Just returned from Istanbul and Naxos trip - encountered 2 issues I was not prepared for - have I missed these issues on the board?

I thought I could get the Turkish entry visa either at the IST airport OR online ahead of time (I live in the US). It was easy to do online so I did. When I went to the Atlanta airport to check in for my flights, I was asked for the Turkish visa at the ATL check in counter. I was relieved to have gotten it ahead of time and wondered if there would have been a problem if I had not done so. Comments?

OK so I've read about hotels / restaurants and the DCC (currency conversion) and understand it is not in my best interest. Now at the ATM's I went to, there seemed to be the same sort of option. I had not seen this before at ATM's and was a bit befuddled at the best choice. In the end, I picked the option that seemed to say "conversion rate not guaranteed", to be determined later? Comments?

Also fees, fees, fees but it seemed that in Greece there were particularly heavy fees, a set fee and then maybe a percentage of withdrawn amount, much higher than Turkey. Is this something Greece is doing to help their struggling economy???

Were you using bank ATM's or private ATM's?

I thought banks but not sure I could always tell the difference

Whatever fees were applied to ATM transaction in Greece are in no way related "to the struggling economy".

I am not aware of private ATM's in Greece.....

Getting avisa on arrival in Turkey ended on 14 April. You must now have an e-visa before travelling.

What fees do you mean at ATMs? Were you charged a fee at the time you withdrew euros, so that you asked for say €50 but received less, due to a fee, or only later on your bank account?

I have seen the option of choosing the currency, like dcc, at ATMs in the UK too.

First of all, Greek banks never charge to use their ATMs — any charges are from the card holder's own bank. DCC is appearing more and more, also in banks where I live in the UK. Simply decline the offer for DCC, it will always be more expensive.

For example - I would take out 250E - then on my bank statement there would be a standard.$5 fee, and then another fee that varied by amount taken out - like $10.39 if it was a percentage, not sure what percentage - again, this additional fee was not much or non-existant in Turkey, but higher in Greece. My bank is Bank of America and the card used was a VISA debit card issued by B of A. I try to take out large amounts (to limit the $5 charges) but the heftier sums were the additional fees.

They were charges made by your bank. Nothing to do with the Greek banks.

Your bank charges a per use fee and charges a foreign exchange fee. Visa/MC charge 1%, and many banks charge an additional 2%. But if this was a foreign exchange fee from your banks, it should likewise appear on your Turkish ATM withdrawals. It is also possible you used a non-bank ATM in Greece and incurred their charges.

Like many people, I have an account that I use specifically for travel. It has no per-use charge for foreign ATMs and charges only the 1% pass-through from MC/Visa for foreign exchange. If you travel much, it can make a difference. My account is though my brokerage, but note that credit unions and small banks have lower fees than the big banks. I believe Capital One also has such accounts. My banks also reimburses any fees charged by the foreign ATM.

Suec1, I have used my American MasterCard debit card in Greece many times over a number of years, and have never been charged anything but the 1% foreign transaction fee, whether I use Piraeus Bank, National Bank of Greece, or whatever. My US bank doesn't charge for ATM withdrawals, but passes on the 1% MasterCard charge. If I were you I would question your bank to see if they can tell you where those charges came from.

Kathie

There are no "non bank" ATM's in Greece.

Why don't you call up and ask your bank to explain that? It doesn't really make sense unless your calculations are off a bit and it's about the same percentage, you can't figure it out to the day, usually, if currency is fluctuating. But I thought I read that banks in Europe are not legally allowed to do that, anyway. IN fact, if you look at the ATMs in the US, they have the same notice on them when you use them, that they may charge a fee for a card not at their bank, but only if it is a US bank, there are no charges to foreign bank cards. I thought there was some international agreement on this, even if it's the bank or international VISA/MC network agreement that is the one transmitting the funds between banks (eg, CIRRUS). In short, any fee assessed is from your own bank, if it is a bank ATM.

Sue, as others say, it is your bank, not a Greek bank. Why do they do it, when they do not make such a charge in the US? Because. they. can. For that reason, just for travel I opened a Credit Union Account (there are many CUs that are usable just by residents of a certain state, you don't have to be employed by a specific company, govt, etc). It only charges the 1% pass-thru for currency conversion by Visa/Master. B of A, Chase, Wells Fargo, Citibank, all the "biggies" get away with a $3-5 fee per transaction PLUS 3% per amount withdrawn. Thus, getting $300 worth of euros could cost you $14. wow. This website gives comparisons of charges by various entities: http://flyerguide.com/index.php/Cred...reign_Exchange

Not all credit unions operate the same as laws vary in different states. I know my relative in OH does not get the same options at his credit union as I do at mine.

Like others, I use my credit union ATM card. Until a few years ago, they didn't even charge the 1% (they absorbed it) and no per transaction fee. I always get the interbank rate for the date I withdraw money (you can do a history check when you get home for those dates an the various currency sites - Oanda, XE, etc.) plus 1%. If I check rates when I get back, the rate can vary during the day and my CU gives me the lowest rate of the day so often my rate is a bit below the interbank rate.

If you look at B of A's website, it states they charge $5 at banks/ATM's that aren't in their alliance. None listed for Greece or Turkey. They further state this:

***Bank of America will assess an international transaction fee of 3% of the converted US dollar amount.1 Foreign ATM operators may offer to do your currency conversion for you, but they may charge a higher fee for conversion. To ensure that your currency conversion does not incur a fee higher than 3%, you may refuse the ATM operator's offer to convert the amount of the transaction.***

https://www.bankofamerica.com/search...w&locale=en_US

You need to find another bank.