atm cards or credit cards

USAA has a 1% surcharge on their credit and ATM cards. Capital one does not add a percentage but charges $1.50 per ATM withdrawal. See a complete table at http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange and ditch your Chase card!

Check with a small local bank or credit union. They don't have the guts to do what the huge ones do.

Capital One is the only card I know of that does not charge the 3% surcharge. There are also banks, usually small ones, that do not charge a fee for using a debit card. Some machines will let you have the $750, others won't. If the one you choose won't allow that large a withdrawal, try another brand down the street. Getting that much at once I'd pick one outside a bank, and make the withdrawal during banking hours. If something goes wrong, you can go inside to get it corrected.

The general rule is to go in this order Chantielle: Credit Card, Debit Card, Cash (from debit card), Cash exchanged.

You have to check the rates, and folks on here have great suggestions, but that works as a general guideline.

Like other have said, take out as much cash as possible to avoid the $3.00 fee, if you're comfortable with that. If you're in an area that doesn't feel safe, just get what you need, and get more later. Worth the $3 for the piece of mind.

Have fun!

Colorado 1st Bank only charges 1% over the Interbank rate for credit card use and 1% plus a small fee, $2 I think, for ATM withdrawals.

With a PMA account, Wells Fargo charges nothing for an ATM withdrawal (not sure about POS debit card use. You get the Interbank rate without fees, but they charge 3% over the exchange rate for CC use.

So, for me the rule is: Cash (from debit card), Credit Card, Debit Card (I've never used one over there), Cash exchanged. Most of the culturally richest, least expensive places in Germany don't take cards. It's cash only.

Run, don't walk, to a local credit union that is part of the NCUA (like the FDIC, but for credit unions instead of commercial banks). And ask about their fees. I suspect that based on their answers you will want to open an account, and get a debit/ATM card (probably will be a VISA one, but I suppose could be a MasterCard).

I have used VISA debit/ATM cards from two large local (NCUA member) credit unions where I do my banking, on two recent trips to London

One CU charged me NOTHING for any ATM withdrawals or debt card transactions. The other CU charged me ONE PERCENT on those transactions. Period. No other fees. And the exchange rates for all those transactions were extremely good; I keep up with the rates on www.xe.com, and I was very happy to see the exchange rates on my CU account statements.

A good exchange rate plus, at most, a one percent fee? I'm fine with it.

And be careful about opening a new account anywhere just before going on a trip. Last year I traveled to Thailand on a small group tour that included a friend who lives in another state. Always canny with her money, she told me she'd opened a new account with some outfit (Chase? Capitol One? Schwab? some mega-sized corporation, I can't remember which), just to get an ATM card which she could use on her travels without paying a fee. Of course, she put a bunch of money into that new account, to draw on during our two week trip.

Good thing she also brought along her "regular" checking account ATM. Because that new ATM card for her new account? Would not work in Bangkok, despite multiple calls to customer service. She never did get it to work in Thailand, and had to use her regular checking account ATM for the whole trip.

Which is why I carry cards for two entirely separate accounts, in my case at two different credit unions. Stuff happens.

Happy trails!

As others have said, shop around for a better rate. It is out there.

I believe you are mistaken about Rick Steves saying not to use a credit card. Unless there's something new, his advice has been not to RELY on a credit card, since many small places do not accept them.

Finally, use the ATM card at the ATM and the credit card to charge things. If you use the credit card at the ATM you will be hit with all kinds of interest for making a cash advance.

One issue that is overlooked in this current discussion is the discount you might receive for paying in cash. A 5% is fairly common for hotel. So even if you pay 3% for your ATM cash, you are still 2% ahead. However, move to a ATM card issuer that doesn't charge fees and you save the whole 5%.

On our last trip we only charged two items to a credit card. I routinely took out 500 euro which is close to your $750 limit.

Thanks to all your great advice I remembered about 2 credit unions that my husband and I already had accounts at and have contacted them, but now I have a few more questions.
Here is the info I got from the first one:
2 free atm withdrawls/calendar month which is great, but they noted that I would still have to pay whatever the service charge is from that particular atm, and of course the 1% currency conversion fee (or whatever that is called).

So how much is the typical charge from the atms in london, paris, venice and rome?

Does this seem like a good way to go for me?

Also I thought it was interesting and wanted to pass it on in case other "newbies" are reading this page that my atm card from this credit union will not work in Spain. They stopped allowing atm transactions there due to fraud. Good for me to know since our last week we will Spain, so I will have to stock up on my Euros before we head there.

Thanks!

I'd double check that credit union about the two free withdrawels; mine has no limit on the number of withdrawels. Also, my ATM card does not charge a currency conversion fee since there's no conversion involved (I'm just withdawing from my account in a different currency). My credit cards do have a foreign tranaction fee tacked on of about two percent, which is not really a deal-breaker for our limited use.

Also, I've never encountered a fee imposed by a foreign bank's ATM anywhere in europe.

Maybe join a smaller, more localized, credit union for a better deal? You really need to take a rough guess on what your needs will be. For example, a one-month trip at three hundred bucks a day is nine grand total. Some expenses will be met with cash, some with a credit card. Assuming that all will stiff you two percent (which they shouldn't) that's $180. If you're going to keep traveling a lot, a change might be in order. If a big trip is a once-every-few-years event, it might not be worth the effort of making a change and you'll just have to mentally include it as an additional trip expense every once in a while.

We travel at least six months out of the year (but certainly not at a rate of three hundred bucks per day). On our budget, two percent would be a killer -- thus we use ATM cash as much as possible.

Whether or not you are going abroad, it is still a great idea to stop giving your money to a big bank like Chase (a host of my friends have been jumping ship from Chase since they took over WaMu), and open an account with a local credit union.

Not only are their foreign transaction fees likely to be lower, but you will most likely get much, much better interest rates on your savings/checking accounts. My CU gives me anywhere from 2-6% interest on both checking and savings, depending on my balance, compared to the fractions of a percent I used to get from Bank of America. Never again will I use a big bank.

Great point Anna,
I hate Chase! I used to use WaMu and loved them, but have been completely dissatsified with Chase, just too lazy to change, but I probably will do so soon.

There should be no fee charged by the European ATM, only the percentage or whatever charged by your own bank or credit union.

I have made several international trips (including Spain) with the ATM card from my small, local credit union. I have unlimited free withdrawals and absolutely no extra charges for making withdrawals in Europe. Good deals are out there.

I would use cash as much as possible unless you get a CC with no foreign transaction fees (like Chase). Take as much cash out as possible to minimize your bank's fees (European banks do not charge a fee). But over time, the 3% fee on every CC purchase will add up, especially for high price items like meals and hotels. You can also sometimes get hotel discounts for cash (ask in advance).

The downside is walking around with cash; you must be safe with it in a money belt. I keep a little in a wallet for day use and the rest in my money belt where no one (not even me easily) can get to it.

Schwab is the best, no foreign transaction fees and no atm charges, I got this card just for the trip after reading the helpline. You don't have to open an investment account, just checking or savings. Their reps are great and take their time answering all your questions.

Chantielle,

Another vote for ditching Chase, and WaMu was better. It's true that in France if you stay in 2 star hotels and eat in modestly priced restaurants, good but not real fancy, the Visa/MC is accepted a lot more often than in Germany for comparable prices. If you go to Monoprix in France to buy groceries, supplies, etc. and it's 30 Euro, you can pay with the cc. Buying train tickets at the counter in both places can be done with a cc. If the proprietor of the Pension or hotel prefers cash over the cc, even though the establishment accepts the cc, then as a favour to the proprietor, I pay in cash, even if it's over 200-300 Euro for a multi-day stay. But that experience was only in Germany, otherwise I use the cc. In France if I can get away with using the Visa (ie, if my card is not declined for some reason), I do it. In England depends upon that surcharge of 3-4% imposed, then it's cash.