? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

Never been to Japan, but I'd do some research before I relied upon my local bank's ATM as my main source of cash abroad. It's easy to open another bank account now- and ad you on to it if you need to have access as well on this end. What I'd be looking for in a bank/ATM card is 24/7 support accessible internationally. As for fees you'll have the fee the ATM operator in Japan charges for using the ATM and the international exchange fee your local bank charges, as well as any other general ATM fees your local bank might charge. You could also pop over to the "i love credit cards" thread here on the Budget Board and inquire there if your q's don't get answered here.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I studied abroad in Japan 12 years ago and had no issue using my Chase Visa card anywhere. They did charge a currency conversion fee, but it was almost unheard of not to at that time.

If his ATM card isn't a debit card with a Visa/MC logo on it, I wouldn't count on being able to use it abroad, but it's not impossible and asking the bank would be a good start.

 

[AmyAnne]

My son lives in Taiwan. He has a few credit cards, including a Chase and a Capital One, both that charge no foreign transaction fees. He also is able to get money from an ATM with no fees at a bank that has some kind of relationship with Bank of America, where he opened an account here. I would look to see what (international) banks will be nearby and go from there as far as a debit card for ATM use.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

Thanks for the replies! I'll have to double-check but I believe his ATM card has a Visa logo. We'll definitely call his bank and ask about the the different fees. Good idea on checking what banks they have around the school too.

 

[Albort]

i highly recommend getting a Charles Schwab Banking account if you guys have relations with it. Any ATM withdraws anywhere in the world, you pay an atm fee of course, but they reimburse it back to you at the end of the month.
As for Credit Cards, it depends on where your going, in the suburbs of Japan, mostly cash only... I would suggest a travel card. depending on what bank you stand with. BOA has a no fee, no transaction fee card if you want to go that route. I would suggest something else that earns huge points though, but that does take some time to get used to.

Simple route, Charles Schwab Checking for cash| BOA travel card for cc usage.
More complicated but rewarding route, Charles Schwab Checking for cash | Chase Sapphire Reserve/ Citibank Premier?

 

[tvguy]

Some banks have credit card programs just for students. DD went to Wells Fargo and got a credit card without a co-signer for the year she was going to school in England. She also had an ATM card linked to a checking account with them. One that I could easily transfer money to online. The bank really had a lot of good information about issues you might face, like chip card compatibility, and PIN restrictions in some parts of the world. In most of Europe, your PIN cannot be more than 4 digits.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

i highly recommend getting a Charles Schwab Banking account if you guys have relations with it. Any ATM withdraws anywhere in the world, you pay an atm fee of course, but they reimburse it back to you at the end of the month.
As for Credit Cards, it depends on where your going, in the suburbs of Japan, mostly cash only... I would suggest a travel card. depending on what bank you stand with. BOA has a no fee, no transaction fee card if you want to go that route. I would suggest something else that earns huge points though, but that does take some time to get used to.

Simple route, Charles Schwab Checking for cash| BOA travel card for cc usage.
More complicated but rewarding route, Charles Schwab Checking for cash | Chase Sapphire Reserve/ Citibank Premier?

USAA debit also reimburses atm fees at the end of the month. So if you have access to open an USAA account, I highly recommend it. That is what I did when I did a summer aboard in France/Turkey.

And as for the credit card, I think it will be difficult for him to qualify for a credit card with no foreign transaction fees on his own with no prior credit history. So basically, you would have to open an account in your name and then add him as an authorized user on your account. There is no such thing as a cosigner for credit cards. The Capitol One Quicksilver is a decent card for this purpose since it has no annual fee. It also has the benefit that Capitol One will report the AU card status to your son's credit report and therefore will help him build a credit history. This is what we did for my husband who moved here from Canada and had no US credit history. I added him as an AU on my Quicksilver and an Amex. In less than two years he went from no credit score at all to a 750 score.

And yes, any new card that you open will count against Chase's 5/24 rule.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

i highly recommend getting a Charles Schwab Banking account if you guys have relations with it. Any ATM withdraws anywhere in the world, you pay an atm fee of course, but they reimburse it back to you at the end of the month.
As for Credit Cards, it depends on where your going, in the suburbs of Japan, mostly cash only... I would suggest a travel card. depending on what bank you stand with. BOA has a no fee, no transaction fee card if you want to go that route. I would suggest something else that earns huge points though, but that does take some time to get used to.

Simple route, Charles Schwab Checking for cash| BOA travel card for cc usage.
More complicated but rewarding route, Charles Schwab Checking for cash | Chase Sapphire Reserve/ Citibank Premier?

We don't currently have any relationship with Charles Schwab - is there a fee if you don't? It sounds really good - I will have to look into that. We do have BoA accounts, I'll check into those too. We'll probably go the simple route this time for simplicity's sake.

Some banks have credit card programs just for students. DD went to Wells Fargo and got a credit card without a co-signer for the year she was going to school in England. She also had an ATM card linked to a checking account with them. One that I could easily transfer money to online. The bank really had a lot of good information about issues you might face, like chip card compatibility, and PIN restrictions in some parts of the world. In most of Europe, your PIN cannot be more than 4 digits.

Thanks, that would be good information to have! Will check into WF also.

USAA debit also reimburses atm fees at the end of the month. So if you have access to open an USAA account, I highly recommend it. That is what I did when I did a summer aboard in France/Turkey.

And as for the credit card, I think it will be difficult for him to qualify for a credit card with no foreign transaction fees on his own with no prior credit history. So basically, you would have to open an account in your name and then add him as an authorized user on your account. There is no such thing as a cosigner for credit cards. The Capitol One Quicksilver is a decent card for this purpose since it has no annual fee. It also has the benefit that Capitol One will report the AU card status to your son's credit report and therefore will help him build a credit history. This is what we did for my husband who moved here from Canada and had no US credit history. I added him as an AU on my Quicksilver and an Amex. In less than two years he went from no credit score at all to a 750 score.

And yes, any new card that you open will count against Chase's 5/24 rule.

I'm thinking I might apply for a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card (this one actually one I was looking at using a cc comparison site so good to have it recommended) and add him as authorized user - I don't really want to use a Chase card as I get SW cards fairly often for the points to fly to WDW so don't want it to go against the 5/24 rule. I'm not sure that we would qualify for USAA - my dad who is deceased now was in the Air Force and Air Nat'l Guard, but I don't think he was ever a USAA member.

Thanks again for the advice from everyone - it's very much appreciated!

 

[Albort]

We don't currently have any relationship with Charles Schwab - is there a fee if you don't? It sounds really good - I will have to look into that. We do have BoA accounts, I'll check into those too. We'll probably go the simple route this time for simplicity's sake.

i dont think so... i got mine automatically cuz i have a Brokerage account. Doesnt seem like you need anything. Here is the link --> http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/banking_lending/checking_account

Seems like the Capital One QUicksilver Cash Rewards card is similar to the BOA one. But your option is wide open for you. here is the link for the BOA card --> https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/products/bankamericard-travel-rewards-credit-card/

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have been to Japan several times and there are not many ATMs which accept US cards. You can find ones which do in 7-11s and also at the airport.

His school should have provided information about this.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

We don't currently have any relationship with Charles Schwab - is there a fee if you don't? It sounds really good - I will have to look into that. We do have BoA accounts, I'll check into those too. We'll probably go the simple route this time for simplicity's sake.



Thanks, that would be good information to have! Will check into WF also.



I'm thinking I might apply for a Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards card (this one actually one I was looking at using a cc comparison site so good to have it recommended) and add him as authorized user - I don't really want to use a Chase card as I get SW cards fairly often for the points to fly to WDW so don't want it to go against the 5/24 rule. I'm not sure that we would qualify for USAA - my dad who is deceased now was in the Air Force and Air Nat'l Guard, but I don't think he was ever a USAA member.

Thanks again for the advice from everyone - it's very much appreciated!

Just so you understand the Chase 5/24 rule, any new credit card, even a non-Chase card, will count towards 5/24. The rule is that if you have applied for 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months, you will be denied for a new Chase card (there are a few exceptions to this for some co-branded cards but SW cards are included in 5/24 rule). So a Capitol One or BoA card would count towards 5/24.

 

[SharonZ]

I wouldn't trust using a debit card only. If it becomes compromised, he'll have no access to his money. The first thing I would do is to add him as an authorized user on one of your cards until he's able to get one on his own.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

I have been to Japan several times and there are not many ATMs which accept US cards. You can find ones which do in 7-11s and also at the airport.

His school should have provided information about this.

It seems like 7-11 is the best option for ATM's. Who woulda thought!

Just so you understand the Chase 5/24 rule, any new credit card, even a non-Chase card, will count towards 5/24. The rule is that if you have applied for 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months, you will be denied for a new Chase card (there are a few exceptions to this for some co-branded cards but SW cards are included in 5/24 rule). So a Capitol One or BoA card would count towards 5/24.

Doh! I can't believe I didn't know that! I've been dabbling in credit card bonuses and bank bonuses, and I completely misunderstood this rule! Thanks so much for clarifying this! It definitely changes my thought process on how to proceed with this and other cards too. I googled to try to find out the best way to find out where I'm at with this (I have a rough idea but don't remember dates for sure). On a frequent flier website on a recent post it listed a method to find this out by getting the experion app - any experience with this?

I wouldn't trust using a debit card only. If it becomes compromised, he'll have no access to his money. The first thing I would do is to add him as an authorized user on one of your cards until he's able to get one on his own.

That's a great point. I think he should probably get a credit card anyways to start building his credit, and I wanted to make sure he has options while he's there, in case one method doesn't work or something goes wrong. Adding hm as an authorized user is a good idea. Too bad Discover doesn't seem to be widely accepted there, I could just add him to my Discover IT card, it doesn't apear to have foreign transaction fees.

 

[stsomewhere]

We added our son to my husband Capital One card when he went to Greece on a school trip. He used it.