Wells Fargo Fees

Have you tried calling wells fargo? You can always go in a branch and ask to speak to a private banker.Thats what I was planning to do. Then again, it Is usually easier to understand from someone whos recently used a card internationally... I need to find out as well since I use WF and am going to London later this year!!!

Angela,
If you look at the bottom of the page http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624b1.asp?bank=wellsfargo#chart
it appears that Wells Fargo gets 3% on the ATM withdrawals.

Thanks Henry - not the news I wanted to hear but, information is power.........thanks a bunch!

We just got back from almost two weeks in France and I used my Wells Fargo ATM card 4 times to withdraw euros at ATMs in Paris, Brittany, and Normandy. I withdrew 200 Euros each time, and my account does show a $5 each time. My account was charged $318.13 twice, $318.68, and $317.19. I don't know what the actual conversion rate was each day that I withdrew funds, but including the $5 fee, the average charge to my account was $1.615 per Euro. I am not sure if this includes an additional 3% fee, but it doesn't seem unreasonable.

When I asked at the bank before we left, I was told there was a $5 charge per transaction, but no other charges. However, I never used my card as a debit card, only at the ATMs.

Laura, take a closer look at your bank statement.

Last time I used my WF ATM card in Europe, they added 3%, but it was a separate line item. The average exchange rate you paid, before the $5 fee, was $1.59/€; the average rate, per Oanda, for the last three weeks was $1.58149/€. What you paid would only have been ½% over the average rate, insignificant considering the daily fluctuations in the rate. My own WF bank told me that they charge an exchange rate 3% over the interbank rate, and that is what I saw.

What do you mean by just got back? If you go back two weeks to a month ago, the average rate was $1.5584/€. Then your exchange rate of $1.59/€ would have been 2% over the interbank rate, and there were some days in that period where $1.59/€ would have been 3% over.

What were the dates of your withdrawals?

I confirmed with Wells Fargo that they charge a fee of $5.00 per ATM use. No other fees....except of course the conversion rate of 3%..which they don't count as a "fee".

I know it is a pain, but you may consider a credit union, Capital One ATM card or maybe even better, a Charles Schwabb account. I called them a couple days ago after receiving my new ATM cards with my new account. No fees at all! No ATM charges, no conversion fees, period. I understand that if any charges come up from the use of the ATM card, they will credit it at the end of the month. There is also a $2000 per day limit, which will be really helpful to us since we need to pay cash for everything.

I know it sounds too good to be true..but I think it is. It is a hassle to make a change, but they were very helpful and it was quite easy for us. I just put my savings for our trip directly into the account. I will also have some backup $$ in my WF account just in case. But, I'd rather go without fees!

Lee, we got home on the 25th, earlier in the day of my post on this topic. Since we had just come home from our fist Rick Steves tour, I stopped in to see what was being discussed on this board.

I did go back and double check my statement, there are no additional charges. Two of my withdrawals were posted to my account on 7/14 (although one transaction was completed on 7/12), one on 7/16, and one on 7/21. Hopefully these examples of charges on my Wells Fargo account will help some folks figure out what to expect.

If you have a PMA account, there is no additional fee.

No additional fee to do an ATM cash withdrawal. But using your credit card for purchases will take a 3% commission even if you have a PMA account.

We stopped banking at Wells Fargo just for the reason you state above. We moved our money to Compass Bank, no charges for ATMs anywhere in the world.

I got sick of the fees at WF, and will never go back.

We also use our Captiol One card to charge everything there, I love getting miles on my other United Airlines Visa, but when we travel to Europe, I pull out the Cap One card to save more.

If you watch your pennies, the dollars will grow!

Jonathan - what is a PMA?

Also - I was thinking of taking some American dollars with me then going to a bank to convert once I was in Europe. Any suggestions on that?

I do have a Capital One CC card and will use it. I don't think I can get an ATM card with them because they do not have a bank in my area.

If you have 25,000 or more invested in Wells Fargo accounts (adding up all accounts including investment accounts such as an brokerage account or retirement account), then you can enroll in a PMA account. Just call WF and ask about it and the operators will be happy to explain and enroll you into it.

Once you are in a PMA, you will find that almost all charges on accounts are dropped. A PMA account is great if you need/have a brokerage account. You get 100 transactions/year for free (buy/sell stocks, mutual funds, or ETFs).

For various reasons, I have accounts in various banks/credit unions. One reason is that I live in Europe most months out of the year and was looking for the most advantageous account. Now that I have WF I will probably liquidate the other accounts sometime soon.

Angela - Capital One has an online banking division, so you should be able to open a money market or savings account even if there is no branch in your area.

Julie - that is good news, I will look into it. My other option is that my Cap One CC card can be used as an ATM with no fees except it is considered a cash advance. My cash advance is a fixed APR that is the same as my purchases, which is pretty low. I could use my card that way and then just pay it off when I get home.

I'll check into the savings account - I like that idea.

Thanks again - and to all you travelers out there - Be Safe!

I've been a WFB customer since 1998 and refuse to use them overseas. They nickel and dime us to death.

I opened a separte travel account with my Credit Union, and they waive a lot of the fees, and don't ding me to death.

I wished I had known about the charles schwab account before I left last month. Their no fee account seems to be the best as an ATM or Debit.

About the Capital One OnLine Savings Account - the only way to withdraw the money is to transfer it to an excisting outside checking account - not with an ATM card. I checked the website and spoke with a rep. Bummer but, Good to know.

Angela, I'm surprised that the Capital One rep to whom you spoke didn't tell you about the money market account that includes check writing and an ATM card. I haven't opened such an account yet, but I've been thinking of doing it since reading about it recently.

Thanks Tim - I will look into it. Boy, I sure am glad I'm starting my research early - this is tough stuff! :)

Hello,
Its interesting that Charles Schwab says no conversion fees coz their website says the following:

"...... ATM fee rebates do not include currency exchange fees; fees imposed by merchants for POS transactions; or fees for stamp purchases, balance inquiries, or any transactions other than an ATM cash withdrawal from your Schwab Bank account....."

So they do refund unlimited amount of ATM fees BUT it seems you will get charged the % of conversion fees.

I guess one will never know for sure unless one actually gets the statement.

Here is the link for another Charles Schwab discussion http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/15876/schwab-atm.html

Angela - be aware that if you use your card to get a cash advance, interest will be charged from that day; you won't have any grace period in which to pay it off, as you would for purchases.