Bank fees for Americaine traveling in France

Yes, Bank of America (and the other huge national banks) still charge outrageous fees.

Credit unions are definitely better for Debit cards. Many banks and credit unions now have zero fee credit cards as well.

Capital One 360 accounts have Debit cards with absolutely zero fees for foreign exchange and foreign use (as does Capital One for Credit cards). I have used their cards for 15 years of travelling and have had absolutely zero issues -- cards always worked, never got charged fees. Charles Schwab also offers similar savings.

Thank you so much! Very helpful.
Best- Anne

Would you get some local currency for small items? I was trying to determine weather to get some of all the countries I'll be visiting before I leave. I'm going on the Europe in 21 days tour at the end of May, yea! Thank you.

BA has a 3% foreign transaction fee (FTF) for ATM withdrawals, but no $5 fee if you use its partner bank in France BNP Paribas. I just returned from Belgium and got my two $5 fees refunded since BA has no partner in Belgium. Optimally, an ATM without the foreign transaction fees would be best. For credits cards, I use ones witho no transaction fees. Even with a 3% FTF, that’s less expensive than if you go to a currency exchange and exchange currency before you leave. They charge about 8% plus a fee.

I have used Capitol One for many years and they do not charge a fee. Also, PenFed (a credit union that anyone can join) does not charge a fee. I just learned that our Costco Visa card does not have a fee; this is a recent change for them.

Capitol One is sending "contactless" cards now and this seems to be the way to go in Europe these days if you are using public transportation. We leave May 19 and plan to try our 'contactless' for the London underground.

Good luck. You can definitely find a card that does not have a transaction fee.

The fees are related to your bank. This is a good time to shop for rates and either adjust your banking or open a dedicated travel account. I typically make a point to remind myself of the foreign transaction fees on everything in my wallet and decide which cards to take (or if I need to change accounts) before every trip.

One thing that seems to have changed over the last few years is many banks don't require notification of your foreign travel plans before your trip. That seems to be an old security idea that has been replaced by newer technology (chip instead of magnetic stripe).

3% to 4% which is what large US banks charge on exchange is ridiculous. If your bank does this; get a better bank. BoA only does the 'partner' thing now instead of $5 for ALL withdrawals after the outcry when they started these policies. We changed banks.

You need walking around money. Many places won't accept a credit card for small purchases under 10 or 15 Euro and it is just rude anyway to expect a crepe stand or souvenir seller to have to process a credit card for a 3.98 purchase. Just use an ATM and withdraw in an odd number e.g. 90 Euros not 100, so you don't get stuck with a 100 Euro bill. Some ATMs allow you to designate the bills, others don't.

Tom -- yes. We were able to keep our old PIN.

You should keep some cash in case you need it.
Otherwise, use a debit card - not a credit card.
The money I receive from an ATM is a 50 EU note - never a 100 EU.

Thank you all for your input. Also found that my Capital One 360 has no currency conversion fees and no ATM surcharges.
My credit union does charge a 3% conversion fee and a $1.50 ATM surcharge. Am definitely going with Capital One.

Will also bring Euros with me.

Merci a tous!

my Capital One 360 has no currency conversion fees and no ATM surcharges.

If I remember correctly, Capital One does not have ATM surcharges when making a withdrawal from an ATM in the Allpoints network. The are such ATMs in the UK but none exist in France.

I used my Cap1 debit and credit cards in Paris and London with no problems or fees. I did not bring currency with me and was hard
pressed to use the 100 euros and 100 pounds that I took out of the ATMs. In fact I took some coins home with me. Most places take credit cards except for the random taxi driver and street market.

If I remember correctly, Capital One does not have ATM surcharges when making a withdrawal from an ATM in the Allpoints network.

The Cap One web site is very confusing in this regard. It does say at one place that ATM withdrawals are free at Cap One and Allpoint ATMs. However, when you look at the Account Disclosures for the 360 Checking Account, it flatly says: "We don't charge you for using your Card".

I have a C1 360 debit card and was confused as well. I did call their customer service and was told there are ZERO fees to use the debit card abroad with ATM or debit purchase. This is my standby acct that recently only had $2 in it (Chase is my primary acct) but I have since moved money over and part of my payroll is going in to save for our Paris/Normandy trip May 2019. Glad I will be fee-free!

The Allpoint reference is related mainly to getting cash in the US from an ATM.

Most ATM operators in the US charge for withdrawals unless you have an account with the ATM owner. This is normally out of the control of your card issuer. Capital One 360 has an agreement with Allpoint to not charge an access fee at their ATM. These ATMs are in places like Target, Walgreens, and other stores. Same thing in Europe for the few ATM owners charging a fee. Very rare so far. If the European ATM tells you it will charge a fee, cancel and move to a different one.

There are Allpoint ATMs in the UK, but you don't have to use one with your Capital One 360 card because most ATMs in the UK don't charge a fee to get money from them anyway.

Capital One 360 never charges you a fee at their end for any ATM transaction ever.

I used chase sapphire with no foreign fees , didn't work on highway to pay toll , otherwise it works everywhere . Very good if you rent a car because had primary coverage . I hope this help .

Capital One may not charge you a fee when using their ATM outside of the Allpoints network, but that does not mean that there are no fees.

Banks in the EU will not typically charge you a fee for using their ATMs but there are non bank ATMs which can. However, the international ATM networks, those actually responsible for the euro to dollar currency conversion, typically charge 1% for their services and pass the costs along to your bank. They actually charge the 1% on all international transactions, even those executed in dollars which is one of the reasons dynamic currency conversion should be avoided.

US banking laws require that currency conversion or other fees be shown on credit card statements as a line item but the law does not apply to ATM withdrawals. Checking statements typically do not show these fees. Many ATM or debit card users are paying currency conversion fees and are just not aware of it. It probably represents overall a relatively small amount of money but it would be incorrect to assume that a Capital One ATM user pays no fees when making withdrawals outside of the Allpoints network. Almost every ATM user is paying these fees and some pay a foreign transaction fee as well. Most ATM customers with Bank of American pay 3% overall plus an onerous $5 for making withdrawals at a non affiliate bank´s ATM. I believe that B of A now has the highest ATM fees of any bank in the USA.

As has been noted, Schwab is one exception as Schwab absorbs currency conversion fees on both their credit and ATM cards. If the Allpoints network ever expands to the EU, Capital One users in France will also avoid these fees.

Anne:

My credit union does charge a 3% conversion fee and a $1.50 ATM surcharge. Am definitely going with Capital One.

Time to find a new credit union! I've been with several over the years - I think 1% is the highest I've ever been charged (and a few free ATM withdrawals per month minimum). Some are 0% and no fees at all.

The hidden conversion fee cost on taking cash with my CapOne debit card has generally been between .4 and .8 of 1 percent over the years. This same cost for friction on taking cash via my Schwab account has been less than CapOne. When using my CapOne MasterCard the conversions have been without any fee. these are easy enough to check. Using your statement and comparing the exchange to the historical rate for that day.

Sorry, but there is confusion here on the Capital One no fee statement.

Capital One absorbs the approximately 1% network fee on ATM withdrawals. There is no separate line item for the fee because there is no fee. It IS required on ATM transactions to report any fee as a separate line item. The rate I see on my account equals the rate you see on Google at that point in time. Always. Every time. Without fail. To at least 3 decimal places. Do you want me to show my statements?

Allpoint provides a way to get cash when you are in an area served by Allpoint without paying the fees many ATM operators charge for using their ATMs. This is more of an issue in the US than in Europe at this time since most European bank operated ATMs don't charge a fee for using the ATM. Don't confuse a fee charged by the ATM with the fee that might be charged by your bank for using an ATM that is not one of theirs. Two different fees.

If you don't have experience with the product offered by the various banks, don't offer guesses as to what the reality of what you get charged by those banks might be. It helps no one.

Thanks.

If you are traveling and want no ATM fees consider a Charles Schwab Checking account. I have had all our ATM fees reimbursed for the past eight years. It does not matter if you are in the US or international, all ATM fees are reimbursed.