adeben

In thirty years of travelling to Europe from Australia, I have always taken a VISA card and have never experienced any problem at any ATM with the VISA logo in any country in Europe....and most European ATMs seem to have a VISA logo on them.

kenderina

I'm not very knowledgeable in banking and I don't understand what an ATM only card is. I mean, the only cards I've seen here in Spain for ATM's are also debit cards. Would you like to tell me ?

surfmom

We use American Express Centurion Bank and their ATM cards do not work in Europe - that is how they are 'programmed' even though they have the Cirrus/Plus symbol on the back.

For that reason, I opened an account at a local bank, put plenty of cash in it and used that as my source of cash (via ATMs). I confirmed before I went that it was worldwide usage.

That is the primary account for cash and we use another credit card for charging things.

Another method:
- take a cash advance on a credit card. KEEP READING BEFORE YOU FLAME ME.
- when I lived in Europe in college, my credit card was from a local bank and could be paid at the teller's window. When I needed money, I would call my parents and they would transfer money from my checking account to my credit card creating a positive or debit balance. I would then go to a teller's window at a bank in Europe and take a cash advance in approx the same amount (this was before the age of widespread ATM's). (Also to do this, I put them on my account so they were authorized to do this). At that time, there were no
'per unit' transactions fees to take a cash advance, only the daily interest charged against it. If you have a debit balance, you can't be charged a daily interest when you are only taking out the cash you've prepaid.

How use this method now if no local credit card? Use one credit card for cash and plan on it - make a payment in advance and while in Europe take cash advances against that. Obviously, I would confirm with the credit card that
1) they will accept a payment as such
2) no additional fees for credit cards

If you know the rules, you CAN make them work to your advantage....

WestonTraveler

I had an experience similar to Neopolitan's. In Israel, I found it very difficult to find ATM machines that accepted "ATM-only" cards. However, they all accepted the Visa debit card!

grsing

The only problems I've had with an ATM card were with an ATM-only, and the check card/ATM card I have now has worked pretty much everywhere (some ATMs will randomly not take it, but there's always more than one, and I don't think I've ever tried more than 4 in a row with them not working, and that was extraordinary), so there might be something to that.

AnthonyGA

Worldwide ATM networks are fiendishly complex and sometimes it's a wonder that they work at all. Always check with your bank to make sure that your cards will work in the specific country or countries that you plan to visit. And make sure your bank knows what it is talking about, as many bank employees have no clue about international banking and ATMs.

However, if you think plastic is awkward to use, you'll throw yourself off a bridge if you try to use travellers' cheques, at least in France. They are hardly accepted at all, and if they are, it's with a significant discount on their face value. You can cash them at the institution that issued them (there's an Amex office next to the Opéra Garnier in Paris), and at a few other places, and that's it. This has been the situation for many years, so I don't know why people still buy them. They are about as useful as letters of credit.

For France, bring plastic (several different cards, not just one, just in case), and a bit of cash. There are ATMs everywhere, so cash is always handy if you have a card. Use the card itself for large purposes. Everyone takes Visa, and almost everyone takes MasterCard. Many places that serve tourists also take Amex and other cards.

Ackislander

Surfmom's system worked really well for me in the past because I pay off my credit card balance every month. It is worth explaining in more detail.

You take two credit cards: one you will use for all your charges (hotel, restos, Carte Orange, etc) and one you will use for cash only. Before you leave home, prepay the amount of cash you would expect to need abroad to the cash only/zero balance card -- plus a bit for safety. All your cash transactions are subtracted from your positive balance. They do not involve credit and you will not incur any interest charges until you have gone over the cash balance -- so avoid it!

Neopolitan

surfmom, I won't speak for all credit cards, but I KNOW that with Citibank, and I strongly suspect with many others, if you take a cash advance under any circumstances you WILL PAY cash advance fees including interest from the day of withdrawal. Why is that? Because a cash advance is a cash advance, regardless if you have prepaid $5000 into your account. With purchases, the place you make the purchase from have to pay a percentage of the sale to the credit card company. That's a major source of revenue for the credit card company. With cash advances there is no such revenue coming in. When a bank makes a cash advance to you there is no such income from the bank where you took the advance from to the credit card company. So regardless of prepaying a credit balance onto your card, you will still have to pay cash advance fees and interest on that amount.
Why you didn't have to pay such a fee I can't say, but it is not true of MOST credit card companies at the present time.

surfmom

Neo, you may be right...

Hence, the 'check with your cc company'. Just an idea for an alternative method...

When I did it 20 or so years ago, the small bank where I did my banking didn't nickel and dime you for everything and we found this was a way to effectively 'send' money from my checking account to me in Europe. The credit card I used was their own card - most of those small regional banks have such been gobbled up by larger comglomerates with stringent rules and fees.

katlake

When I was in Paris a couple years ago, my mother in law tried to cash travelers checks and no bank would do it. We got quite the tour of Paris looking for banks or stores that would cash them. Finally one did, but with about 10% taken as fee. Strongly suggest against using travelers checks and I'm in favor of ATM/cash/Credit.

stokebailey

May I respond to kenderina's question in the hope of getting a better answer?

<I'm not very knowledgeable in banking and I don't understand what an ATM only card is.>

I currently have a card that allows me to debit from checking account, but it has no visa or MC logo on it and can only be used with a PIN. I use it at grocery stores, ATMs, chain drugstores, and some gas stations. Where they accept debit cards without PIN, it won't work. This is ATM card, and chancier in Europe?

katzen

oddly enough .. I just opened an account with my local credit union .. a debit card with the visa logo .. but on the back it does not have the Plus or Cirrus logos? Will I have problems with this in Germany, Switzerland or France when taking money out of an ATM/bank machine?

Christina

I have just a couple notes from my own experience on the above --

first, some years ago my ATM card wouldn't work in any place in Austria, although it worked fine in other countries, and I also got the message about my bank not authorizing it. I think that's just a common message when it doesn't work, but doesn't really mean anything. However, I had no problem whatsoever using my ATM card in Spain, just about two years ago.

I think there is some confusion about what an ATM-only card is, or isn't -- I'm perhaps confused myself. However, I have what I perceive as an ATM-only card because I cannot charge anything with it, it does not say "check card" or "debit card" on it (in fact, I went out of my way to reject those debit cards, and keep only my ATM card), it does not have a VISA or MC logo -- and yet it does have PLUS and a couple other networks on the back and works just fine in ATMs all over the world. It worked before my bank even had debit cards, so I think there is some disagreement here about what an "ATM-only" card is. They still have to use some network to get cash out of a ATM machine, and my bank has arrangements with a couple of them, PLUS being one. It's still an ATM-only card as far as I'm concerned, and that's what it says right on it (ATM Card).

Christina

oh, stokebailey, if what you have is like what I have (I have never used it for anything but getting cash from an ATM, so if it works at grocery stores, I don't know) -- it works just fine in European ATMs. I think as long as your card as the right network logos on it, it will work.

And I think Neapolitan is right about the cash advance fees, also, but all cards won't charge interest. I asked my cards that question as people post that tip about overpaying CCs to withdraw cash advances (I don't know why one would do that, though, if you have a bank account and ATM card) -- my CC companies said that it doesn't matter what your balance is or is not, if you take a cash advance, they charge you a fee for it because it's a service, and it's still a cash advance regardless of your balance. They also said it doesn't matter what you prepay, that won't change your withdrawal limits which are there for a reason (ie, you cannot withdraw more than your limit even if you prepaid it). I think the person I talked to said that if you had a balance, they probably would not charge interest on the withdrawal, though -- but they would charge the very large cash advance fee. After all, you can pay off the balance before the bill is due if you send in a check (which I did the one time I had to take a cash advance, so interest wouldn't accrue as long). So, prepaying is kind of the same thing.

I just don't see much need for anyone to do that, but I imagine customs can vary by credit card, and the truth will also vary from what any customer service agent on the phone tells you, unfortunately.

edhodge

Isn't there a thread here about institutions in the US putting a lock on your CC account if you deposit a sizeable amount of money, creating a credit? I remember it had something to do with Homeland Security.

luli38

I am probably one of the only people in the US who doesn't have an ATM card. Call me crazy, but I pay with credit cards or cash a check at the local grocery store when I need cash. I was planning on taking travellers checks and some Euro currency for my upcoming trip to Italy--is this a bad idea? Even if I could get an ATM card before my trip (less than 3 weeks from now) I am worried that it would not work given what I have just read. Are travellers checks readilly accepted in Italy? Is there an AMEX office readily accessible in Rome or Venice? What about those Euro Currency Travellers checks are those a better idea?

grantop

edhodge, I believe that happened to Patrick and he posted here about it. I remember the thread because I thought it was ironic that the cc company froze a card becasue the holder paid the charge in advance (in their eyes)

LoveItaly

luli, to answer your questions about AMEX offices, there is two in Rome (I believe). One is at the foot of the Spanish Stairs in Rome. And there is one in Venice. I am sure you can get the exact addresses if you go on the AMEX website.

anamaria

this is just the stuff I need to read before my trip!!!!!!!!!!!

mauitammy

If you get AMEX travelers checks can you cash them at an AMEX office in Rome or Venice? We can buy them fee free at AAA.

I am worried about my ATM cards working in Italy.