Bank of America use in Italy
 

I am travelling to Italy in a few weeks and I am trying to find out Bank of America's official position on using a Deutsche Bank atm in Italy. Will there be a fee because it is not in Germany, or is it exempt from fees because it is a member of the "Global Alliance". Has anyone had any personal experience with this, either in country or via discussions with Bank of America.

From what I remember of a conversation I had with the teller at the foreign-currency desk of the BOA main office in Charlotte, the Deutsche Bank thing only applies to Deutsche Banks in Germany.

Apply Magnasco's Law, though. Keep asking a different BOA employee until you get the answer you want, then document who you spoke to and when, for when BOA ends up giving you the shaft anyway.

I don't know about Deutsche bank in Italy, but I used their UK-based partner Barclays in Spain and Portugal and I paid no fees.

I'm not sure how much money or how many times you wil be withdrawing money from ATM's in Italy. We used our BofA card everywhere and was charged the customary $3 ("other" ATM Usage) fee for each time we made withdrawals. Given that we did this. probably 4 or 5 times during our 10 day stay, the total cost of $15 was negligible considering the convenience.

If you used BofA asociated banks, you should not have been charged anything. Barclays,BNP Parabis, Deutsche are all fee-free for BofA customers.

Jody is correct. Also, you may see some BNP Paribis in Italy as well. We never had an ATM charge from Bank of America in Italy as we were able to find the Global Alliance atms. Also, if you are an "Advantage" customer, I believe you have two free atm withdrawals per month from other banks. I believe this includes atms out of the U.S.

tdyls, since I hate Bank of America I love your comment, LOL!!

I used my BofA ATM card at an Deutsche Bank ATM in italy in March. I was not charged non BofA ATM fee. Of the two Deutsche Bank ATMs in the city, one was long term out of order and the other one worked only sometimes.

When I used the card at a Deutsche Bank in Spain, I got charged a $5 fee. After returning home, my BofA bank manager removed the charge after I reminded him about the so called Global Alliance.

I also used Deutsche banks in Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence) as well as in Barcelona. The $5. transaction fee for each was posted to my account, but I had it credited back when I spoke to my B of A branch manager. In many cases, it seems that you have to "remind" them of the Global Alliance. Persevere!

I recently used Deutshce Bank 4 times in Italy and when I checked I was charged the $5 ATM fee. After telling them about their own arrangement with Deutsche Bank they refunded the $20.

I hate BofA.

My strategy will be (based on the input from other fodorites, and much too much time trying to talk to BofA) is to use the ATM from my local bank in Italy. They charge no additional fee for foreign transactions. I will wait until I get to France to use my Bank of America card at PNB Paribus ATMs.

From what you folks say on this thread, I could get the BofA Italian charges removed, but I hate talking to those people so much that $5 seems a small price to pay to avoid dealing with them.

:-(

I use BOA but wish I did not, and soon will not. My BOA debit card expired shortly before I left for Europe. I realized that it had expired a few days before departure.

I went to a local BOA branch office and asked about a new one. I was told I had not ordered one. True, but I get new ATM cards and new credit cards without having to order them when expiration is imminent. So why was my debit card not automatically replaced?

When I asked if I could get a debit card on short order, the bank officer said yes, but first she would have to cancel my ATM card.

Care to know what I told BOA? (Nothing profane or vulgar.)

I now have an account at another bank, and hopefully soon I can be fully a Bank of America customer emeritus.