We opened an Ally Bank account for our trip to Europe so as not to get stuck with Wachovia/Wells Fargo's ridiculous fees. Everything was great with Ally and we didn't get charged any ATM fees at all. I'm not sure if they roll the 1% Mastercard fee into the withdrawal amount because there are no "fees" at all taken from our account. Overall, we were very happy with them and will be doing most of our banking with them now. The only negative thing was that we didn't transfer enough money from Wachovia and ended up having to pay a $600 hotel bill out of our Wachovia account, which cost us $16. Ciao Wachovia! Hope this helps!
Posted by
Lubbock, TX, USA
113 posts
Thanks to Nancy and other posts I may be going with Ally instead of Capital One. I too have the WF blues. Just wonder how far in advance of your trip you opened the Ally account. I am about to be inside of a month before departure. Thanks.
Posted by
Cary, NC
687 posts
Not sure why you would switch from Cap One. My Cap One bank account also has no conversion fee, no fee to use a "foreign" ATM, and refunds the first $10 (maybe $25 now) of any fees charged by other banks, per month. Now if you were talking about switching from Wachovia...
Posted by
Lubbock, TX, USA
113 posts
Kathy, I've been "chatting" with both today. My biggest concern with Capital One has to do with timing, and that goes back to the post you mentioned where the people couldn't get to their money at all. The lady at CO tells me that during the first 30 days funds are not available until the 11th business day after the deposit is made, and it is not until after you've had the account for 30 days that deposits will be available on the 6th business day. Because my travel funds are coming from a payment I have to wait on (and then may have to wait a few days' hold before transferring to CO) I'm uneasy about those timelines. She tells me if I can deposit by July 15 the hold would end on July 29. It's too early to know exactly when the payment I'm waiting on will be received. While I might have another option it's not one I want to use if I can help it. Ally tells me there is no minimum time and approximately 3-4 days between transfer and availability. I'd like to do the CO, just need to work on the math. I can always transfer funds online using my phone, even after we leave on July 30. I appreciate the comments and suggestions as I've learned a lot from them.
Posted by
Cary, NC
687 posts
Delinda - that was someone else, but it certainly makes sense you would want access! I really like being able to transfer funds electronically- I use my netbook, not a phone.