greene

I am wondering whether anyone has recently tried to take money out of a Citibank ATM in Italy using their US ATM card. I have heard that a five or six digit pin number is necessary (as opposed to the four digit one we use in the US), but Citibank seems to have no clue about this.

Also, should I get Euros here at a Citibank before departing for Italy, or is it better to exchange money over there?

Thanks.

ira

Hi G,

The usual PIN in Europe is 4 digits.

Charge everything you can.

Get cash from ATMs.

Do not exchange money or take Traveler's Checks.

greene

Thanks Ira!

alanRow

In Europe PIN really does mean Personal Id NUMBER as they don't have letters on the keypads

Curious

Try not to use your Citi bank visa/ master card since it has the highest conversion fee (at least 3%). All they are doing is charging you to exchange $ for Euros which Visa/MC have already done.

Curious

Centralparkgirl

Curious - do you mean don't get a cash advance on a citi credit card just use a citi atm card to get cash? I have both, but only use my atm card at home to get cash from a citi account.

Also, is there an advantage when charging to use MC or Amex?