Bancomat fees

As long as you do not accept any offer to convert your euro withdrawal amount to dollars (at a grotesquely bad exchange rate), you just need to watch for notices about a usage fee. I didn't see that in Italy in 2015, but such fees are cropping up in Europe. It varies by bank. If you don't like what you see on the screen at an ATM, cancel the transaction, remove your card, make a mental note of the name of the bank, and go to a different bank's ATM.

I don't know that fees are more likely at a bank-owned ATM at the airport than elsewhere.

I see that you've been on the forum awhile, so I assume you are aware that your own bank may charge you for using overseas ATMs.

There might not be fees. If you are going to a bancomat attached to an actual bank you may not encounter fees from that bank altho you may encounter a fee from your own bank. My credit union charges 1% for each transaction but no other fee. Another account I had started charging 3% + a $5 fee for each transaction. Needless to say I closed the second account pronto!

I've never had a fee charged by a foreign bank but I try to use BNP Paribas or Deutsche Bank on the recommendation of one of my first Rick Steves guides.

Some of the airport ATMs are owned by Travelex and since it is a company not a bank they may have charges.

I noticed a year ago that Unicredit, what Clark Howard would call a Monster Mega Bank, charges ATM fees for non-customer withdrawals.

I do know my credit union charges 1% or maybe it's Visa...I have to find out again. I swear...there are so many "little" things to think about, research and remember! I had no idea planning a trip would be this involved.

there are so many "little" things to think about, research and
remember!

But you only have to do it one time. Once you have a good ATM and credit card picked out, you can reuse them for all your future travels and you don't have to revisit this decision again (assuming, of course, that the card terms don't change). I've used the same two cards for many years - a decades old credit union ATM card and a Capital One for credit card transactions. When I get a new card, I don't throw away any paperwork (regarding APR, fees, etc)...I file it away and can look it up in a matter of minutes.

A strategy we use to avoid any banking fee is to use our Charles Schwab ATM card attached to our Schwab checking account. Secondly, if a bank does charge a fee Schwab refunds it to us at the end of each month and the checking is free with no minimum balance. It was extremely easy to open the account. Thirdly, we only use a Bancomat attached to a bank and only when it is open. If there is a problem we can go inside the bank to resolve the issue. Several years ago in Verona the Bancomat failed to give us a receipt for a withdrawal, so we went inside and obtained one.

Buon viaggio,

During my trip to Italy last Spring, the only place I found that charged an ATM fee was Unicredit...€3 a pop. There were plenty of other ATMs that charged no fee.

fees for non-customers

Those mega-a****es have started to charge a fee even to their own customers using their own ATMs more than 10 times each month!

Wherever I have used my Credit Union's Visa card in various bank ATMs (in Austria, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, etc.) during the past 5 years, the total fee has always been 1%. I always make sure the ATM is either inside the bank, in an entranceway of the bank, or just outside of the bank on the wall of the building. Never have had a problem and never have been charged more than 1% fees.