Thread: Banking for US students on Saba?

So I've been trying to find some information and advice for using money on the island in addition to what I should do for obtaining more money once I'm at Saba. I'm from California and have an account with Bank of America. I was originally planning on bringing a stack of cash because I really dislike transaction fees of any kind but I realized that's a little ridiculous. I know that Saba uses USD so here are my questions:

If I were to use a credit card to purchase most things, is there a credit card international transaction fee? Or is that just specific to each credit card?
Should I open up a local bank account on Saba? Or should I just withdraw money from the ATM using my Bank of America debit card? If I do use my Bank of America debit card, will there most likely be a transaction fee? If I open up a local bank account and withdraw from the atms, is there a fee that goes with that as well? Is there anything I should be careful about? I know that there's other postings dealing with this but all of the threads are from 2010

Hi,
I am also trying to figure the banking situation. I have BofA and when I went to Saba in April I was charged $3 from BofA and $5 from the bank on Saba, so $8 total. I can't recall exactly, but I don't think I was charged a fee for using my debit card, only when I withdrew money. I do not plan on opening a bank account while I am there. If you have good credit, then you might consider applying for a credit card that has no international transaction fee. Chase has a ton of them, some of which come with really good deals, like 50,000 frequent flyer miles after first purchase which would probably be enough for a free round trip back to California.

I don't know what you meant by "is there anything I should be careful about." Saba is really safe. That said, you can have cash, (most of the places I went to took cash or card) but it's probably not a good idea to be walking around with thousands.
Hope that helps!

I am assuming you will be staying in the dorms? You should also bring a check book to pay the landlord.

Originally Posted by Autonomous

Hi,
I am also trying to figure the banking situation. I have BofA and when I went to Saba in April I was charged $3 from BofA and $5 from the bank on Saba, so $8 total. I can't recall exactly, but I don't think I was charged a fee for using my debit card, only when I withdrew money. I do not plan on opening a bank account while I am there. If you have good credit, then you might consider applying for a credit card that has no international transaction fee. Chase has a ton of them, some of which come with really good deals, like 50,000 frequent flyer miles after first purchase which would probably be enough for a free round trip back to California.

I don't know what you meant by "is there anything I should be careful about." Saba is really safe. That said, you can have cash, (most of the places I went to took cash or card) but it's probably not a good idea to be walking around with thousands.
Hope that helps!

I've been reading that people aren't opening a bank because it's a hassle but don't elaborate on why. Is there a reason why it's not a good idea? Getting a Visa or Mastercard credit card definitely seems like the best option right now. I definitely don't want to pay an $8 transaction fee to withdraw money!

I am not sure what everyone else is saying the hassle is, but for me it's a matter of transferring the funds I'll get twice a month from BofA into another bank account. I also don't pay any fees on my checking and I assume that if you open an account on Saba they will charge you.
Also-on Saba the maximum amount you can only take out per day is $550. However, if you have a credit card you can go inside for a cash advance.

My son goes to Saba. His money is in his Wells Fargo acct. in the states. He goes to one of the many banks and takes out cash for his rent each month ( After the first semester in a nice dorm you are doomed to live in crummy apts). They charge $2.50 for him to get cash from the ATM . Unless you have a signature credit card there is an upcharge of 3% on credit cards charges. Do nto open a bank accouont as they will not cash foreign checks.

Originally Posted by weeels

So I've been trying to find some information and advice for using money on the island in addition to what I should do for obtaining more money once I'm at Saba. I'm from California and have an account with Bank of America. I was originally planning on bringing a stack of cash because I really dislike transaction fees of any kind but I realized that's a little ridiculous. I know that Saba uses USD so here are my questions:

If I were to use a credit card to purchase most things, is there a credit card international transaction fee? Or is that just specific to each credit card?
Should I open up a local bank account on Saba? Or should I just withdraw money from the ATM using my Bank of America debit card? If I do use my Bank of America debit card, will there most likely be a transaction fee? If I open up a local bank account and withdraw from the atms, is there a fee that goes with that as well? Is there anything I should be careful about? I know that there's other postings dealing with this but all of the threads are from 2010

Thank you so much for the responses everyone. I'm really glad you all took the time to help me. I'm planning on signing up for a Capital One credit card as all their cards have 0% foreign transaction fees. I'm planning on using that for any stores that might take it and earn some cash back while doing so. I also found a bank account that has no ATM fee and even goes as far as to reimburse any ATM fees that I may incur. Thanks again everyone!

Hopefully this information will be helpful for others as well!

nice article