Ahmed

Several times I have used my MasterCard wich is both a Debit/ATM card for cash withdrawals here in Bahrain and in Europe without being considered as loan but the cash deducted from my account on same day. Though it bound the normal bank charges for currency exchange. A couple of years a go I have made the mistake to use my Visa Credit card as ATM which it did work but as noted above it was considered as a loan with very high interest rate. This summer I have used my new Euro Visa/ATM (Fairbairn Private Bank - Isle of Man) card in Germany without any charges except the exact Euro withdrawn. Some ATM mentioned there will be charges of about 2% for cash withdrawals but none shown on my card or bank statement. Maybe this is due to the card in same currency Euro. I think it is good policy to have credit/ATM card in Euro if one visit Europe on regular basis. At present I do use my Am Ex card it US $ , another AmEx blue card in BD (bahrain dinar), Master/ Visa/ATM cards in BD from HSBC and National Bank of Bahrain. Though next Wendesday will be going to South France for a couple of weeks where I will be using the Euro card for no exchange rate charges on credit card and cash withdrawals. But as noted above will take other cards as precuation if one (god forbids) got stolen ...or lost. I am not quite sure whether it is called saving for having different cards in different currencies, because most of the time one need to have surplus currencies parked in the bank with little interest. In UK and Switzerland but not yet Germany I use my Fairbairn credit card without signature but with a pin number. Probably in France too. To my knowledge in US same as in Bahrain with signature only. My understanding, using a pin number is saver than signature. Though if one get amnesia I am not sure if one can remember the pin number - I hope it will be many years to come in order I can find out !! Actually I do have a friend who is older than me with amnesia, to my understanding, since he has now difficulty to remember my mobile number to phone me. This is just a thought/comment felt to make. In a way Europe is now much easier in currency wise because of the Euro implementation.

janisj

Ahmed: Your visa logo Debit card is not a credit card as such. It is a <u>debit/ATM card</u> that can also be used wherever visa is accepted to make purchases - but since the money comes directly out of your bank acct you are not charging anything. It simply isn't a credit.

A true credit card treats cash advances differently and assess fees/interest from day 1 - no grace period.

NeoPatrick

The difference between a credit card and an ATM/debit card is easy.

If you get a bill each month which you must pay -- it is a credit card.

If your purchases or withdrawals automatically are taken out of your bank account as you make them, it is an ATM and/or debit card.

nanabee

yes, Neo, but you can also use your credit card (MC or Visa) to withdraw money from your bank's ATM machine.

Many people do this not realizing if they use their credit card in the ATM machine it is a loan (not a credit card purchase. This credit card loan is very expensive and the loan charges can be anywhere from 12-24%. The loan begins accuring immediately upon taking out the money from the ATM.

NeoPatrick

Yes, of course. I thought that had just been explained well, particularly by janice. NEVER use a credit card to take money out of an ATM. I just thought there seemed to be some confusion on what is a credit card and what is a debit card, so I was trying to make it simple to know which is which.

CarolA

&quot;Bank of American does not charge any fees to take money out of the ATM machine if you use their partner banks (Barclays in England, BNP in France, etc). Their conversion fees are very competitive with other banks.&quot;&quot;

However, should you desire to leave one of the BOA &quot;approved&quot; countries you will pay thru HORRID fees.

I took a group of kids to Europe and they used the AAA Visa Travelcard just fine. Yes, it has higher fees but considering that these kids generally did not have bank accounts with ATM cards this was a good system and allowed thier parents access to &quot;add cash&quot; (some parents, who had a good understanding of thie kids, partialled out the cash so the kids wouldn't be broke by the last city LOL!)

NeoPatrick

&quot;However, should you desire to leave one of the BOA &quot;approved&quot; countries you will pay thru HORRID fees.&quot;

Frankly I don't consider $5 a horrid fee when withdrawing something like $500. That is 1 %. BofA charges $5 per withdrawal from non affiliated banks. Period. Maybe not the best, but I wouldn't call it &quot;HORRID&quot;.

It's ironic that CarolA would call a $5 fee HORRID, then tout the benefits of a VISA travel card which would charge $35 for that same $500 withdrawal.

But yes, I do get the point that those prepaid cards might be OK for parents sending kids off to Europe -- all the fees might be worth it to them.

blithespirit

FYI - Travelex will ship (in 2-days)your currency order for free if you exchange a minimum of $750 (otherwise for a smaller amount there is a $8 fee as GailK mentioned). BUT also know that you only receive $700 worth of &euro;uros -- Free delivery notwithstanding, Travelex pockets the rest.

I've used my debit card at overseas ATM machines in Europe, China, and Egypt and have never had any trouble as long as the symbols (Cirrus, Star, Plus, etc) on the ATM match ones on the back of my card, as mentioned by Ira.

[In Germany, perhaps elsewhere, the card can also be used as a sort of keycard to gain entry into seemingly closed foyers for late night withdrawals.]