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Email this9:31 am
January 3, 2013
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Hello, I am going to open STACK and close KOHO. Basically because STACK has no foreign transaction fees and no ATM withdrawal fees from their end (I wish they could offer reimbursements for the other bank's fees). Maybe Wealthsimple Cash will do in near future.
Can I have your review on using STACK abroad? I also need a Referral please.
Thanks
12:08 pm
December 12, 2009
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Save2Retire@55 said
Hello, I am going to open STACK and close KOHO. Basically because STACK has no foreign transaction fees and no ATM withdrawal fees from their end (I wish they could offer reimbursements for the other bank's fees). Maybe Wealthsimple Cash will do in near future.Can I have your review on using STACK abroad? I also need a Referral please.
Thanks
Question: Do you have a credit card such as Brim Financial MasterCard, Home Trust Preferred Visa, HSBC Premier World/World Elite MasterCard, or Rogers/Fido World/World Elite MasterCard? If so, they all offer no added foreign currency conversion surcharge (or, in the case of Rogers/Fido, premium rewards that subsidize the FX conversion fee), so the utility of this prepaid credit card is low, particularly since, as you note, Stack doesn't offer (and how could they? They're no indication they're anywhere close to being profitable) reimbursements for global ATM owner fee rebates.
Honestly, what I'd do is use one of the above named cards (probably not Rogers/Fido, to be honest) for foreign currency purchases and a Tangerine debit card for for ATM withdrawals. Still have an FX conversion fee with Tangerine cash withdrawals, but no foreign ATM fees and your ATM owners' surcharge is waived at Global ATM Alliance members' (Barclays, BNP Paribas, Westpac, Deutsche Bank, though the latter two of those are selling assets and shrinking the size of the network).
Result/Recommendation: Pass, as redundant
Cheers,
Doug
12:40 pm
April 15, 2020
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I used the Global Alliance when I visited UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Handy for ATM withdrawals. I prefer using a CC as much as possible. Pay off card when you return. It depends how long you are away. My UK trip was under a month. My Down Under trip was a month. I found you need only a basic 100 BPD or 100 AUD for entering a country. I converted ALL my AUD dollars to NZD when I arrived in NZ. When leaving a country spend remaining cash on some food/candy at airport. If not enough cash use a CC. You cannot convert change to CAD after returning.
3:35 pm
December 12, 2009
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cruzinalong said
I used the Global Alliance when I visited UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Handy for ATM withdrawals. I prefer using a CC as much as possible. Pay off card when you return. It depends how long you are away. My UK trip was under a month. My Down Under trip was a month. I found you need only a basic 100 BPD or 100 AUD for entering a country. I converted ALL my AUD dollars to NZD when I arrived in NZ. When leaving a country spend remaining cash on some food/candy at airport. If not enough cash use a CC. You cannot convert change to CAD after returning.
Yeah, that's the downside with respect to cash—use up your coin before you depart. If you have any change left, just leave it with the hotel's housekeeping staff, hopefully in addition to your $10/night cash tip. Alternatively, give your change away, to someone, anyone—a homeless person, a coffee shop barista at the airport, etc.
That's probably what I'd do as well—just use credit card for purchases and order foreign cash before I leave. Sure, you lose a bit on the exchange rate your bank's foreign currency provider will charge you, but let's remember that every one cent difference only amounts to an extra $1.00 per $100.00 exchanged. Assuming you only convert $500-$1,000 CAD into foreign currency, and assuming there's a 3 cent difference in the foreign currency provider's exchange rate, that's only $15-30. Not a huge difference, really.
Life's too short to try and save every last dollar—and, believe me, coming from me, that's saying something. This from the guy who was concerned whether Starbucks would be open for takeaway coffee orders in early May this year (due to COVID-19) so he wouldn't miss out on his free birthday drink! 
Cheers,
Doug
6:01 pm
March 17, 2018
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@Doug
Within Canada, Scotiabank Ultimate Package debit card is much better than Tangerine since you can use it for free at any Interac ATM.
Global ATM Access is better with debit card from Scotiabank Ultimate Package than Tangerine debit card, although I don't quite understand the wording on the difference in foreign ATM. I'll post both below and maybe you can explain
The Scotiabank Ultimate Package account includes non-Scotiabank Interac⁺ ABM cash withdrawals in Canada and cash withdrawals at non-Scotiabank Visa* or PLUS* ABMs within and outside of Canada. Account holders may still be charged a convenience fee by the other bank and ABM operator, not by Scotiabank.
Tangerine debit card is accepted at Scotiabank ATM within Canada and 44,000 ABMs worldwide through Scotiabank’s Global ATM Alliance.
I would rather use Stack prepaid Mastercard at foreign ATM since I wouldn't be as worried about getting my card stolen or eaten by the ATM as I would with my bank ATM debit card. It's good to have more than one foreign ATM card with no FX fees, so Revolut is good to have as a spare if you manage to get one.
7:21 pm
January 3, 2013
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Tangerine sucks in many foreign countries. It failed me in Mexico, Salvador, Honduras, Colombia and I either had to use another card (Simplii) or do Cash Withdrawal using a Credit Card. So nothing Scotia Bank is reliable outside Canada honestly.
Stack seems great. I will only be using it for foreign transactions if I get it. Nothing inside Canada.
@cruzinalong - I am not sure if I follow. Do you mean you load the card with specific currency? I thought you just transfer (from bank account or Email Transfer) in CAD then withdraw with whatever local currency it is there.
7:36 pm
January 3, 2013
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@Doug - I don't see your replies when I am logged in! Anyway! I have Brim Financial MasterCard and Rogers WorldElite MC. The difference is that with Rogers changes, it is becoming a useless unless for Non Grocery / Gas in CAD or USD. Not useful in other countries.
For Brim, they still charge ATM withdrawal.
STACK doesn't charge ATM nor Foreign transactions which is a big win. I will be only using it for withdrawal and NOT purchases. For purchases Brim would be a better choice (1% back).
And I like the fact to have a card I can put as small amount as $100 on it without worrying too much about what if I lose it or get robbed, etc.
Also as I mentioned in my previous comment, Tangerine is a failure in many countries and I ended up using alternative cards many times cause Tangerine didn't want to give me money!
Also to mention, I used to (Before COVID) travel a lot and hope things open up soon so can fly again (So far 3 cancelled trips since March). Some currencies are either not available to buy before travelling or too expensive. Check out Guatemalan Quetzal. You lose at least 20% value if buying here versus using an ATM outside airport. I don't use cash nor debit card in any developed country with Credit Card acceptance. Many trips to Western Europe / Scandinavia and I never had to use cash (Last one a 3 weeks around Spain / Portugal / Andorra). I had to get money out of an ATM once cause we wanted to buy fresh fruit from farmers directly in France / Andorra border.
Caribbean is a different story. The touristy ones you can use CC but because we hate touristy places / resorts and use our own rental car, we end up needing / using cash a lot.
1:53 pm
April 2, 2015
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Doug said
Question: Do you have a credit card such as Brim Financial MasterCard, Home Trust Preferred Visa, HSBC Premier World/World Elite MasterCard, or Rogers/Fido World/World Elite MasterCard? If so, they all offer no added foreign currency conversion surcharge (or, in the case of Rogers/Fido, premium rewards that subsidize the FX conversion fee), so the utility of this prepaid credit card is low, particularly since, as you note, Stack doesn't offer (and how could they? They're no indication they're anywhere close to being profitable) reimbursements for global ATM owner fee rebates.
Oh, I didn't know about HSBC Premier World/World Elite...I had previuosly thought about opening HSBC Premier account thinking it'd offer me convenience to bank when I travel around Asia (HK). Hmm, the card is only free (rebated) the first year.
8:12 pm
May 3, 2015
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I use Brim as well as STACK and I think each have their own unique purpose when it comes to foreign travel.
Brim is useful for anything you'd want to put on your credit card (hotels, tickets, etc.). However, the advantage of STACK is that it offers fee-free cash withdrawals. This gives you access to foreign cash at virtually a market rate, which was unheard of before STACK. It's also good for someone who would rather use debit than credit for day-to-day purchases.
Even if you use credit card for 99% of purchases, there are times when you do need cash in a foreign country, and thats when STACK comes in handy. I have been using it for close to 2 years and I love it.
10:17 pm
July 10, 2011
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Is stack apart of The Exchange or am I gonna pay an ATM fee no matter what to the third party? Who has tried Cash Load? Does it work? Rewards look better then some.. https://www.getstack.ca/rewards
8:29 am
May 3, 2015
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Yatti420 said
Is stack apart of The Exchange or am I gonna pay an ATM fee no matter what to the third party? Who has tried Cash Load? Does it work? Rewards look better then some.. https://www.getstack.ca/rewards
STACK has nothing to do with the The Exchange network. STACK itself doesn't charge you any fees, so it comes down to the owner of a given ATM whether you'll be charged any fees or not. I am not aware of any ATMs in Canada that don't charge fees to non-clients, but in many - but not all - countries most ATMs are fee-free (Germany, Scandinavia, France, Italy, etc.). If you're traveling to a specific country, you can search online to see which banks in that particular location don't charge ATM fees. I was in Greece and found out though online search that Optima Bank didn't have any fees (while every other bank did), so I went to Optima and took cash from there. There are times when you can't avoid fees because all banks charge it (i.e. in Spain), but the fact that STACK doesn't charge you a fee nor 2.5% forex is already quite a bit of savings if you spend substantial amounts in foreign currencies.
As far as loading goes, I use Interac eTransfer and usually its deposited within minutes. Haven't tried loading cash.
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