Canuck_girl24

Anyone have any idea what the ATMs are using for coversion rates? I've seen postings saying it is cheaper to use the ATM in Europe than to convert money at home before I go. I'm also a bit weary about having to depend on my bank card-some work/some don't? I'd appreciate any comments or recommendations!

ira

Hi CG,

The ATMs just give you money. Your bank sets conversion rates from euros to dollars.

You generally get a better rate using ATMs.

You can open a second account and have another ATM card in case one doesn't work.

Canuck_girl24

Ira,
Thanks...my bank charges $4.00 for an international withdrawl, so I wanted to avoid this as much as possible. I may just try to use my Visa for cash advances if that's cheaper.

SusanP

I don't think a cash advance from your credit card will EVER be cheaper! With those, you pay a very high rate of interest that starts immediately when the cash is received.

suze

I can't imagine cash advances from a credit card ever come out cheaper! Cash advances normally charge a higher percentage rate than charge purchases.

If you get your bank to raise your daily ATM withdrawl limit and take the max when you do a transaction the $4.00 is not so bad. Or shop a new bank that has a lower fee.

suze

wow- great minds think alike -LOL

Canuck_girl24

In the grand scheme of things, $4.00 isn't much. But the banks annoy me though-with all of their charges.
I'm assuming there are a fair amount of ATMs all over?-especially near tourist attractions?
I've also thought of paying extra onto my Visa before I go-I don't want to come home to a massive bill!

almcd

All that has been said is correct in my experience. If you use a Visa card, they charge you interest from the moment you withdraw the cash plus their fee.Use ATM's and withdraw as large an amount as you feel comfortable with. Leave some in your room safe, if you have one, or in the hotel safe. Pickpockets are a bit of a problem, so you do not want all your eggs in one basket. Also, be sure that your pin no. is four numbers. More than that is rarely accepted by European machines.

Canuck_girl24

Are most ATMs part of the CIRRUS group? I imagine they are easy to find?

Patrick

Prepaying your Visa account will not work the way you want it to. Let's say you give them an extra $5000 to "hold" for you. Then you do a cash advance drawing out $500 in Europe. They will STILL charge you a finance charge and interest on that money. It is still a cash advance and not a purchase. With an credit card purchase the business you buy from is paying Visa a couple percent of that amount, so you don't. But when you do a cash advance Visa will charge you that money, even if you've already "loaned" them more than that to play with for you.

Robespierre

I don't know what &quot;weary (<i>leery</i>?) about having to depend on my bank card&quot; means. I have used three debit cards from different institutions all over Europe without a hitch. If you shop a bit, you can get a card with no conversion markup on purchases and a $1 ATM withdrawal fee.

Using a credit card to get cash is the worst way imagineable (with the possible exception of travelers' cheques).

suze

I have the impression you don't really understand how things work...

Pre-paying into your Visa will NOT have any effect on the higher rate of interest that begins immediately on a &quot;cash advance&quot;. This is one of the absolutely worst ways to get money overseas.

If the $4 ATM fee is ticking you off, shop around for a different bank. Or even purchasing euro ahead of time or exchanging cash I'm guessing would be more economical in the long run.

suze

Oh to answer one of your questions, I'm not sure about &quot;most&quot; but Cirrus/PLUS (the mastercard and visa networks) are commonly found.

ron

Both Suze &amp; Robespierre suggest to the Canadian OP that she shop around for a better rate. If they are Canadians, perhaps they could suggest where?

I suspect they are not Canadians and are unaware how unhelpful that advice is. My experience is that Canadian banks and near banks do not compete on price for consumer services.

suze

Point taken ron, but that doesn't really change my advice. If all Canadian banks charge $4 for foreign ATM withdrawls, then that's that.

I still think it is a far better method than taking a cash advance on a charge card! Do the math.

sockboy

You can do better than $4 per international withdrawl from Canadain Banks and/or trust companies. It may meaning paying for a more expensive &quot;package&quot;, but you could always upgrade to a full service package just for the month you are away, then switch back when you get home.

This same package may also include free travellers cheques. I have a pricy package from the Royal Bank that offers both free international withdrawls and TCs. And despite what most people say, I always take a few thousand CAD in travellers cheques, just in case of an ATM problem. I have never cashed any abroad, and use them when I get back home to pay off the VISA. Since they are no-fee, and in CAD it costs me nothing for the security.

MargrietVanderBanck

There is one way of avoiding the fee if you are a customer of the Bank of Nova Scotia. It has a reciprocal agreement with a number of banks, including BNP Paribas, so you can use their ATMs without Scotiabank levying the withdrawal fee. Unfortunately, there is no agreement with an Italian bank.

As to cards working or not, banks seem to cluster. On the few occasions when my card (which is issued by a credit union) hasn't worked in one ATM, I've been able to cross the street and use it in another.

Christina

I've also noticed that a lot of Canadians seem to have very high ATM transaction charges on this board. $4 actually isn't the worst, I know I've seen $5.

I think Canuckgirl said something about prepaying the Visa just to not have a large bill at one time. Of course, financially that makes no sense at all, it would make more sense to pay the bill when it came, but I think some people spend money if they have it.

However, as for the finance charges, I think you can avoid the interest charges if you overpay your Visa so that you are not incurring any balance through withdrawals (you'd have to be making few purchases or other charges, also, I guess). You will still get socked with the flat cash withdrawal charge in itself, which is not interest, and that can be huge on many US credit cards (about 3 pct of the entire amount or $5 minimum or something). That charge does not depend on balances, but just that you withdrew cash which is a service in itself.

That's the situation for one of my credit cards, as I asked, but cards will vary on these points.

I do remember one post on here from someone who said his card had no flat fee for the cash withdrawal and a very low interest rate for it over that month following, but that is really unusual, I think.

I'd stick with figuring out the ATM thing without using a credit card.

ira

&gt;I've also thought of paying extra onto my Visa before I go-I don't want to come home to a massive bill!&lt;

Why would you give someone your money before you have to? It's the same money.

Patrick

Regarding &quot;free&quot; Travelers Cheques. I just returned from AAA where they offer &quot;free&quot; British pound travelers checks at a rate of 191.03 today. Today's current bank rate is 180.66.

Charging an extra 10.5 cents for each pound is not what I call &quot;FREE&quot;. Why are so many people taken in by that idea that when there is no &quot;fee&quot; it means things aren't costing them anything?