Best credit card for US citizens residing in Switzerland

R

Rebecca

New member
I am a US citizen residing in Switzerland. I frequently travel abroad and incur credit card foreign exchange fees.

Neon does not accept American clients. Currently I have a PostFinance credit card that has fairly high foreign exchange fees (1.7%).

Does anyone know of another Swiss bank that offers lower foreign exchange fees than 1.7%?
 
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any good debit card that you can use as a US citizen. The good ones (Neon, Radicant, ...) do not accept US citizens.

Revolut would likely work but it's not a Swiss bank.

And be careful that the real exchange fees are higher than state because most banks also have an exchange rate surcharge on top of the foreign exchange fees. If you only have 1.7% (I don't know about their exchange rate surcharge), then it's not too bad.

As a US citizen, could you get a US credit card?
 
Actually I cannot obtain a US credit card because I reside abroad. I tried applying for a US credit card a few years ago and was rejected because of my Swiss address.

In the US I have the option of withdrawing cash from a US bank account. It is a bit inconvenient because I don't like carrying cash but still a solution.

The fees are more of an issue when I'm traveling in a country besides the US or Switzerland. If there was a convenient Euro account I could open from a Swiss bank that might be an option but it isn't really worth it for use only during vacations and day trips. The bank fees and hassle probably do not justify the relatively small amount of money that needs to be exchanged.
 
In your case, since you are very limited by the US citizenship, I would recommend checking Revolut or Wise. Unfortunately, you have not much options.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top