ATM use with credit card

Not sure of the question. All Visa and MC credit cards are readily accepted for credit purchases. To get cash from an ATM a credit card with a pin will work BUT that is more expensive than getting cash via a debit card. Cash on a credit card is consider a loan so in addition to currency conversion fees your credit card company will charge interest from the date of withdrawn. A debit card withdraw is your own money from your checking account and will incur only currency conversion fees that may be charged.

Yes, using a credit card with a PIN will cost a lot more than using a debit card to withdraw cash.

If you use the Cc to purchase directly (ie: pay for a meal, hotel, etc.) the cc company will give you the best rate of the day. They may charge you a foreign fee but they won't tack on the cash advance fee.

You should also find out from your cc company what fees are attached to the transaction.

Yes, but just like home only in a dire emergency. It will cost you plenty.

Use debit for cash, just like you do at home.

I only have an ATM card for my bank, which is Bank of America. Is a Debit Card different, or does the ATM card serve that purpose? Also how do I know if it will work in the ATM networks in Europe (UK, Italy, Spain)? I can't seem to get a straight answer from them about network.

Has anyone used a prepaid travel card from one Visa or other vendors?

Thanks JT

Jeana, some ATM cards are also debit cards (can be used to make purchases), but a regular ATM card will work in an ATM machine. You won't have trouble finding an ATM as long as your card is branded as VISA or Mastercard, or if it is in one of several different ATM networks. What network is your card in (listed on the back)? A prepaid travel card can be expensive when you consider the fees involved with setting it up, etc.

Jeana....your ATM card with its PIN number will work just fine in Europe...just make sure it is tied to your current (chequing) account, not your savings. As a matter of fact, since it is B of A, you will not be charged any extra withdrawal fee if you use Barclay's Bank in the UK. Unfortunately, there's no reciprocal agreement between B of A and any banks in Italy or Spain....even if you chance upon a Barclay's in Spain, you'll be charged the fee.

Thanks so much for that info. I was just in an online chat with BOA, and though they are ususally very good with info, not so much today. Maybe it's holiday help this weekend...

My concern is that the BOA ATM card has NO network listed on back, like Maestro, Visa, none! I think they have a product called a "check card" tied to the account (which is free) but they still can't tell me if there is a network appearing on the back. So I'm a little nervous that it won't work and I'll be using credit card advances, which I really do not want to do.

Thanks for the info on Barclays, as well. That's helpful. Jeana

Describe the face of the card -- besides your name, number, and expiration -- what other words are on the face.

Jeana,
If it's a check card then either the Master Card or Visa logo will be on the front--they're networks.

Jeana....the two worldwide ATM networks are Plus (run by Visa) and Cirrus (run by Mastercard). If either of those logos is on your card, then it'll work.

Both Visa and MasterCard have websites that you can use to look up the locations of ATMS worldwide. When you choose the country, the form changes to accomodate the switch from the default US. It is comforting to find so many ATMs shown on the maps of even small towns.

Here are the links.
Visa: http://visa.via.infonow.net/usa_atm/.

Master Card: http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html.