My wife and I are travelling to the UK in a couple of weeks and planned to use our ATM card extensivly, as we have all over asia, with absolutly no problems. However, a friend told me today that one has to have a checking account tied to the card. In the US most people use the card to access their savings account. Is this correct, if so, I will transfare money to a checking account. Any help would be a great help.

We were in the UK recently and used our Mastercard extensively on ATM's. No problems. Our card is issed by GM and is no way associated with our bank.

My US bank issued ATM card draws money from my checking account and I have had no trouble using it to make withdrawals in the UK.

As a general rule in Europe, the ATMs are only tied in with checking accounts in the USA.

I agree with HowardM. While traveling throughout Europe my ATM withdrawals were taken directly from my checking account.

My understanding is that each ATM is attached to one PRIMARY account, which can be either checking or savings, and that in the US it is sometimes possible to access other accounts, but not in Europe using your US-issued ATM card. So if you can access more than one account with your card, make sure you know which account is your "primary"!

Hi Wyebee:<BR><BR>As per the previous post, I confirmed with my bank here in Canada that whatever is your 'primary' account for your ABM card is the one that is available internalionally (unless you've done something unique, your 'primary' account will be the first one you had created at that bank) ... also, it helps to make sure that your pincode is numeric (vs alpha) &amp; 4 digits (shouldn't be a problem in the UK, but some areas limit ABM access to 4 digits &amp; some countries only support numerics or have their local lettering system on the pinpad) ...<BR><BR>FYI - you may want to check with your bank to see if they are aligned with a bank in the UK - I use ScotiaBank here in Canada &amp; they are part of a 'Global ABM Alliance' (http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/conten..._LIDen,00.html) and I was able to use Barclay's ABMs in Kenya &amp; the UK with no transaction fee (vs the $2.50 per transaction I was charged when in Budapest &amp; Vienna last month, which is also the rate I am charged for using someone elses ABM here in Canada) ...

we used oiur credit card in ATM's in Italy and France 4 years ago and had no problem getting cash out. Visa and Mastercard.

If your card has a Cirrus network or Plus network it will work fine in the uk. To locate an ATM go to www.visa.com or www.mastercard.com . They are everywhere. I dont know what account it took the money out of. I guess I had enough to cover it. All the times I have used it overseas I never thought about it. Don't remember it asking. Never a problem. I use a credit union ATM card insted of Credit card to save the cash advance fees. I'd better find out before the next trip.

My CU ATM withdraws from checking. Had a panic attack the year I'd forgotten to transfer funds....

I never use my ATM card to access my savings account. Most people in the US do not use their ATM card to access their savings account. Change it to access your checking account.

I have check cards from my checking account that looks like a VISA. I have used it in Spain (1999), England (2001), France (2002) with no problem as long as I knew the pin # and knew the maximum allowed. If you use one connected to your checking or saving account you do not have to pay interest on the money you take out and you get the best exchange rates. This is the way to get cash! Be careful 'cause there are some scams out there.

Thanks everyone for your input. It was very informative and has given me peace of mind. One could only imagine beeing stranded with no hard cash.

wyebee:<BR><BR>in addition to your ATM, it's a good idea to take along at least some traveler's cheques. usually they sit like a security blanket in the bottom of my purse, but we've been glad to have them a couple of times when the local atm was non-functioning.