International Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Preparing for expat - best credit card
Hi ladies-
we are preparing for our expat move to Switzerland and wanted to know- which is the best credit card for no fees/rewards? I think Capital One is it, but I wanted to confirm.
Thanks!
Re: Preparing for expat - best credit card
I don't know for sure about Switzerland, but in the UK everyone uses Chip and Pin cards. Basically there is a chip in the card, so you stick the card into the reader, then type your pin in (kind of like using a debit card in the states). If you have a US card that is "swipe and sign", then the cashier will have to take the card from you, swipe it on the cash register machine, print out the slip, dig around for a pen, then you have to sign it (while everyone in line behind you glares...). Some stores don't take swipe-and-sign AT ALL (though these are rare), and I have even had poorly informed shop workers try to convince me that they are, in fact, ILLEGAL (not true). I haven't found any pay-at-the-pump gas stations that take swipe-and-sign.
I have some American friends who have a "Chip and Sign" card from Citibank, that has a small annual fee but no foreign transaction fees. You still have to sign (digging for pen, glaring), but at least you don't have to explain every time that you're using a swipe card.
This hasn't been my experience at all in France or Spain. I have a Capital One Venture One card, with rewards and no foreign transaction fees (important since a lot of banks do charge extra fees when you use a card outside the US), and then we have another card issued through DH's work-sponsored private banking account at Chase. We haven't had any issues with either one. I just stick both in the little card reader they give me at stores, or hand it to the waiter/waitress at restaurants and then I sign. Clerks sometimes ask me if I have a pin to enter (I don't), but that's been the only kind of annoying thing. I even used my bank account debit card the other day when I realized I had left my credit cards at home and it was no problem whatsoever.
I can't speak to the gas pump thing since we don't have a car here.
We use Capital One here for everything and we've never had a problem. While the local Qatar bank cards use a chip/PIN number, we just let them know it needs a signature, not a PIN, and it's never been an issue. The cashiers always have a pen ready, and I do too, just in case! I think they're used to lots of different CC cards here, since there's a wide array of ex-pats.
Capital one has zero foreign transaction fees, and it's a visa so it's accepted everywhere. I think Discover has recently done away with their foreign transaction fees, but it's not as widely accepted.
Good luck :-)
Dave & Jennifer 10.18.08
My Doha Adventures
IIRC, we got one cc free with UBS and we had to pay something like 80 CHF a year for the second one. I don't know what the fee is on our US card.
At least in Switzerland they will still swipe your credit card if it doesn't have a chip. In these places I know for sure they did at coop, coop city, Manor, H&M, Globus and the gas station. Other places too but any big stores I didn't have a problem. But if any of the machines are unattended like a gas pump after hours or a parking ticket machine then you need to have a card with a chip. But if your goinig to be there 2-3 years then you will probably have a CH bank account with a chip & pin debit card for that.
Make sure you and your H each have on in your name because they do check ID and signatures. So you can't swipe your DH's card as they will look.
2012 Reading Challenge
Now Nesting from Chicago, IL My nail blog: