Wells Fargo Customers -- HELP with $$$ questions

Make sure WF also tells you about their phoney currency exchange rate. The "Network" (Cirrus, Plus, etc) charges banks 1% to make the transaction in Europe ( 0.6% pay the bank over there, in Euro and to collect from the bank over here in Euro. If they collect in US$ they charge an additional 0.4% for currency exchange). Some banks, who have operations in currency exchange, forgo the Networks 0.4% currency exchange fee and choose to pay the Network in Euro, so they can charge you an even higher amount as a currency exchange fee. I believe that WF charges 5% for what you could have gotten for 4/10%. Although I have an account at WF, I do not use their ATM card in Europe - too pricey! Instead, I have a small amount on deposit with a small local bank that can only pay the Network in Dollars, and therefore passes on to me a only a 1% fee and $1.50 for out-of-network ATM.

My advice to you is, get the rate from WF, in writing. They can print it out for you from their Intranet. Make sure they include EVERYTHING. They will try to con you by only showing you a part of the charge. In the meantime, find a small local bank and check out their rate. You might want to change banks.

This is interesting. I was planning on just using my WF atm card to get cash in Europe and avoid exchange fees. That's very unfortunate if that's not the case.

What if I want to just exchange a large amount of money at the beginning of the trip (obviously not as safe, but hey...)? Would that save me money in the long run?

I've been to Europe 3 times since 2003, and I have used my WF card to make ATM withdrawals in every country. To avoid fees, I brought some Euros/Kroner with me from the US, and when I depleted them I tried to withdraw as much as I thought I'd need in as few ATM visits as possible.

However, that can be problematic when needing a new currency every couple of days. When I visited Norway, Denmark, and Sweden in 2005, it wasn't easy juggling the three different types of kroner. I managed OK, but to avoid getting stuck with the wrong kroner I probably spent more than I normally would have. And when I miscalculated and had to recharge with just enough to make it through a final day in a country, I ended up doing more ATM transactions than was optimal.

I also tried paying with a regular credit card as much as possible for buyer protection and to avoid using cash. But I think you have to keep in mind that going to Europe is a special event, and a couple of 5 dollar fees isn't a big deal, comparatively speaking. And don't forget to let WF know about your travel plans, so they don't shut down your card...

Julene, which network symbol is shown on your WF debit card? CRITICAL QUESTION. If it is Star, that network is not available in Europe and IF that is the only network available to you, your card will NOT work. You have to be with Cirrus or Plus.

It is a STAR network... I am 99% sure I had this same card when I went to France 2 years ago, and didn't have any trouble with the ATMs... have any others experienced a problem?

If I were to open another checking/checkcard account JUST for this trip, what bank & ATM card is best, and would be most readily accepted throughout Europe? NOw I'm worried!

Julene -- it is the network that is important not the bank or the card issurer. The Plus and Cirrus are the most common and nearly interchangeable. If is the STAR network only you will have problems. STAR is most common in the US and Canada

I have a Wells Fargo ATM card found out last year that WF's ATM fee and the currency conversion fee are outrageous.
So I opened a Capitol One Money Market Account and got their debit ATM card and put money into it.
You can do this online. The account is considered a savings account, but I had no problems in Europe withdrawing money from an ATM machine.
Capitol One had NO transactions fees for using their ATM card abroad and I found that the ATMs I used in London and Rome did NOT charge me a user fee.

Yes, wait until you get to each country to withdraw the country's currency from the ATM machine. The fee to exchange the currency to a different currency is expensive and may not be worth it for a small amount of change.

I did exactly what Derek is recommending. I just returned from Spain and Portugal and there were no exchange or transaction fees. Another plus for this account is that you can write checks on it. I keep my WF account for local banking only.

I've been a WFB customer since 1989 and I refuse to use that bank overseas. They nickel and dime you to death, and its a crime that they charge you for converting foreign currency, then they ding you for using a non Wells ATM, and then they ding you a flat fee. Your $100 may end up costing you $8.. unbelieveable.

If you have at least 3 weeks, go open a new account with a credit union or even Charles Schwab (find the post on this forum). Use the WFB only as a back up!

I too do not use my WF card due to the high fees but I do carry it as a backup. I opened a Fidelity account and got a debit card from it which provides for 5 free txns per month and after that it is only $1 for each additional txn.

Wells Fargo does charge a lot of fees--but so do the other banks like them that I've heard of. This time around I have opened a Charles Schwab account specifically for my upcoming trip to avoid as many fees as possible. Just make sure you have enough time to set everything up if you're going to open a new account.

My Wells Fargo card has the Plus, Star, Interlink, and Instant cash symbols on the back. I have traveled with it to Ireland, London, and France and have never had a problem.

I called into Wells Fargo because of my concern with being in the "Star" network. They said they can & would configure my card to work in all of the countries I will be visiting. Has anyone else heard of this/had this done? At this point we are too close to our trip (leaving July 8th) to have time to open a new account & order ATM cards, so I hope this will work!