It appears that prepaid cash cards like AAA's or Visa's TravelMondy are going to replace travelers checks.

My brilliant idea of opening a second account at the CU didn't work (it won't let me), and it seemed that the AAA Cash Passport might be a way to go. It costs $3, can be reloaded, but ATM fees are $2 ($1 more than my CU). However, for getting my 800 euros at once, it looks good. (that's about a .4% markup) And it sounds easier than opening another account at a strange bank. Any thoughts?

Afew questions: do you have an ATM card? What is the maximum amount of cash you can withdraw using it each day?
I assume you need 800 Euros at once..to pay for an apartment rental???

I'd also like some kind of backup if my card gets eaten, which happened in Cannes once, but we had my late husband's account to fall back on then.

Hi LV,

Your credit union won't let you have 2 accounts?

Did they explain why?

Open one in another name. It is legal. Call it "LVSue Foundation".

Did you compare the travelcard fees with ATM bank fees?
Does the card expire? Does it cost to load it/reload it? Are there fees for withdrawals? Will European merchants accept it or is it just for ATMs?

The AAA / Visa travelcard has a ridiculous expense associated with it, had a low limit, usage fees, purchase fees, and reload fees.

My usual bank doesn't add to the conversion for my ATM card but does charge $2.00/withdrawal after 3 free ones. (still cheaper than travelcard fees).

I opened a free chk acct at a separate bank other than where my 'real' accounts are, and will use that solely for obtaining cash at ATMs in Europe.

Ira, my CU won't let me have two accounts where I am the principal; I inquired about opening a trust account.

The AAA Cash Passport is good at Visa ATMs, no costs other than stated above (free reloads) There is a $1.25/mo inactivity fee and a 50¢/mo paper statement fee (I assume you can do it on internet for free), so it appears it would be a good thing to cash it out after you get back or charge something once a month.

Travelnut, I'm gonna check local banks for a free checking account, but will fall back on this if none available.

Hi LVSue, I don't know where you live and if you have this bank in your area but I did some checking last week (to open up a second checking account for the same reason you wanted one).

I found that US Bank has lots to offer. If they are in your area you might to check them out.

I seem to have two threads going on this, so I'll post here what I said there and promise to let them both sink into oblivion.

I found a local bank on the net with a Silver Senior account, no fees at all and free checks, and a branch in my supermarket to boot. Only drawback is $1.50 ATM fee, but you can't have everything!

Of course, I wasn't content to leave it there and checked BofA, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Colonial Bank. None had fee-less accounts, so Nevada Savings it is!

LoveItaly, I just checked USBank and their Silver whatever even gives free ATM on non-USBanks. Thanks for the tip!

Last question: did you ask about foreign-currency fees -- on the transaction or on the currency exchange? Do you know what rate they use for the conversion?

You seem to be saying that the travelmoney cards limit your costs to $3 for opening the account, and an ATM fee of $2 per transaction. What you aren't saying is what kind of markup is applied to the foreign currency exchange, and in all the postings on this subject, the lowest reported is 1%, and many report markups in excess of 3 or 4%.

I don't see how you can evaluate this card against other ATM cards without that information. If they are using a 2% markup, for example, with ATM fees and opening costs on top of that, it doesn't seem to be a good deal, at least for the consumer.

I don't know to whom those last questions were directed, but here I go.

First of all, it is AAA's Cash Passport that has the $3/$2pwd fees, not the TravelMoney card, which is more costly. I fail to understand how there could be ATM foreign currency charges over and above the 1% Visa.

Do some banks add on percentages for ATM withdrawals in foreign currencies?

I am not considering using my ATM/Debit cards or the AAA card for purchases; solely for ATM withdrawals.

I have decided to go the 2nd bank account route, so the AAA question is moot for me, but I may call them just to see if there are any additional charges, I should think in view of the class-action suit, those charges would be spelled out somewhere.

Unfortunately, sometimes the surcharge for currency exchange is embedded in the fee imposed for using an overseas ATM. In other words, you may or may not get any notation of what the exchange rate Euros-to-dollars is, nor of the 1% for using the (non-US) ATM (or conducting a transaction with a foreign retailer). nor of a possible 3% on top of the exchange rate for receiving some currency other than the dollar.

Wachovia currently assures me re: our Wachovia debit/credit visa that it imposes no such foreign-currency or foreign-transaction fee, just the standard someone-else's-ATM fee. But I had trouble getting anyone to say what the day's exchange rate was, let alone what they use as an index. When I finally got a quote for today, it was about 3 cents over what I'm seeing on most of the web currency-tracking sites.

FYI: http://www.x-rates.com/cgi-bin/cgica...1&base=USD
currently has $1.297 = 1 Euro; Wachovia quoted me $1.325

Yes, LVSue, I addressed those remarks to you as you are the original poster.

The subject of credit card issuers (usually banks, I think) adding on their own markup above the fee charged by the network has been among the most constantly discussed issues on this forum for quite a while. I had not realized there was anyone who was not aware of it.

So unless you check to make sure your credit card issuer does not add such fees, you will pay them.

Actually using a debit card for purchases (rather than just for ATM transactions) has its advantages. You do lose the interest you would have earned on your money for the interim before you would have had to pay the credit card (and I assume we are all aware that full payment of the credit card can save a lot of interest), but some debit cards offer a rebate on purchases, as do some credit cards.

So in evaluating a potential debit card, I would suggest you look at:
1. Is there an annual fee, or an account opening fee? The best deals have no such fees.
2. Is there a fee for using out-of network ATMs? The best deals have no such fees.
3. How does the card issuer handle foreign currency transactions. The best deals I have found make no charge above the 1% fee imposed by the VISA network. I think there may be some better deals than this if your account is with a bank or company that has overseas branches, or a correspondent banking relationship with an overseas bank, but I have not personally experienced that, and my understanding is that you would be tied to using machines of your company, or its correspondent, and I don't want to have to complicate my travels by limiting the number of ATMs I can use.

Dadgummit, Cleveland Brown, I'm aware of the extra charges on credit cards and have actively posted on such threads for the last few years. MBNA and Capitol One don't charge extra; that's why they go with me and Citibank stays at home. (MBNA is levying charges starting April 2, but some MBNA cards are exempt, including mine.)

But this is the first I have heard that your own bank might charge an extra percentage on your ATM exchanges without somehow noting it. (My CU gives 4 free w/d/month; charges a set fee of $1 thereafter.)

The MC/Debit card with my new account is free; no charges for out-of-system ATM use; and the bank is owned by Parisbas (Banque Nationale de Paris, a member of the Global ATM Alliance), so I assume that there will be no charge (like $1-2) from that bank. Once I get the debit card, I will call to see it that's true.

I have read on this forum that European banks cannot impose charges, but Barclays in Canada did, and it was clearly marked on the ATM machine. ($CAD1.25)

www.oanda.com will also provide a history of FX rates. But since Visa can now charge such a range of rates, it will be hard to check to see if your bank ATM charges includes additional charges.

Sue, I've heard some folks say that (on here, anyway) about their banks adding on fees. Mine doesn't, I didn't think it was that common, but possible. I think they'd have to tell you.

I'd at least call and ask the right people about whether there is an exchange rate difference when you use the cash passport or similar card. You don't want to get a surprise. I think they could because it isn't really like you are withdrawing money from your own bank account, it's a product and they are the ones figuring out how much your balance goes down when you use it, not the bank. I know AAA charges a large markup when you buy travelers checks in euro, for example, and it's not that different an idea (in fact, they kind of present it as an electronic travelers check).

However, I did look into this once when they first came out, and at that time, Visa claimed there was no markup on the exchange (Visa makes the AAA product). I guess they just make the profit from the reloading and maintenance fees and transaction fees or something. I believe the terms have changed since then and have gotten worse, though (originally, there were no $2 transaction fees on the card until you went beyond some number you got free, around 10 withdrawals or something).

I thought I might be mistaken as I realized you were talking about two products (Travelmoney vs. Cash passport), and I was only thinking of one of them. I thought maybe this would be a good backup idea, so I called AAA (I'm a member) and really grilled them on the fees and markups and what they mean by certain terms (ie, "Visa international rate" for currency conversion).

In sum, they do have a foreign conversion markup on both these cards, as I suspected. It is worse on the Travelmoney which is a debit/ATM card, and that's why they charge more (they said).

The Travelmoney debit/ATM card has a 7% markup over interbank rate on cash ATM withdrawals (no markup when used on purchases as a debit card), in addition to the $4.95 activation fee and the $2 ATM fee per use.

The Cashpassport which is only an ATM card has a 5% markup over interbank rate, plus the $2 ATM fee. That $3 activation fee can be avoided if you buy one for at least $300, though.

Both that 7% and 5% markups already include the VISA 1 pct like they have on credit cards, they said.

In short, you'd be paying a 5% markup on your 800 euros (+$2) but you wouldn't have to pay the $3 activation fee to get it.

IN addition, you have to pay $15 to close out one of these cards and withdraw the rest of your money, but only if you go into an office and do it at a desk. If you just finish using it all up, you just pay the $2 ATM fee for that.

BTW, for some arcane reason, they also charge a $2 ATM fee abroad, but a $2.50 ATM fee if you use it in the US.

Wow, Christina—great detective work (or at least display of energy...I've been too lazy to call AAA)! It was inconceivable to me that they could tack on even more fees, but sure enough....

Glad I just opened my second bank account for my backup ATM card. And glad that you came up with a definitive answer to our speculations!

(Wish I were heading for Les Halles and the onglet tonight; hope you are!)