ATMs and Limits at FCO

Old Jan 9th, 2006, 05:57 PM
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ATMs and Limits at FCO

I need to pay my apartment rental in cash when I arrive in Rome. I'm sure I saw ATM's at FCO , but what is the limit for a one-time (or multiple on the same day) withdrawals? Can I get 1500 euro out of an ATM or will I need to go to a bank? (And the exchange rate for this amount of euros WILL be better in Italy, right?)
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Old Jan 9th, 2006, 06:02 PM
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I doubt it. Most ATM cards have a daily limit. Mine is $500 per day and my wife's is $500 per day -- same checking account, different card numbers.

You could use your credit card to withdraw funds as a cash advance and pay it off when you return to the States. Probably would cost less in interest than exchanging $$ for Euros at a bank because you'll get a lousy exchange rate plus pay a fee.

If you get the Euros prior to leaving the States, you will get a lousy exchange rate, and it will cost you dearly.

Can you pay 1/2 one day, and the remainder the next day, using your ATM cards? That would probably be the best bet.
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Old Jan 9th, 2006, 06:28 PM
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And if you use a credit card for the cash advance, make sure to use one that has NO balance on it, and that you will pay off immediately upon returning home. They can kill with interest on cash advances, but the rate will be better than exchanging dollars for Euros in the US.

You can get all the info you need for this by calling your credit card company.
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Old Jan 9th, 2006, 06:56 PM
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Postal, if you have someone at home that could immediately write a check for the cash amount you withdrew on your credit card in Rome that should cut down on the interest you would pay.

I have my daughter on my checking account for example, so she could do that.

Also...someone? If Postal paid the equilivent of 1500 euro to her creditcard company in advance so that it showed as a "Credit", would there be interest charged when Postal withdraws this money from the ATM in Rome? Budman??? Just a thought...
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Old Jan 9th, 2006, 09:47 PM
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Hi I had this problem too. Besides the issue of withdrawing such a large amount at an ATM I was also concerned about carrying so much money with me so I contacted the hotel/apartment we were staying at and explained my concerns. They very kindly acknowledged them and sent an email back saying that they would accept me paying by credit card on arrival which of course I was happy with. Maybe you could do this as well!
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Old Jan 9th, 2006, 10:07 PM
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Budman, just wanted to clarify something. Are you saying that you and your wife can *each* take $500 per day from your account? My husband and I also have the same account, different card number situation. Didn't occur to me that we might both be able to withdraw the limit. That could turn out to be very useful information!
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Old Jan 9th, 2006, 10:33 PM
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I also doubt you can withdraw that much at one time or in a day from one account.

I would have mentioned about overpaying cc and withdraw to eliminate interest (but not fee), but cc companies have a habit of preventing this by immediately sending me back excess balance by check.

I have used online bill payments and trasfer to pre schedule all transfers before the trip and money moved to the correct places at correct time during my trip.

When I have to get a lot of cash like this in one day, I use multiple ATM cards from multiple accounts.
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 03:54 AM
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CAPH52, yes, prior to my trip to Hawaii where I had to pay cash for my B&B, I inquired with my bank to increase my daily limit. That's what they told me.

I've never needed to exercise that option, but it was nice to know that I had it.

LoveItaly, I've never paid my credit card in advance, so one would have to check with his/her credit card company to see if that was a viable option.

If one doesn't carry a balance on the credit card, the cash advance option shouldn't really be a problem and would be a lot cheaper than getting Euro before one leaves the States, or converting $$$ at an exchange kiosk where the rate & fees would be lousy.

For example, my M/C has 6% interest & 9% cash advance. If I withdrew $1500 and pay it back within the first month, the interest charge would be less that $15.

It's a little simplistic, and terms and rates and fees for each individual credit card will vary. Depending upon individual cases, cash advance may not necessarily be a bad thing.

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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 05:08 AM
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I'm sure it varies bank to bank, but I have paid my credit card account in advance before charges on a trip and never had a problem.
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 05:10 AM
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I had the same problem when I went to Paris recently. I called my bank before I left and requested that they temporarily raise my daily withdrawal limit from $500 to $1500 for the length of my trip. When I got to CDG I was able to withdraw 800E without any problem. You might want to discuss this with your bank.

When I went to Italy I ordered Euros in advance from BB&T (http://www.bbandt.com/personal/produ...t/default.html). It was fast and easy, but more expensive than using an ATM.

Another option may be using PayPal to transfer the money to the apartment owner, but they may not be willing to do this and it is also more expensive than an ATM.
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 05:34 AM
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Hi P,

The daily limit on withdrawls is set by your bank, not the ATM.

Ask them to raise your daily limit.

Also, as noted, if you and your wife have different cards, you may each withdraw the daily limit.

You can also have more than one account from which you can each withdraw the daily limit.

So, 2 accounts, 4 cards, daily limit $500 per card = $2000.

You can also arrange for your Amex card to be an ATM card connceted to your checking account.

This does not mean that a given ATM will give you 1500E at one time. Many of them are set to give out 250-300E per transaction, so you might have to run your cards through 5-6 times.

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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 06:12 AM
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"I also doubt you can withdraw that much at one time or in a day from one account."

You can withdraw as much as you want (w/i reason) from your account. As Budman says, ask your bank to raise your daily limit temporarily. I do it before every overseas trip. Each machine will have a limit so you'll have do several transacions.

€1500 is approx $1800 - so a $1000 daily limit (and if you are traveling w/ a spouse on the same account) would be more than enough.
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 06:23 AM
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I'm in the same boat. We need to pay 1500 Euros when we arrive in Rome, the owner only accepts cash.
We were planning on taking the amount in Travellers Checks, then cashing those at a bank to then pay the owner.
Is this not a good idea?
We also just found out that there is a 3% transaction fee on our Visa (which was not the case on our last trip to Europe 2 years ago).
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 06:55 AM
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I have to pay my balance due for apartment rental in cash on arrival, too. I plan to just get euros from my bank and have the cash in hand on arrival, rather than have to deal with finding an ATM when I get there.

Just another option.
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 07:00 AM
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Angie, Travelers checks may involve various fees or less favorable rate of exchange and definitely a trip to the bank... is why an ATM is the preferred method for many people. There's nothing wrong with your plan but it may cost you a bit more overall.
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Old May 25th, 2006, 01:29 AM
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I'm facing this problem for a trip to Paris in July, where the apt. owner wants a deposit about equal to the rent.

I'm in Italy now and have withdrawn 300 euro so far (BTW, got a great rate at the HSBC ATMs at CDG, just a few tenths of a cent over the rate published for the date on x-rates.com while a Deutsche Bank ATM in Florence appears to charge a cent or two above the wholesale rate).

In Rome, I noticed I got a better rate at one bank's ATM than another. I think the latter was a Sicily-based bank. So I'm wondering if some international banks are better than others about padding over the wholesale rate.

I wondered about whether PayPal would be comparable to ATM/credit card exchange rates. Sounds like they pad a lot more.

Some apt. owners work with a rental service which appears to do some credit card fulfillment. Probably, the owners pass whatever fees these services impose on them.

As popular as vacation apt. rentals are in Europe, you would think there would be a more convenient setup than wiring a deposit and paying cash for deposit and rent. Some owners might be willing to hold USD for the deposit.

Oh well, if I end up with several hundred euro for deposit, I can save it for the next trip.
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Old May 25th, 2006, 05:21 AM
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"Some owners might be willing to hold USD for the deposit."

Many owners already do accept US$. Ther are as many different methods as owners - some hold a US$ check and return it uncashed. Some hold a check and exchange it for €. Some use Pay Pal. Some, credit cards, and so on.

I am a bit confused about your ATM rate comparison. W/ the Italian ATMs you are only dealing w/ € - no "exchange" rate is involved. The exchange to $ doesn't come into effect until your transaction hits the US bank/ATM system.
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Old May 25th, 2006, 11:52 AM
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It just seemed like different ATMs in Rome had different deviations from the published rate for that day.

Today, I withdrew 50 euro each from Deutsche Bank ATM and the Post Office ATM in Florence. It works out to 1.2802 compared to the published rate of 1.2747 on 5/24 (I withdrew once around 8 AM GMT and once around noon GMT). The rate for 5/25 is 1.2777.

But given that the currency was still trading when these withdrawls were made, it's probably based on the 1.2747 rate.

It also seems HSBC at CDG is closer to the published rates. Will try this Saturday (if I have time between really tight connections) and see what it looks like.
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Old May 25th, 2006, 01:48 PM
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OK -maybe I'm dense. But the european ATMs aren't giving you any rate. They are just giving you €. You are requesting € and receiving € - w/o an exchange calculation.

It is the US-based Bank that has to calculate how many $ it is. Or am I missing something????
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Old May 25th, 2006, 02:26 PM
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bookmarking for later , thank you
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