Hello, I just spoke to Chase they said they charge $5 + 3% exchange fee (that's not what they told me previously). I had read it here in the forum so I called to verify.
Wells Fargo told me $5 flat fee no exchange fee. Is this correct? That's what chase told me the first time I called....
Thank you.
Get a credit union ATM card. I get charged 1% of each transaction, no added fees anywhere in the world.
Or consider Andrews FCU or a few others with no fee; I believe there's Schwab and Capital One. One of my banks charges $5 + 3%, same as Chase, so I don't use it overseas. My other bank (TD Bank) charges me nothing.
We have Schwabb for ATM & USAA for credit card. Any ATM fees charged will be reimbursed on our statement.
Keep looking around.....there's plenty of cards with no/very low ATM or foreign transactions fee.
What Chase told you this time is correct. I have no idea what Wells actually charges.
You can get a Capital One 360 account which has no fees for anything. The rate you see on Google for a foreign currency is what you will see on your statement and no added fees. You open this account online and never have to go to a branch. There is no minimum to open and no minimum to keep the account (as long as it is more than $0 in it). This makes it great for a travel account as you can leave it near zero and only put money in it when you travel. I have had one of these accounts for over 10 years and have never had any issues with my Debit card working anywhere in the world. just make sure you notify them (or your other banks) when and where you will be traveling so they don't block your cards.
You will find that most Chase and Wells credit cards also charge similar fees on purchases (not suggesting you use a credit card for getting ATM cash - bad idea). There are too many no foreign fee cards out there to list, look around if you don't already have one of them.
Why throw away money you don't have to, especially if you will be doing more travel to foreign countries?
ATM charges are a very expensive using a credit card instead of a debit card. That's why you should make big withdrawls and avoid as many withdrawls as you can.
Thank you, I'm cutting it short in ordering a Capital One Debit Card. I'm leaving on Tuesday, they said I would not be receiving it by then.
I just didn't know the fees on ATM debits since Chase gave me the incorrect info. I'll keep it in mind for next time. If anyone knows about the Wells Fargo Fees please let me know. I will call again and see what the next rep says.
It's hard to find Well Fargo ATM foreign fees but it looks like Wells Fargo charges $5 + 3%.
Non-Wells Fargo ATM Fees International $5
International Purchase Transaction Fee(2) 3% of transaction amount
(2) For each debit card purchase in a foreign currency converted to a
U.S. dollar amount by a network.
zpc, I wonder if you mean Capital One "Revolving Credit" card, rather than Debit Card. You would have to open a Capital One bank account to have a debit card removing money per retail transaction (or ATM withdrawal.) I ask not to quibble about terminology, but because if you get a "Cash Advance" on anyone's ATM with anyone's (? haven't checked) Revolving Credit card, you get all kinds of fees and interest charges. Words matter a lot here.
But if you are content with a credit card, you can find many that don't charge ANY Foreign Transaction Fee for retail and restaurant purchases. In places like Germany or The Netherlands, it's possible to find plenty of smaller merchants who don't take credit cards, however. Even my bagel store in New Jersey won't charge transactions under $10.
If you're really leaving 3 days from now, then all the advice here will not be of much use because you don't have time to make any major changes. If you've been planning this trip for a long time (it seems that way from prior posts), why are you leaving this important issue for less than a week before you leave? Personally, I wouldn't trust the word of any low-level bank employee...if you don't have your terms of service/disclosure statement in writing on all your banking accounts (debit and credit), I would ask for those instead and always refer to those. Everything is spelled out in those documents as far as fees go and it's not in small print...it's the same document that has your APR, late fees, etc. on it.
Pretty late indeed. Anyway, Wells Fargo makes it exceedingly difficult to find exactly what fees you’l be paying as they “tier” their customers-folks that do a lot of business with them or have substantial balances have fees waived or reduced. This is the most succinct reference I’ve found: https://www.wellsfargo.com/online-banking/service-fees/ There are only two ways you can save money at this point: 1) limit the number of withdrawals. In other words, take all the cash you need at once rather than day by day. Yes, if you have an exchange fee you’ll still be punished but you’ll limit the number of flat fees. 2) when you return, assuming you are a good and established customer, get in touch with your bank and see if they will waive the fees you have incurred. Nothing to lose.
Thank you to all. Edgar, I did look at the link, it looks like it says over the counter transactions but not clear. I will go to wells fargo in person on Monday, and see what they say. I will take the name of the person that tells me $5 flat fee (if they repeat the same thing as on the phone), in case that is not correct.
The reason why I didn't ask for another debit card from a different institution is because I was in the impression that Chase only charged $5 flat fee, as they told me. I decided to call and confirm because of the different posts online.
I do have a capitol card that does not charge a fee, my plans are to charge hotels and restaurants on it. My other plan was to get cash from the ATM, what ever the max is.
Thank you all for your suggestions. Greatly appreciate it.
Wells charges $5 for each atm withdrawal and no %. If you pay for something directly with your card it is 3%. I was in Europe last year with a wells debit and it was $5 per withdrawal. I never used it to purchase things directly and I withdrew the max on each atm trip to save money in fees. Although it's ridiculous to have to pay fees, it didn't end up costing me much. Just pay cash for everything.
Thank you happypepita, that’s what I needed confirmed. I will just use it for ATM withdrawal no purchases.
Also, if you are withdrawing money with your wells debit DO NOT go into the bank and get it from a teller. That's where they charge you the $5 and will also tack on 3%. Just use the atm only. I too couldn't get another card in time for my trip this year bit next year I'll be getting the capital one 360.
For zpc, your best bet now might be to ask your bank to temporarily increase the daily withdrawal limit on the card you plan to use, so you can minimize number of transactions. Although it's annoying to have to spend extra for bank fees, just remember that this is a minor adjustment to the total cost of your trip. And file this experience away to better plan your next trip.
Sandra- close your Chase account, unless you must use them for your daily banking (and even then, close them). Schwab has a $1,000 daily limit, Capone has a $600 daily limit, and there are others. And if this is a joint account, Schwab, and CapitalOne give each of you a card with different numbers, the daily limit applies to each card. No ATM fees from them, no transaction fees, and exchange rate is the interbank rate plus around 1/2 of 1 %.
zpc,
I concur with Happypepita, Wells Fargo charges a flat $5 fee for every ATM transaction when using international ATMs.
I usually withdraw €500 at a time, so do make sure you check your daily cash withdrawal limit and increase it if you need to (my limit is $750).
Don’t forget to notify your bank(s) regarding your travel plans.
Have a wonderful trip!
A year from now you are not likely to remember the cost of ATM foreign exchange. Have an enjoyable trip and don't sweat what Chase or Wells Fargo is charging you for local currency. That said, you can/should check your bank account transactions in comparison to the Interbank exchange rate of the day. (Rate varies throughout the trading day). Several web resources will quote current and historic rates, one being Oanda: https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
Hello
I have a question about the Capital One 360. I signed up for it, but trying to read all the details it makes it sound like you ONLY don't get charged an ATM fee when you make withdrawls at a "CapitalOne" ATM. So, will I still get charged an ATM fee if I use a non-CapitalOne ATM? I wouldn't think so based on comments here, but wanted to be sure. Thanks!
The fees charged by the ATM owners are out of the control of Capital One (or any other card issuer). Capital One does not charge any fees for using any ATM, but especially in the US the ATM operators like to charge fees to people using them who do not have an account with the owner.
Capital One does participate in a network so you can get money in the US without paying the ATM owner a fee. The locations are all over the place and I have never had issues finding one when I needed. They range from the actual Capital One bank locations to Target stores and lots of other places. They have an ATM finder that seems to work well.
So yes, you can get charged a fee if the ATM owner charges a fee, but that is still rare in most of Europe, and no matter what card you use you will be charged that fee which is separate from whatever fee your card issuer may charge. But Capital One never charges any fees for using any ATM anywhere in the world. (Other no fee Debit card issuers, like Charles Schwab, will refund those ATM fees on some accounts up to a set amount per month. Unfortunately Capital One doesn't offer that option at this time.)
As far as I know, if an ATM is going to charge a fee of its own, there will be a notice to that effect during the transaction. Read the screen carefully so you know what's going on. If you see something about a fee, cancel the transaction, retrieve the card, and try an ATM belonging to a different bank. So far, I've seen the most ATMs with fees in Barcelona (2016), but the practice does seem to be spreading. However, even in Barcelona I was able to find ATMs that didn't charge fees right along the Ramblas.
Great! Thanks everyone. That's what I needed to know. My card is on the way, so I'm glad to be able to use it on my trip.
I got the Capitol One Venture card, it carriers no foreign transaction fees. My daughter used it on her trip to Spain and it worked out very well for her. Once you get back just pay it off and your done!. Have a great trip.
We have a Charles Schwab checking account and there are no ATM fees or they reimburse them for any transaction worldwide. There are no minimum balance requirements nor are there any fees.
Before we travel we notify Schwab and then transfer money to our Schwab account. Easy, easy...
Buon viaggio,
