ATM withdrawal at Frankfurt airport vs. Florence
 

Hello, all -
I am flying from LAX to Florence through Frankfurt tomorrow.
I am planning on withdrawing couple hundred €€ at the ATM at the airport upon landing.
Are there any advantages in doing it in Frankfurt vs. Florence?
Also, my account is with BofA - are they going to slam me with foreign transaction fees?

Thanks!

No difference between the two airports in terms of costs. If you have plenty of time, I would get cash in Frankfurt just because it's "dead time" anyway. It gets you to your Florence hotel 5-10 minutes sooner than locating one in Florence airport.

You're wise to be getting a lot of cash at once. I don't know about BoA specifically, but it seems every withdrawal I make costs me about 5€ between my bank and the bank that owns the ATM...

To avoid cash withdrawal fees, you have to use an ATM belonging to global alliance. There are Deutsche Bank ATMs airside at FRA. In Florence, you have to use BNL d'Italia ATM. There are some in Florence.
http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/con...ldautomat.html

IF you use an ATM at the airport in Frankfurt which is owned/run by DeutscheBank then B of A will not charge a fee; in Italy it would be an ATM run by BNL (Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro).

All that info is listed on the B0fA website under "search for branches and ATM's"

>>>5€ between my bank and the bank that owns the ATM...<<<

The bank that owns the ATM will not charge, your home bank is the one that charges the fee. If you are being charged a few by an ATM, you are using an ATM owned by a business such as the kind you find inside a convenience store.

>>>I am planning on withdrawing couple hundred €€ at the ATM<<<

Some ATM's have limits such as 250€ (common in Italy). I always try to get the max allowed. I use an ATM card from my credit union and they charge 1% over the interbank rate. The annoying thing about my credit union is they have a max withdrawal of $400 per day so I can't get more euro than the equivalent if the ATM has higher allowances.

Thank you, everybody!
I did not even think of checking the BofA site!
Not that I don't google the heck out of everything, must be pre-travel brain overload :)

Thanks again!

Make sure you let your bank know when you'll be traveling so they don't think the card is stolen and put a hold on it.
Also, check your pin #. I found most of the ATM's in Italy require a 4 digit pin in numbers. There aren't letters on the keypad so if you normally spell it out you could have a problem.

To avoid fees as much as possible, check if your bank has any affiliates (as suggested above) and take out larger amounts at a time rather than frequent small amounts.
You can google for ATM's near your hotel.

Finally travel with 2 cards. I use 1 for cash wd's and the other for credit card purchases. I keep them separate so I won't lose them both if I'm pick pocketed or lose my purse/wallet.

Another option is to purchase a pre-paid visa card. Just load it with the amount you're taking for your trip. Record it online and if you did lose it, you can put a stop on it and not worry that someone had access to your credit or bank account.

As mentioned above, most ATMs seem geared for a FOUR rather than a six-digit PIN. There is a number on the back of your Debit/ATM card you can call if you have problems.

I just called BofA about my own travel to Italy which begins tomorrow; they'll make a notation in your record for you and ask you specifically what countries you plan to visit.

Most ATMs in Europe do not charge any fees for using your ATM card - only your bank or financial institution does.

Just another plug for credit unions - specifically, an Andrews Federal Credit Union ATM card and Visa card. They don't charge you any ATM fees or currency conversion rates. (Too late for you to get one, of course, Dukey1.) Andrews is located in Maryland but I believe almost anyone can join. I joined (live in Oregon) by signing up first to be a member (free) of the American Consumer Council (Andrews seems to encourage this). I also signed up for an Andrews Visa card (no currency conversion fees in Europe, includes a chip, better acceptance in Europe). I got both cards two weeks after I applied for them.

Even a regular credit union is likely to charge less than a regular bank for use of ATM cards. My primary credit union charges only 1% for currency conversion (Visa's fee) and no fee to use the ATMs otherwise.

Andrew, give it up...the OP has already LEFT town.