Further Support for the Schwab Visa

Recently we were at Real buying phone cards (because when you purchase from Real, you get extra minutes for free with the Play cell phone service) and I decide to try out the exchange rates for my new Charles Schwab Visa. So I bought two cards at the same time - one with my trusty USAA MasterCard and one with my new Charles Schwab Visa.

This is what I found (I know it’s not scientific):

-The Exchange rate that I got for cash from the embassy (for government employees only) was 3.642.

-For the 50zl charge, USAA charged me $13.57 ($13.44 for the purchase plus a foreign currency fee of $0.13). Their ROE was 3.720 (plus $.13)

-For the 50zl charge, Schwab charged me $13.42 (vice $13.44 from USAA). Their ROE was 3.725 but with no extra fee.

For this transaction alone: USAA at the end of the year will give me 13 cents back – Schwab at the end of the month will give me 27 cents back.

Total end cost of the transaction shows USAA will give me that 50zl phone card for $13.44 whereas Schwab would give it to me for $13.15.

If I didn't lose you with the incredibly boring numbers - The Charles Schwab Visa is blowing away its closest competitor, IMHO. Their biggest flaw still is that they don't allow you to sync with MS Money... But if I'm paying less everytime I use the card- I guess I can take the trade-off.

Wonderful Warranties

I've been posting a lot about warranties lately, and I started making a mental list of the things that I've had serviced (or even replaced) under the manufacturer's warranty. The list started getting long.

These are some of my most recent warranty experiences:

-Kind of expensive surge protector - Mailed it in to get replaced

-Bose Earphones - Mailed in to get replaced

-iPod Touch - Took to the local Apple Serwis Shop where it was deemed to need replacement

-Wireless Keyboard - replaced free of charge by the store

-Memory Stick - replaced free of charge by the manufacturer

-Western Digital Hard Drive (2 times) - Replaced no questions asked by the Manufacturer

-Dell Computer - Had it serviced here in Poland - under warranty - no questions asked.

-Christmas gifts - One replaced by the website that sold it (no questions asked) and one that was a little more painful - but they still replaced it.

-Cast Iron Frying Pan - Bought 18 months ago and it cracked. The manufacturer sent a new one with no questions asked.

All-in-all we've had excellent luck lately with getting things serviced under warranty. Almost zero complaints. Now it might help when I'm contacting these places I explain that I'm stationed overseas and that I need assistance from afar, but whatever - I have a lot more faith that I'm getting my money's worth for the things I buy.

Of course the question becomes - what happens when the new/fixed items break again... I guess I'll end up doing exactly what the manufacturers hope that I do - buy new ones...

Octane Rating

Have you ever found yourself wondering "What's up with the octane ratings here?"

When I first got here, I really didn't know which gas to buy. The Shell station next to my house has unleaded with 91 and 95 octane. 91 octane for unleaded seems a lot higher than gas in the States. So does that mean regular gas here has a a higher octane rating than premium gas in the US?

No.

If you’re interested in the science check out the Wikipedia article.

Here’s the Reader’s Digest version: There are two methods to calculate Octane rating in gasoline: Motor Octane Number (MON) and Research Octane Number (RON).

What’s more important than what they are, is where they are used. In the states, the number on the pump is the average of these two ratings. Here in Poland (and much of the rest of the world) they just use the RON (or the larger) number.

Why do you care? If your car is American, check out the owner’s manual. It will tell you the minimum octane rating (most likely the average of RON and MON). For example my '07 Dodge Grand Caravan lists the rating at 87 Octane. Great - If I was in the States. For some reason the Dodge's owner's manual does not list the international RON rating. Probably because it would confuse people.

I dug through the Owner's manuals on my motorcycles and found a much clearer answer:

My '09 Harley takes the 95 Octane gas here; the equivalent to 91 octane on a Stateside pump.
My '91 Suzuki takes 91 Octane here; the equivalent of 87 Octane Stateside.

So that's how we roll now. For the Dodge and the Suzuki we get the 91 Octane, but not lower. Getting a lower octane is not so much a problem here in Poland, but be aware when you go to Germany because they do have the 90 RON there. That's probably not what you want to put in your car.

For the Harley - She takes premium - which as long as I get the 95 RON, I'm good.

Most mechanics will agree that unless your owner's manual specifically says otherwise - there is usually no need to put in more expensive gas than necessary. Certainly not on a regular basis.

Confused? Ask the attendant - Even if it's not marked - they can tell you what the octane rating is. It does help to be able to count to ten in Polish...

So the next time you're at the pump - make sure you're putting in only what you need. It could save you several bucks each time you go to the pump. Over a year (depending on the exchange rate) that could add up to some serious zlotys...

Duh - Get the iPod fixed here!

My daughter's iPod stopped working. We're ten months into the one-year warranty. I thought for sure that I'd have to send it back to the States, let them look at it and then send it back to me. My only hope was that the thing would get back to whatever service center it had to go to - before the warranty expires.

It turns out that less than 2 miles from the Embassy (on my way home no less) there is an authorized Apple Service Center. It's unassuming and you'd never know it, but you see the Apple trademark and the Serwis sign as you enter the building. The address is ul. Mangalia 4 and it's just off of Sobieskiego. There is more info listed on the Apple website under the Service tab - or by clicking here.

And the best part - they're completely linked up to the master Apple database. Since we bought that iPod through the Apple Store online, all the lady needed to do to verify the warranty, was type in the serial number. She took the iPod, gave me a receipt and said they would call me when its ready.

Of course nothing's perfect - she did drop large hints that the damage might not be covered by warranty (in which case I'll end up mailing it back to Apple after all) but if you have a MacBook, a Mac Computer or any other Apple Product that is still in its warranty period that needs serviced - check them out. It really was pretty easy.

And ultimately my review of them will completely depend on whether or not they fix my daughter's iPod or not...

UPDATE: - 29 January
Today I got a call from the Serwis Center here in Warsaw. They told me my iPod was ready.
Turns out they just replaced the iPod completely. Good in that my daughter has a working iPod Touch again. Bad in the sense that the engraved personalization that was on the iPod is gone. I suppose we could get it tricked out if we wanted - but I think we'll just live with having a new iPod instead.

Because we had such an easy experience - I don't image that we'll be buying any any other mp3 players other than an iPod for as long as we're in Poland. I was always a bit leery of the Apple customer service, but this has been a really positive experience.

How Far Does The Guarantee Go?

I showed up in Poland with a brand new 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan. It had 8 miles on it and I didn't see it until the day they delivered it from the port. That was about 15 months ago.

It's had a few more problems than I care to admit, but the latest one drove me nuts. There was a short in the factory radio that constantly drained the battery and left me stranded in the car-wash line in front of Sadyba Mall not too long ago.

After a jump from a kind friend that didn't live too far away, I took it to a Dodge Dealer who did fix the problem in the factory radio.

The problem is that he said the 36 month/36,000 mile warranty that came with the car is invalid and would not be honored. I thought that was a little cheesy because after all - the problem was clearly a manufacturer's defect in the installed factory radio. He said he felt me - but I still had to pay 127 zlotys.

Technically I think he's right, but in the Middle of West Africa I was able to get the Ford Dealer to honor the new-car warranty for a Ford Explorer. And that was Africa!

On the other hand, the Harley Davidson Dealer here in Warsaw says they are happy to honor my 2-year, unlimited mileage warranty on the new bike. No questions asked.

So if you have a car - and it's under the US warranty period - Ask! It can't hurt. And if that fails (and the problem looks bigger than a small short in the radio) try a different dealer. It just might work.

Oh yeah - Dell Too

In keeping with the theme of getting stuff fixed under warranty - I bought a Computer though the mail from Dell when I lived in Africa. Six months later I moved to Poland with a computer that had a broken piece on the motherboard (not related to the move).

I thought for sure I had to find a way to mail this back -

Turns out through the web site and a customer service technician, I was able to get Dell to honor the two-year warranty here in Poland.

The guy even came to the house to change out the Mother Board. Took less than 20 minutes and was completely free of charge. It was just too easy.

The only contact I have for these guys is a phone number (22-579-57-00) but I can confirm that if you do end up in Poland with a Dell and a warranty bought in a different country they will help you. At the very least this works if you bought the Dell in the U.S. originally.

And in case you're wondering - I usually just keep asking for someone to speak English - they almost always have someone who speaks Polish if you don't.

The Language Tax

In the almost 11 years I’ve spent overseas, I've noticed a phenomenon that I haven't seen addressed anywhere else. For lack of a better term - I call it "The Language Tax".

The language tax is when you pay more for something because you don't know how to get the better deal because: You don’t speak the language!

As much as I'd like to think I'm cheap enough to always find the better deal, I know that I pay too much for some things, and I just don't know how to fix it.

It almost happened to me again at the mall a couple of weeks ago. My wife was buying matching clothes for this year’s family Christmas photo (I think I was pressed against the glass front of the store with a please-save-me look), and we racked up a fairly big bill. The lady behind the counter asked if we had a discount card to the store (all in Polish), and I answered no. No is one of the few words I do know in Polish. The nice lady then asked us if we wanted to be part of the discount club and I assumed that there was a charge... Luckily while she was checking us out, I looked up and was able to ask if there was a charge or not. She said no so I said “Sure - I'll take one of those cards.” End result: 2 minutes later I saved 25% off new clothes for six people.

This also happens with most of us who don't bother to get the Skarbonka Card at Auchan and the equivalent card at Real. I know that I can save money (although admittedly I have no idea how it actually works) but I just don’t have the motivation to ask and try to fill out the little card they have.

I mean, if you don't read the language, and you don't find someone who speaks English, it's easy to just mentally calculate the anticipated cost of the purchase, get your faktura and get the heck out of there.

The negative thing here is that I have no idea how you solve this. I had to ask someone else to figure out the Skarbonka thing. 5-a-sec has a frequent shopper's card that I never bought because it supposedly saves you money – but not on everything… I’m pretty sure I’d save the money over a year, but I can’t ask the questions I want to – ‘cause I don’t speak the language.

But my biggest problem is the lack of the good old boy's hardware store. Back in Texas, if I wanted to take on a household project, I'd go down to the hardware store (Preferably Andy’s Hardware off of FM 249) with a list, and find the first knowledgeable person I could and start peppering them with questions. By the time I left the store I knew that I could go home and figure out at least how to get started on whatever it is I was working on. Here I don't have that luxury - so instead of buying the parts needed to fix the hose - I'm pretty likely to just buy a new hose.

The other thing is finding the bargains. In the states I'd check out the newspaper ads or check out the internet ads and head out to the store – Here, I’m sure I could do the same but I don’t have a newspaper subscription, and I have no idea what the Polish equivalent of BensBargains.net is.

Again, this is the by-product of a stranger living in a strange land. It's not something that I'm going to fix unless I really learn the language.

US Cards Might Not Work Overseas

Not too long ago I stumbled upon this headline in another blog: "Why Your Credit Card Might Be Useless Overseas". I clicked through to the cited Los Angeles Times Article that highlights several portions of one man's trip through Europe where his American-issued credit cards just didn't work.

While this is unlikely to affect any of us during our tours in Poland, it does raise a good point. In Europe, many banks issue a credit card with a “pin” number and a security chip that is supposed to make using your credit card safe. This is not the same as our US-based credit cards and the cash advance PIN that some of us have on them.

This "pin card" really isn't an emerging problem in Warsaw, but there is an automated kiosk in the movie theater in Galeria Mokotow that allows you to skip the really long lines (most recently I noticed at the premiere of Mamma Mia) and buy your tickets right at the little kiosk. The problem with that kiosk is that you need that magic credit card with pin. As I was creating a line back-up, I tried two US-based credit cards with pins as well as my debit charge card that also has a pin. Nothing worked – I had to go stand in the long line.

You need that same pin card to use the automated check-out line (where the line is a thousand times shorter) at the Carrefour in Arkadia. Otherwise, and I know from personal experience, the people behind you will hate you and be tempted to throw things at the back of your head.

You'll notice everywhere else you shop, they have a little place that you can have your card swiped, or that little strange device where you put your card in and enter a pin. I think we are a very long way away from not being able to use our credit cards overseas.

Free Cable!

In our little housing area down here in Konstancin, we get free cable TV - kind of.

Now I'm talking about like 8 channels with only one channel (BBC) in English (two if you count MTV2) and for the most part it's useless, but its free none-the-less.

Do you get free cable? The reason I ask is that I'm still meeting other expats in the neighborhood that have lived here for awhile and had no idea. This revolutionary information is not changing anyone's lives out here in Konstancin, but it is nice to see the local channels with a clear reception.

I've got to imagine if you live in an apartment, it's worth asking the question to the building management staff (assuming you're not enjoying it already). I would reason the same would hold true for other small gated communities.

All I'm saying is it might be worth a shot. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to watching the latest Madonna Video on MTV2 - I think its from 1987...

Just Say No to Being Charged in USD!

I mentioned it before but was reminded again – never select a currency other than the local currency when making purchases overseas. Trust me on this!

‘Oh Sushi charged my credit card in USD the last time I went at an ROE of 2.24 (the exchange rate that day was actually 2.44!). When I became irritated, the waitress told me that the computer did it by itself; however the time before that they did ask me what currency I wanted to pay in.

I fully concede that maybe it wasn’t her fault, but we went ahead and found a new Sushi place.

Car Repair Blues

Unfortunately for me, I was reminded of this money-saving tip the hard way last week:

Do you need to get your car fixed or is it due for a maintenance check-up?

Services in Poland are generally cheap(er) than the States, but the parts can be exponentially more expensive.

I deal with two different dealerships for my two POVs and both let me bring in my own parts when I turn the vehicle in to be serviced. I buy the parts off the web (usually Rock Auto or Auto Parts Warehouse) and pay less than what the same parts would cost here. I’ve never once had the dealer as much as blink when I gave them the parts to be installed - and in fact, at least once he was relieved that he didn't have to order the part.

I’ve found the price of labor is generally far less than the same service from a dealer in the States. Where did I find the dealers? Google! Turns out there is a Dodge Serwis Center that you can literally see from my house.

Good thing I have a Dodge!

Read those Polish Websites

Someone passed me a hint for those of us who don't read Polish so well that I had never heard of.
If you type the web address of a non-English web site into Google and click search, the first entry that comes up should be the website that you were looking for - and next to it should be a hyper-link that reads: [ Translate this page ]

I was blown away by the results when I click on the hyper-link. That page, and apparently all subsequent pages on that site, are translated by Google into English.

It's not perfect of course, and for all I know I'm the last person to figure this out - but for navigating web pages to get the info I need - I was really impressed. It certainly beats copying text and pasting into Babblefish.

Update - Turns out there's an easier way to use Goole Translate - Go to the website:
http://translate.google.com. From there you can eitehr cut and paste the text, or you can paste the url in directly. I think it saves a step.

Post One: Opening a Polish Bank Account!

As I lie awake in bed recently with fear of how much the new bill-paying fees were going to affect our family budget, I really started to wonder – is there a better (read: cheaper) way to pay my Polish Zloty-based bills? Since I pay a hefty preschool bill, which theoretically would land me bill-payment fees of $60 per payment, I reasoned there had to be a cheaper way.

This is what I found: You (yes you) can open up a local bank account in Polish Zloty for as little as 19 PLN a month and use that bank account to make unlimited bank transfers and unlimited bill payments. So with a minimal amount of extra effort I can now pay all of my bills for a flat-rate fee of 19 PLN a month.

Here’s what I did: I took a native Polish speaking colleague along with me for a sanity check, but if you speak passable Polish, or are patient while the bank finds someone who speaks passable English, all you need is a passport and about a half an hour (or less) of your time to open an account; along with your spouse if you want them on the account as well. You’ll walk out with a bank account number and you’re on your way. Note: I used the bank closest to the Embassy, but I’m told if you make any effort in shopping around you can easily get a cheaper rate (especially if you’re willing to put a few zlotys in the account). I’m told Citibank has an excellent English website, but I think I’ll stick with the bank across the street.

Here’s what I’m doing now: I use this account to pay my phone bill and my bi-monthly preschool-bill. At present I’ve paid two bills by phone, which is so easy because the only Polish you need to know is when to press “7” to get an English-speaking bank representative. I also use this account as a way to dump my spare zloty change once a month (you know – all those grozy that pile up) and the bank seems happy to get it (at least to my face). Getting money into the account seems to be the only problem. To avoid the fees and hassles with transferring money from a USD bank account, I am changing my banking information with the VAT Helpdesk to have our quarterly VAT payments made here. I will use that money to pay subsequent bills – and of course, you can always make a PLN deposit whenever you need to. I’ve found it would actually be cheaper (and easier) to make a withdrawal from the ATM that’s sitting in their bank, and then deposit that into my Polish Bank Account – rather than try to transfer money across the Atlantic.

Just recently I received in the mail the documents necessary for paying bills over the internet. I made a phone call, spoke to a guy in English – and now I go to the English website to set up payees and make payments. It’s actually easier than the phone because you need no Polish at all for that part. It’s also worth noting that it appears easier to make a payment via the Polish website for me than using my USAA bank account to pay stateside bills.

Another advantage (this is my personal theory rather than hard facts) is that this can actually protect you from exchange rate losses as the dollar gets stronger against the zloty. Since my VAT deposit will be in Polish zloty and I pay my bills in Polish zloty – there is not an issue of having paid for something at 2.01 but being reimbursed for said item’s VAT at the new-found strength of 2.25 six months later. Now this would understandably have the opposite effect if the dollar really tanks - but then we’ve got bigger worries anyway.

So this is just my experience in getting and using a local bank account. For me, paying the phone bill takes far less time than going to the post office, which used to cost me 2.50 PLN and up to a half an hour of my time on my lunch-hour. Now I get the bill, make a five minute phone call and the deal is done. Next month I’ll try the internet.

Oh yeah – and included in that 19 PLN per month is a Polish Visa Check Card that I can use anywhere in town as a Visa debit card, or as an ATM card for that account. That will be great if I ever get to the point where I don’t have that massive preschool bill to pay anymore.

So will my experiences work for you? I’m not sure. It’s a cost vs. demand thing. When I was paying $6 a pop to make bank payments it wasn’t a big deal. Now that I find I can pay about $9 a month and make as many payments as I want – I’m much more motivated. Frankly – I don’t know why it took me so long to get a local bank account in the first place.