Access to cash at ATM - Checking or Savings?

Felix, my ATM card is connected to my checking account. I can only come up with one reason why it would matter which account you should draw from. The reason is safety. When I travel I multiply the number of days I am away by the maximum amount I can withdraw from my account each day. I convert to the local currency. That is the maximum amount I leave in my account. If for some unfortunate reason others access my account, they are stealing whats in there, not my entire savings.
Bon Voyage.

My withdrawals have always been from checking. I don't recall an option to withdraw from savings on the ATMs I have used.

European ATM cards are one card per account. The machine DOES NOT ask you which account, that is dictated by the card.
If your card at home offers an option to chose an account this will not work (as the machines are not designed that way), it will be whatever is the default account for that card.

Cards from two different accounts is a good idea. Make sure each person has different cards, so if one person looses theirs, you only need to block one account and can still use the other.

When used to withdraw cash at an ATM in the US, my Debit/ATM cards always give me a choice between checking and savings. But when I've used them in France, for decades, there's no choice and it's always been drawn from checking. I don't know if I could even change that with my banks, but there's no way I'd want to. And if it became necessary while in France, I could transfer money from savings to checking on-line, although I've never had to do that.

As others have said, you don't get to choose. I have accounts at 2 different credit unions and oddly when I use my ATM in Europe, CU 1 draws from savings and CU 2 from checking. No big deal other than I didn't realize it the first time we went and ended up generating fees because I had little money in the savings account and they let me withdraw anyway and shifted from checking (where there was plenty) to cover it and hit me with a fee. Live and learn.

It is the primary account that the debit card is tied to. For us, at the credit union it is the saving account and at our bank it is the checking account. You can change the primary on your accounts.

My ATM card takes money directly from my checking account.

My bank always charged me a fee for using my own money. Several years ago we started a Charles Schwab checking account and they refund all fees at the end of each month. Also, there is no minimum balance and no minimum monthly transaction requirements. Before we leave for any vacation I transfer money to my Schwab account and then use it as any ATM card. Easy, Easy...

Oh, btw, ATMs in Italy are called bancomats.

Buon viaggio,

I have encountered a very, very few European ATMs that asked me which account I wanted to use. Or maybe it was a single ATM that I used more than once. I don't remember where it was. But in recent years I've used over 100 different European ATMs--maybe over 200, so we're talking about a tiny percentage that gave me a choice.

Most European ATMs simply ask your bank for funds from your primary account. They do not offer an option for you to select. In 99% of account setups, that will be your checking account. Savings is only available to withdraw from if that is the only account you have, or sometimes if it was the first account you opened with that bank. If you have doubts, ask your banks.

Thank you, all, for the replies!
Here, at home in Florida, the ATMs always ask "Checking or Savings" when making a withdrawal.
We'll just have to do a test withdrawal for each bank when we arrive in Italy, then check the accounts online to see where the money was pulled from.
If necessary, we can do online transfers to get the travel funds into the proper accounts.

Felix,

As the others have mentioned, your ATM card will usually access your "primary account" when used in Europe, which in many cases is the chequing account. You won't have a choice. Give your bank a call, as they'll be able to tell you which account you'll be using.

Be sure to also notify all your banks and credit card firms that you'll be travelling, so they don't "freeze" your account when they detect overseas transaction activity. Also, it's a really good idea to carry at least one extra ATM card if possible, in case of problems with the primary card.

Only once in Europe, in Prague in 2007 at one specific machine, was I asked which account I wanted to access. Otherwise, you card will just work with your "primary account."

We have a few joint checking accounts at the same bank with a card tied to each. One checking account is actually called "Italy" and we think of as our savings account. There seems to be no point in having any real savings account at all since they no longer earn you any money. At least, not at our bank.

So, we each take two cards (real checking account and the Italy one) plus a credit card. I like the idea of calculating the amount we'll need in Italy and having only that much in an account ---- maybe we'll do that.

Felix,
I, too, live in Florida. I have checking accounts for travel only. As someone else mentioned, Schwab is good for this. There are other banks that do not charge foreign transaction fees. I do this to ensure the safety of my regular accounts. If you have time, go ahead and open a special checking account and deposit the amount you feel you will need in foreign currency during your trip.

Only your primary account may be accessible.
If you have multiple attached to your ATM, inquire with your bank which one is the primary.
Or make sure you put enough funds in all, so that it won’t matter.

Rather than ask your bank which account is your primary account (because you may get an incorrect answer), I suggest you use your ATM/debit card to make a small purchase in the US and see which account is charged, checking or savings? (I suspect checking is the default in the overwhelming majority of cases.) Buying a few gallons of gasoline, for example. I doubt the pump asks you which account to debit, it just uses your default primary account.