Double charging at ATM's
 

Does anyone have the names of banks in US and/or in Italy which have the LEAST double charging when I get money from an ATM? Also is a CREDIT card better for that or a DEBIT card?

Am not sure what you mean by "double charging" so perhaps if you could explain this to us...

I have no idea what double charging is, please clarify.

Regarding your other question, if you are asking about using a credit card to get cash from an ATM, of course that's not better than using a debit card. Credit cards charge huge fees for cash advances, so this should only be done in an emergency.

The bank ATM's in Europe do not charge you any fees for using them. Any fees or "double fees" will be charged by your U.S. banking facility. I would check with your bank (debit) and credit card company to find out exactly what fees they charge. ((b))

There is an article on this subject in the New York Times Travel section from yesterday, 19 February. You can access it on their website: www.nytimes.com.

Do NOT borrow your money from a credit card - since you will pay interest on it from the moment you get it. Use your ATM card to pull if from your checking (savings won;t work) account and your charges should be minimal.

ATMs in europe don;t charge fees. And your bank should not charge you for it either (if it does - get a different bank). The only fees incurred should be that for exchanging one currency to another - which runs from 1 to 3% depending on the bank/card. (This is much less than the 7/8% at least you will pay for exchanging either cash or travelers checks.)

<There is an article on this subject in the New York Times Travel section from yesterday, 19 February. You can access it on their website: www.nytimes.com.>

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/19/tr...mp;oref=slogin

Most US banks charge a fee to get cash from another bank's ATM, unless they are part of a group that has an agreement not to charge each other's customers. In the US, most banks will charge customers of another bank to use their ATM, but not their own customers. This makes sense to me, although most will disagree. If I am using another bank's machine, (i.e., I am not thier customer), I expect to pay a small fee for the service. Of course, if my own bank charged me to use their own machines, I'd change banks immediately!

Some banks without a wide network agree to refund any fees you are charged by another bank to use their ATMs (USAA comes to mind). Others are part of worldwide groups that don't charge if you are using an ATM owned by anyone in that group (think BOA). However, my bank (which is also my employer, at least for the next two weeks!) is a regional bank, with ATMs around the area I usually travel. When I travel out of the area and don't have enough cash, they will charge me $1.50 to use another ATM. They incur charges to settle with the other bank, and banks ARE in the business of making money! I choose to stick with a local bank for the low prices and conveniene for the features I use the most, and the few times a year I might need to withdraw from somewhere else, I don't mind the fee. My answer might be different if I routinely incurred these fees, but I really only have the issue in Europe, and so it costs me an extra $10 over the course of the trip...worth it to me!

Anne

If by "double-charging" you mean a buck or so per ATM transaction to cover some out-of-network bank fees, then - to me - that's not even worth belly-aching over. Unless you have a habit of taking out small amounts of cash all-too-often, then - as the previous poster says - the few times you use a machine can hardly add up to more than a burger with fries in expensive old England, or two hot chocolates with real cream in, say, Venice.

And if that's still cause for worry, switch your accounts to a bank that doesn't charge or - like in the case of Compass - reimburses you when you bring in your transaction stubs.

WK

whoa I'm glad I saw this trhead. After reading it I called my bank and found out the crazy high fees charged by my bank...it seems like most banks do so when traveling to Europe. I have Chase bank, and now I'm wondering what I should do. Any advice?

AyQuehago'

Ask your local credit union if it charges for foreign transactions both on the ATM and the Credit Card. If it does not, open a travel account with them.

Sorry - I have Citibank - and they for one - don;t charge you for using anyone else's ATM (although the other bank has a charge - if you have a Citibank debit card and take money from Chase, you're charged by Chase - not by Citibank) or the owner of the ATM (if it's a store-based machine).

Don;t see why anyone would stay with a bank that chargd them to access their own money - wherever it is.

We used a Visa ATM card through Chase/BankOne while in Italy in Sept/Oct. They charged us $1.50 per transaction at an ATM.

The 2/19/06 NY Times article cited above states:

"Not only does Capital One not charge an additional foreign exchange fee, but it also does not even pass along the 1 percent currency conversion charge that Visa and MasterCard charge for all purchases made abroad."

I was just about to apply online for a VISA card, when I called Capital One at 1-800-955-7070. The customer service representative told me that for foreign purchases, the cardholder is charged 1 percent by VISA, but that Capital One does not charge any additonal fee. This seems to conflict with the NY Times article.

My Questions: Is it still worth going with Capital One? Is there a bank that adds zero percent to foreign purchases?

Woody

ttt

Woody

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, but there is such a thing as an overpriced one. If you've found a bank that charges a reasonable price for lunch (e.g., 1 per cent passed along from VISA) as opposed to the hordes out there that stick on 2 per cent solely for the service of printing out your statement - then give that bank your business.

While it is true that bank ATMs in Europe don't charge withdrawal fees, there are an increasing number (in the UK anyway) of privately operated ATMs that do. These are usually located at petrol stations, convenience shops, etc, but be careful which ones you use if you don't want to be hit by an extra charge.

But the ones that do charge will tell you they are charging before you make the withdrawal.

For purchases, Capital One seems to have the lowest foreign exchange fees...I can tell you from recent experience my Capital One charges were almost always at the exact interbank rate listed on oanda.....USAA charges were 1% higher...my MBNA card at present also only adds 1% to the interbank rate but MBNA is in the process of merging with Bank America we know how anti customer Bank of America is...Chase, Citibank are crooks and add 2% on top of the 1% and never once have explained what the 2% is for as they have nothing to do with the foreign exchange conversion and hence have no foreign currency fluctuations to worry about which is supposedly the 1% basis of visa/mc.

Hi Woody,

>Is there a bank that adds zero percent to foreign purchases?<

If you mean absolutely no charge at all for foreign currency conversion, I haven't heard of one yet.

The best deal is the 1% Visa or MC charge and no other fees.

((I))

Ira..

Capital One does not add an additional 1% to the posted interbank rate...in another thread somebody who's wife works for visa indicated that rate already has the 1% so it might seem a matter of semantics.

What I have found in general in the last little while that my charges with Capital One clear at essentially the same rate listed as the interbank rate on xe.com or the paper, charges made with my USAA or MBNA cards clear at 1% above the interbank rate, and since I will not fall prey to the near criminal activities of adding an additional 2% to the 1%, in other words 3% to interbank, I know not what really happens with Citibank, Chase and Bank of America but I assume they are not liars and do add 3% to interbank rates.

Many credit unions don't have charges either. My daughter is in Spain for 5 months and is using her credit union ATM and her credit union issued Visa. We can look at the history on oanda.com and see that she is getting the rate listed for the date she charged or withdrew money.

The European Central Bank http://www.ecb.int don't know nuttin' 'bout no 1% ISA charged by Visa.

The ECB's Reference Rates are constantly within a few thousandths of Visa's posted rates. Today, they are 1.1914 and 1.19, respectively.

I live in Mexico and use my USAA ATM (15 free out of service w/d's a month if needed) for cash and USAA V and MC which charge the 1% V/MC fee which is clearly posted on the account statements. I get a variable CC rebate of 0.5-1.5% depending on the total purchases.
M

These threads are often confusing because it's unclear when people are talking about credit cards from a particular bank and when they are talking about ATM/debit cards from a particular bank. I think (though am not sure) that most of these posts are about credit cards. Here is my non-credit card inquiry, which may or may not be the OP's question:

When I went to Paris less month, everytime I used my ATM card to withdraw cash from my Chase banking account, I was charged a $3 international withdrawal fee, plus 3.5 percent of the withdrawal as a currency conversion fee, and I may also have been charged the standard $1 for out-of-network ATM fee (my statement is less clear about that). This strikes me as ridiculous--I would have been better off using my Citibank credit card with the 3 percent surcharge. Do others know whether Chase is unique in these offensive ATM charges, or do many/most U.S. banks do the same? Because I am inclined to look elsewhere.

I meant to say when I went to Paris LAST month.

And I also don't mean I would have been better off using my Citibank credit card to withdraw cash--I understand the interest rates are incredible. I mean I would have been better off relying on credit cards instead of cash given these ATM fees. All right, I'm done belatedly editing my post now.

"These threads are often confusing because it's unclear when people are talking about credit cards from a particular bank and when they are talking about ATM/debit cards from a particular bank"

It's simple, you are a fool if you use a Credit Card to get cash except in the direst of emergencies

emnyc -- yes that Chase fee structure is way out of line with most others. Most banks charge a per transaction fee of several dollars, but that additional 3.5% is really excessive.

Some people find it worthwhile to find a bank that charges nothing. For me, it would be as much trouble to change banks as to pay $8-12 a year for a few out of network transactions, but if I were in your shoes, I'd definitely change banks.

Here are a few paragraphs from that NY Times Article:
Many banks, including large ones like MBNA, now charge an additional 2 percent for foreign transactions on top of the 1 percent charge by Visa or MasterCard. Capital One, however, is traveler-friendly. Not only does Capital One not charge an additional foreign exchange fee, but it also does not even pass along the 1 percent currency conversion charge that Visa and MasterCard charge for all purchases made abroad.

Most travelers don't live by credit cards alone, so when it comes time for getting currency from an A.T.M., make sure you reach for the right piece of plastic. "If you need cash, use a debit card to get money from an A.T.M. instead of a credit card, since the fees are generally much lower," Ms. Openshaw said. "The biggest mistake I see is travelers taking cash from their credit cards, since you get hit with the A.T.M. fee, a cash advance fee and the currency exchange fee. A $1,000 withdrawal from a credit card account can easily end up costing another $50 to $100 if you're not careful."

Using a debit card to withdraw money from one of your bank accounts will typically incur only a currency exchange fee and perhaps an A.T.M. fee. But you should check if your bank has partnerships with foreign banks or A.T.M. networks that will reduce the cost of withdrawals and eliminate additional fees.


NB: Amex charges a 2% rate. Citibank has reciprocity agreements in many countries for their debit cards, so there will be no "foreign" ATM fee. You can check on their website. As another example, North Fork bank charges $1.75 to use a foreign ATM with your debit card. They have no reciprocity agreements. DO NOT GET CASH with a credit card. This cannot be overstated.