Credit & ATM cards in Spain
 

All of my current credit cards have BLOCKED ATM usage in Spain because of fraud. Does anyone know if any of these 3 cards are welcome in Spain? Wells Fargo, Citi Bank & Bank of America. Or does anyone have any suggestions of a European card (available to Americans) that might be honored in Spain?
BS

Does it absolutely HAVE to be a credit card? Could you get a cash/debit card from your bank that would work and use it only for ATM cash out?

Right now the main issue is ATM's. My banks will honor credit card purchases.
BS

It's been years since I've tried to use my "credit card" in an ATM machine. I normally just use my ATM debit card.

Maybe the "credit cards" do not have a PIN associated. You have to ask for a PIN to be associated with a "credit card."

Using your credit card in an ATM machine is the equivolent of taking a cash advance. Interest begins the day of withdrawal.

If you are still intent on using your credit card, and it won't work in an ATM machine, go into a bank and get the cash advance using the credit card. It's the same thing, but maybe the bank may charge you some sort of fee for their service. ((b))

If right now "the issue is ATMs" then again I suggest you GET a debit card from your bank and only use it for ATMs.

You KEEP focusing on credit cards as if that is the ONLY option for getting cash out of an ATM and that just isn't true.

Ooops..sorry..I suppose you would need to get a cash advance if you didn't have enough money in the checking account to COVER a cash removal.

Is that what the issue is about?

Actually I am willing to set-up a new checking and or savings account with whichever bank would honor credit cards, ATM cards or Debit cards in Spain whether the be US or European. My current bank has blocked all ATM and Debit card use in Spain. I am now investigating Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Wachovia.
BS
BS

Just get an ATM card from your bank. Use the CCs for purchases, e.g., sleeps, eats, and travel. Bring a few hundred dollars as a reserve.

I suggest you do NOT use a credit card for ATM transactions. The surcharges for cash advances are very high. Get a B of A debit card (make sure it has Interlink, Plus and Star connections). I used a B of A debit card for ATM transactions in Spain just this last May with no problems. If you find a Barclay's or Deutsche Bank there, you will have NO FEES! Good luck - Spain was marvelous!

My experience was very different from the previous post.

On a recent trip to Spain I had endless problems with my Bank of America debit card--even after notifying "security" of my pending trip. The problem is that BA has no correspondent bank in Spain and, as a result, you incur $5 or more fees in addition to transaction fees each time you withdraw cash.

My BA Visa card also incured loads of "transaction fees" that American Express did not charge. Unfortunately, there are many restaurants and businesses in Spain that do not accept the American Express card.

We went to Spain last October. I used my ATM card to get cash several times (never to purchase anything) and I was banking with Wells Fargo at the time. My B/F used his ATM card to get cash several times as well, and he banks with B of A. Neither of us had any problems. We never used the ATM cards to purchase anything, just to get cash from an ATM machine. I had tried calling my bank before going to Spain, but they said there was no need to do so. I did need to change my PIN to a 4 digit number, however, before leaving.

Hope this helps...

Thanks again everyone. You've been very helpful.
BS

Bob,
When you get back I hope you tell us all how this shakes out, to contribute to the knowledge base on Fodor's.

Hi Bob,

It's my understanding that your bank has currently blocked their customers use of ALL ATM (and credit card) activity in Spain?

I'm curious because I have a WAMU gold Mastercard (only has the STAR logo on the back of the card) and have heard the same thing happening to two of my friends while they were in Barcelona and Madrid. A couple of questions please ....... What part of Spain are you visiting, and most importantly, what bank is giving you this headache?


Thank you.

Hi Overthetop and Hopscotch.
My bank ( a state of Virginia bank ) is not blocking credit cards just ATM's and Debit cards in Spain. I've checked with BofA, Wells Fargo and Wachovia and they have no problems. I'm now just searching for the best terms but believe that they will all be the same. Of course AX travelers checks can be cashed at AX locations without any service fee's. The only problem might be where I'm traveling. I plan to spend a few days in the NE coast and maybe travel cross country to the NW coast. Or just stay on the east coast. My interests other than local culture is staying away from big cities, lighthouses and wildlife. On my last trip (Galicia) my wife and I stayed in hostels and were quite satisfied. In fact our only dissappoint was staying in a 3 star hotel in a city. I'll certainly document my trip and post on this site. Thanks again for the help.
BS

Good luck Bob and please let us know how everything turns out!

We have been using two ATM cards from two credit unions - in FL & OR - for the past 10 yrs. They are issued through VISA and can be used like a "credit card" as well (but the amt. is deducted rapidly, like an ATM withdrawal). We have started using them almost exclusively in Europe (for charges and cash both) because our BAC VISA and AmEx were upping the exchange fees for charges by leaps every year. We always call before we go out of the country.

Last month in Greece we were unable to make ATM withdrawals on one of the cards. My husband sent a text message to our daughter and she got the e-mail address for the branch manager. Even the manager didn't know this policy change had taken place. She e-mailed back that we could use it as a credit card. A day later she e-mailed that she had taken care of it with VISA and that we would be able to withdraw money in the town we had orignally had the problem. Of course, we were long gone. When we got home, she told us she had "fixed" it and we would have been able to use it anywhere in Greece, but that was not clear in her e-mail. She also claims that if we e-mail her directly for future trips that she will arrange it.

But how can we trust it? And how can we trust that the other one will work next time? In fact, we're leaving for Nova Scotia in about a week and the first posts I read about ATM blocks were Canada and Russia - and no advance warning to the customer. Apparently this is happening more and more. Traveler's checks are very difficult to use. I hate carrying cash but after reading about numerous ATM problems, we did have about $1000 plus 700 Euros from a previous trip. Since the other card worked, we didn't have to use the dollars, but that was the account with the least amount of money. We don't actually use any banks, just three credit unions and a brokerage account (and we don't want to take the ATM for the brokerage account since there's too much money if somebody did access it illegally). If we open an account with an actual bank that assures us we can use the ATM in foreign countries, who knows how long the card would work or if it would work in the next country we decide to visit?

Since we're doing a lot of traveling now, we're trying to stay in hotels around 100 Euros when we can. And we eat in moderately-priced restaurants. In Greece, at least, they're very reluctant to take credit cards for meals under 50 Euros and some of the hotels prefer cash as well. So I'm thankful that many budget hotels in Europe provide a room safe, even if they don't have a hair dryer. (And hoping that I won't be posting somewhere down the road about being mugged/robbed.) Every time this comes up, people post that they haven't had any problems. But it appears that it can happen to anyone at any time these days, and without warning. At least you were able to find out in advance. But the card you get to use for this trip may not work on the next. We'll be taking contact info for actual, living humans when we travel for every card we carry in the future.

Technology giveth and technology taketh away, it seems. And I'm very frustrated.

Just back from a three month stay in Spain. It was great. However, be warned that although we advised our local bank, North Fork Bank (recently acquired by Capitol One), of our intentions of withdrawing from our account with our ATM card and were assured there would be no problem, we were consisently denied access to our funds. After about 10 days of daily calls to customer service, we were able to transfer funds to WaMu and use that ATM card. I suggest having more than one source of USA funds.

be careful with the terminology.

1. Some banks diferentiate between ATM card & debit card.(Citi does)ATMS for that bank only. Debit cards for other sites and for purchases.

2. And some debit cards have a credit option, in addition to the debit feature. Debit is better.

3. True credit cards usually do not have a real debit feature as far as I know. I may be wrong, byt credit cards usually have a cash advance feature, on which you pay interest.

In any case ask these banks to explain these things in detail and examine the terms of use & fees.

We spent two months in Spain this year and no trouble withdrawing cash. Both of us have Wachovia debit cards which we use to make cash withdrawals. We used them with no trouble at all to withdraw usually 500 euros. There is a charge of 1% to do this and it will appear on your bank statement. I notified the bank in person prior to leaving and had them raise the maximum daily withdrawal amount.
We also carried VISA and MASTERCHARGE credit cards which we also used for restaurants and purchases. Again, we notified both VISA and MC before leaving. And, yes, there were fees for foreign transactions. We never use the latter for cash advances because of the high interest charges.
As an alternative, a friend of ours used a AAA cash card. Apparently you buy these cards at AAA by paying a cash advance. For example $3,000. You are then able to withdraw any amount up to the $3,000 or use it as a debit card for purchases. The only caveat is that I believe the exchange rate is not wonderful and there is still a charge for transactions.
Personally, I would stick to a bank debit card and one or two credit cards. Another thing...many stores will not just accept your VISA without ID. This forces you to carry a passport or, as I do, a copy.