Donna301

Has anyone had any experience with using ATM's in Ireland? My VISA card is part of the PLUS network and I hope to be able to use it to get cash at ATM's. We had no problem in England and Scotland two years ago, but used a different card (a bank debit card) which was part of the CIRRUS network. Any advice?

sandy_b

We went to Ireland about 3 years ago and had no problems finding or using ATMs . . . they were everywhere and all that I saw had many signs on them (Plus, Pulse, Cirrus, Visa, MC, etc.).

Good luck, you'll love Ireland!
Sandy

Donna301

Thanks! I am sure we will have a wonderful time! It's just the question of cash that's a little worrisome! I called Capital One (my visa card) and they said that their card does not work in Europe, which I found really strange. I think the rep I spoke to was wrong, though. My understanding of the networks is that if your card has a symbol that matches the ATM, you can use it. At least that's the way it worked in the UK.

flanneruk

Capital One advertise their Visa card on British TV incessantly. And Britain is in Europe,even though we often wish it weren't.
Believe me, it works here. But it's a near-universal rule of life that American customer-service reps know diddly squat about how their product operates in the rest of the planet.

Donna301

I am sure if I called back and spoke to another customer "service" rep that I would get a completely different response. That's why I rely more on experiences by real travellers for my information.

emjoy

I'm sure this has been stated before, but just make sure you aren't using letters for codes for ATM or phone numbers because the phones and ATM number pads are just that-numbers no letters, and it's difficult to try to figure out 'OK, #1 would be what ? A,B,C?...' and so on while you're trying to use the machines. I've also heard that people who use a 5 digit pin would not be able to use it-it must be a 4 diigt pin number for UK-Ireland may be the same way.

Debbie

Was just there in April.
My one of my Debit-card/ATM's is a pulse card / Cirrus card ,
and the other one is a Pulse / PLUS card.
I had no problems with either one for getting money.
All of the 'banklink's as they call TYME machines there - have the accepted symbols posted on them, just like here.

Warning though, if you are using a VISA CREDIT card for cash advances, you will get nailed in fees. You are better off using a Debit card or ATM card.

Donna301

Thanks for all the good info.
When I spoke to Visa/Capital One this morning they did tell me there would be the usual ATM fee (varies) plus a 1% service charge on my statement. I will certainly try my debit card first since there is no service charge. That one is a PULSE/CIRRUS card.

Looking forward to this trip!

Sher

Donna. You probalby would not want to use your Capital One card for cash withdrawals as that would be considered a cash advance, I believe.
A debit/visa card would be a better choice for cash advance. The Capital One card would be good for purchases as they haven't a hidden transaction fee for foreign purchases.

Alec

Just a small point about Irish ATMs which may be of interest. Whenever I withdrew a round figure like 100 euro, I got two 50 euro notes. OK, but not very convenient if you want to pay for one euro ice cream with it. So try getting some other amount, like 80 or 90 euro, and if the machine accepts it you'll get a nice range of notes. In UK, by contrast, you will never get 50 pound notes, only 10 and 20 pounds from ATMs.

Sher

Thanks Alec. That is good to know.

NEDSIRELAND

Don't expect to find an ATM in a small village. In Ballina, one of Mayo's most populous cities, I had a hard time finding an ATM.
So, get your Euros at an airport ATM or In a city like Dublin, Limerick, Ennis or Galway before heading off to the countryside. ALSO: Some B&B's don't take credit cards, just Cash.

Donna301

Thanks for the tips, everyone!

Debbie

I just got my bank statement with my ATM withdrawals.
I got hit with a $3.50 charge for using terminals outside the PULSE network. - per withdrawal ( this would have happened here in the states too, it is not a 'Europe' thing)

Double check your fees for your debit card. Make sure what is considered 'in-network' and out of network.

I was sure that since my card also sported the CIRRUS logo, I would be fine - and it did work fine, but my bank still charged the Out of network charge.

Oh, Well , Lesson Learned.

Donna301

Oh, thanks for the heads up on that, Debbie. I will check it out when I go to the bank the next time, or maybe I have it in our account literature at home. I guess it does make sense, though. Really, when you think about it, the convenience of having a debit/ATM card that you can use globally is worth the fee (at least to me). Not having to take travellers checks or lots of cash, convert money at an exchange, etc. is a real time saver. I'll just try to make those ATM withdrawals less frequent!

Debbie

I agree. In 2 weeks I only made 4 withdrawals ( we put anything we could on a charge card, so cash was just for incidentals, and entry fees to castles, etc).
Worth the fee.
The bank I use has very reasonable rules for ATM use here at home, which is why I switched to them, I just forgot to check the 'out of network fee'.