We are in Paris, but having a hard time finding an ATM that wont charge us an arm and a leg. Point Nickel ATM's are everywhere. Are they any good? We're looking for a reliable one associated with a bank.
These are the banks we see and use most often in Paris:
BNP Paribas
Crédit Agricole
Société Générale
do you have access to the internet on your phone? go to google maps, make sure it finds you, then search for bank or banque. most should have ATMs.
French bank ATMs do not charge fees. Look for BNP, LCL, la Poste, or HSBC.
Your bank may pass along the 1% currency conversion fee, but all other fees come from your home bank.
Maybe because I am not looking for them, but I cannot recall ever seeing a Point Nickel ATM.
I've never had a problem finding an ATM in Paris. Look on the back of your card and identify the network logo - plus, cirrus, etc. Then look for a bank ATM that lists that logo. I prefer ATMs located in a bank lobby as it's less likely to have a skimmer installed.
Your problem is your own bank; if you use a bank ATM then the only charges will be from your own bank. We dropped BOA when they instituted fees for international withdrawals and have a debit card from a local bank that doesn't charge fees and pays any levied by other banks. BOA now waives the fee if you use their partner bank.
Any commercial ATM (don't know point nickel but that sounds like a private company) will charge fees. Whatever you do don't withdraw in dollars (or pounds) and let them do the conversion like that or it will be very costly in exchange (more than any fee)
My husband and I just spent two weeks in England and will be going to France in early October. We did not use a bank in England, ATM or cash once while there. Every transaction was done with credit cards including using the Tube. It was all contactless. Is it different in Paris? If not, I'm wondering why you would want cash. I know that some flat rentals require cash deposits which we may have to do in Paris. I'll be bookmarking this topic. Thanks for asking the question.
AVOID CREDIT AGRICOLE, which now charges 5€. They started in November. And I even have an account with them, but can't use my US cards for free.
Otherwise, go to any bank (Banque Populaire, LCL, etc, etc) preferably with an indoor machine. Exit If they charge a fee. If the machine offers their own rate, decline, continue the transaction as you normally would
Never heard of Point Nickel.
It is a little late for you now, but the best way to avoid ATM fees isn't to wander around looking for a particular bank, but to have an account at a bank here in the US that waives all ATM fees that are charged by any banks. You may want to consider doing some "shopping around" prior to your next trip. Charles Schwab checking is one that does this, but there are others as well.
Increasingly you can get by with plastic most of the time, but there are times when you need cash. Some shops have limits on low cost items. e.g. our butcher requires a 10 Euro purchase to take plastic; other shops do too. but increasingly plastic is used. So a couple hundred Euro may be all you need or even less for walking around money.
An FYI of caution to what Mona and Tocard wrote.
When we were in Colmar I went to the BNP bank since my BofA has an agreement with them not to charge ATM fee. To my surprise the ATM forced me to accept their conversion rate with no choice to opt out of it. When I said NO it kicked me out. Just some info in case it applies to your case.