Last week, I mentioned how my wife and I are going on ambitious trip to Phuket (and Australia). It’s been a little while since I went outside the US. Last year, we went to Aruba, but I’m so familiar with saving money in Aruba, that I didn’t feel the need to conserve every last cent. More importantly, they accept US Dollars so there’s no conversion.

Australia and Thailand are two different monsters entirely. I have no clue what to expect for prices. I’ve heard that credit card companies can play some tricks with conversion rates and fees. For example this article from Bankrate says that there are a couple of fees, one from Mastercard and Visa and another from the issuing bank. I’d like to be able to use my credit as a savings tool like I do in the US earning cash back when possible.

It looks like Capital One may have one of the lowest fees, but I don’t feel comfortable with them since they hate the environment.

In the end, we’ll probably take advantage of the USAA and their debit card. They promise no fees even abroad. Seeing how they are affiliated with the military, I think I trust them to get me a good exchange rate since they aren’t for big profits like other banks… Or else I’ll just check out some of these credit card reviews.