adeleh

For our trip to Norway we are staying in three b&b and they want their money in cash.
Which one is more to my advantage and less advantageous for the greedy banks?
Taking American$ and change at the banks or using ATM machines?
I absolutely hate to spend my money on fees and would like to avoid them as much as possible.
It seems like Sovereign bank charges a lot to withdraw money, I don't remember how much it was but I was shocked last time I used it.

Thank you.

BigRuss

ATM.

And find a credit union or Cap One account (if they still eat the foreign exchange fees) to minimize the conversion pain.

Changing at banks may be "no fee" but the rate will be 5-7% worse than the exchange rate. Your ATM transaction will be 1-3% surcharged on the exchange rate.

Check with your bank on its fees. Tell it also that you're going abroad.

nytraveler

Pull money from ATMs for lower fees. But do ask your bank to increase your daily limit or you may find yourself pulling a lot of cash every day.

Mimar

Yes, set up an account at a credit union, deposit your travel money, and withdraw it from ATMs abroad. You get a debit/ATM card with, on the back, the symbols for the international credit card networks, like Cirrus and Plus.

But first doublecheck the credit union's charge for foreign withdrawals. I have 2 CU accounts. Both charge no transaction fee (per withdrawal) and a conversion rate of only 1% over the interbank rate.

European bank ATMs do not charge a transaction fee. That and the conversion rate are both from your bank. (I love credit unions; they're not-for-profit, member-owned.)

And do, as nyt says, warn your credit union, bank, and credit cards that you will be doing transactions abroad during the time of your trip.

Michael

Use ATMs to get the cash. If your bank charges a fee for withdrawing money abroad, check your local credit union. Mine charges no fee except the 1% Visa conversion fee for foreign withdrawals.

Christina

I don't think anyone has even said if your first option is even possible (take USD and exchange at some bank in Norway). A lot of banks won't do services for non-customers, that may not even be an option. And a lot of banks don't have any place for tourists to come in to exchange money. Some banks are even closed to anyone but customers (meaning you can't get in without a passcard). I haven't been to Norway so don't know the norm there on banks and whether they will even do anything for non-clients. You certainly couldn't walk into most any American bank and get any service if you didn't have an account there, and I know you can't in some other countries where I've been, also.

Pegontheroad

I agree. Don't bring USD, and don't bring travelers' checks.

I use ATM's to get as large an amount at one time as possible. My bank, Wells Fargo, charges $5.00 per withdrawal. Since my limit is $500 per day, that doesn't seem like a lot to me, but others may not agree.

If you get a credit union card, be sure that it has the appropriate symbol on the back--the Plus or Cirrus symbol.

The advice from other posters seems sound to me. The other thing I'd do is to have cards from two different institutions, if possible--an ATM card and a credit card with pin number so that if your ATM card doesn't work (a rare event, to be sure), you'll still be able to get cash.

Getting cash with a credit card is not ideal, since credit cards usually charge interest from the date when you use them.

I advise this because my travel companion in 2011 was not able to get cash with her ATM card, despite having contacted her bank to inform them that she'd be in Europe. They assured her that she was good to go, but she wasn't.

Fortunately, I had plenty of cash in my checking account, so I was able to lend her money.

adeleh

Thanks everyone.
I opened a CU account and ordered a debit card, as it was mentioned here they only charge 1%
Vs 4%plus 6$ each time at my bank.

What Is the a difference between an ATM card and a debit card?
Can they both be used everywhere abroad?
This might be a dumb question but I never paid any attention to this until the bank manager said that she thought that you can only use a debit card in another country?

Michael

Nowadays most ATM cards are also debit cards that can be used for purchases. I don't, keeping my card for withdrawals from a bank separate from any card I use for purchases. Besides, why should I have an automatic withdrawal from my account with a debit card when I can pay my visa bill only after I've verified the charges?

Michael

One more thing: Withdrawals from European ATMs usually work off the checking account only. You may need to have two accounts: your regular account with a minimum deposit to be a CU member (we keep $100 in that account) and the checking account where you deposit your travel money to be withdrawn as needed through the ATMs.

Christina

An ATM card can only be used to withdraw cash from ATMs, basically, you can use a debit card to make purchases of various kinds, also. You can use it in most stores in the US, for example, to buy things.

That manager is wrong in claiming that only debit cards can be used abroad. I have had several ATM cards since they were introduced, and every single one of them could be used abroad. Now I think on some other thread, one Fodorite said they had a relative with an ATM card that could not be used abroad, so maybe it depends on the bank you got it from and what kind of network and linkage they have set up. The fact that the bank manager you asked is essentially clueless is scary. I think my bank's ATM card somehow linked to some ATM network when used in a foreign country, I don't know the details but I know it worked and when the bank statement came in, it still said PLUS on it (even though PLUS isn't available abroad). Maybe PLUS has some deal that enables it abroad, don't know. My current ATM card does say CIRRUS on the back of it, which I think is the Mastercard network. Which goes to show that some ATM cards are also linked to the same networks as credit and debit cards. And I know the difference, I do only have an ATM card, it even says so right on it and I insisted on that as I didn't want a debit card. However, my last ATM card did use the PLUS network.

However, I think I've heard that credit union debit cards can have issues, also, and can't be used as easily in many places as bank cards, so that could be another issue as it sounds like you have a credit union card. So maybe for that place, it is correct, who knows. But it isn't a given that an ATM card can't be used abroad.

I agree with Peg's advice to make sure you have a backup plan for cash in case one card doesn't work for whatever reason.

There was another thread on here about ATM cards vs. debit, which I don't think is really of interest to the OP since they have one, but someone on there said the liabilities were the same on both cards (meaning what you could owe if used fraudulenty). I don't know, I've read they differ, but I wouldn't want one anyway because I have no intention to use it as a debit card, and even if somehow you weren't held liable for fraud for a different amount (my bank wouldn't reassure that was true, but again, I know most bank customer service people don't know much), it is a much bigger hassle and problematic if someone drains your bank account of money than if you see a charge on your CC bill at the end of the month which you didn't make. I know, it happened to my nephew on a trip (having his debit card cloned at a gas station, and his bank acct drained), and it isn't fun, especially if you are abroad.

This is an article by PIRG on the subject which also says that CC and debit cards may not have identical fraud protection, even if they usually do by most banks. http://www.pirg.org/consumer/banks/d...ebitcards1.htm

Michael

<i>I think I've heard that credit union debit cards can have issues, also, and can't be used as easily in many places as bank cards</i>

I've never had any problem with my CU cards, whether ATm or credit card.

Mimar

Ditto. I've used my cards all over Europe, in small towns and in Istanbul, as well as in China. No problems.