Most US banks are now imposing a 3% foreign transaction fee even though the customers are withdrawing cash from their own checking accounts.
What is the best way to avoid paying the 3% fee?
Last year when we were in Hong Kong I was tempted to open a local checking account which could enable me to "bank wire" funds ahead of time of whatever amount we might spend in Hong Kong and China during our future visits. This way, the only expense incurs will be just the bank wiring. Will any Hong Kong banks allow a customer open a checking account without a HKID? The 3% fee can amount up to quite a large sum if our next stay in HK and China exceeds more than 2months.