Best US Debit Cards

The one issued by Chase bank checking account.
There are fees
I withdraw up to my limit about 200 euros at a time to last over 3 to 5 days at UniCredit if I see it.

Charles Schwab. Open a brokerage account wih a checking account associated. Deposit into the brokerage then move the money to the checking. No atm fees. Any European bank atm fees that are charged are reimbursed by Schwab. And of course, you enjoy the best exchange rate of the moment.

When using atm i always chose at a bank currently open with face-to-face Service...In case the card was not returned to me.

1. What US debit ATM card do you use? Citibank when I am in the USA and CapitalOne360 or Charles Schwab when I am anywhere else
2. Do you pay fees for ATM transactions? No
3. Regardless of your income status, regardless of how much you spend when you travel to Italy, (for less than a month at a time), how much do you withdraw from an Italian ATM each day? I don't withdraw money every day but rather about 300€ every 2 to 4 days.
   
4. What are the names of the most reputable banks/ATMs to use while in Rome or the Amalfi Coast? Don't know about the Amalfi Coast but in Rome I used any bank ATM that I could find and never had a problem.

Becky is spot on and use of the Schwab card has been flawless for me...worldwide. Representatives are great...wish all other firms would achieve their high level of service.

We've always used Schwab.

1. Credit union debit card for years. Back up is US Bank debit card

2. 1%, 3% for back up. Knock-on-wood - have never had to depend on the back up. We do use the backup for our second withdraw just to make sure it is working. Generally just pull a hundred euro because of the fee.

3. That varies a lot but generally plan on 100-150E for routine expenses plus another 200E for lodging plus transportation and that varies a lot. Many times less and some times more. Generally withdrawn 400-500E at a time every three to four days. We tend to pay cash for nearly everything so we use more cash than many who depend on credit cards. The most cash I have taken out at any one time was 750E.

4. Doesn't make any difference as long as it is a bank. Prefer to use an ATM attached to or inside the bank. Never use a stand alone machine.

Since is basically your third question on the same subject, are you not liking the other answers. Is there something else you wish to hear? Or is something not clear?

Charles Schwab investor checking works well everywhere. No fees.

1. What US debit ATM card do you use? TD Bank, with Chase as my backup only (much higher fees - see #2).

2. Do you pay fees for ATM transactions? I have two different TD checking accounts. My Premier Checking (minimum balance $2500) has no fees of any kind for foreign use. My Convenience Checking (minimum balance $100) has a $3 fee for each foreign withdrawal, but no percentage markup. My Chase checking account, despite a very high minimum balance, charges $5 PLUS 3% for each foreign withdrawal, so it's for emergencies only.

3. Regardless of your income status, regardless of how much you spend when you travel to Italy, (for less than a month at a time), how much do you withdraw from an Italian ATM each day? I take out €480 or €530 at each withdrawal. This ensures I have at least one 10 euro bill and one 20 euro bill from each withdrawal. Otherwise, you can get a lot of 50's and 100's, which can be cumbersome. I stash most of this in my money belt, and only keep about €50-80 in my wallet for easy access. When my money belt stash gets low, I use the ATM again. This is hardly daily - every 2-3 days tops, and less now that I am using my Capitol One credit card more (it also has no fees for foreign use, whereas my older card did).

4. What are the names of the most reputable banks/ATMs to use while in Rome or the Amalfi Coast? All of the banks are reputable. The only thing to avoid are freestanding ATM's not connected to a bank (the kind that are in some convenience stores in the US). That is, if you even see these in Italy. You'll quickly learn to spot the banks' logos. If you're still unsure, you can always ask at your hotel for the nearest one.

Charles Schwab Brokerage with a checking account. THE BEST...no fees, no minimum balance, and it's accepted everywhere.

Buon viaggio,

Whomever you choose....call before travel to inform them which countries and raise your daily ATM limit.

Based on much travel in Europe and almost 5 years living in Rome:

1. Charles Schwab with our local Oregon bank debit card as a backup JIC (never used it)
2. No - Schwab is fee free
3. When traveling, we would take out about €500 every few days
4. BNL, Intesa di San Paolo, Monte Paschi di Siena. Always check for skimmers.

As a credit card we swear by Cap One when overseas but also use United Mileage Plus and Amex.

1. What US debit ATM card do you use? The one issued by the bank I work at, I get fees waived. Even if I did get fees I would not care because our habit is to withdraw 500€ every 5-7 days, so maybe 3 cash withdrawals at $3.50 each, I call it part of my travel budget. I am not going to open up an account just for travel, I did that before with Bank of America, because they have partner banks all over the world and all fees are waived. The problem with that was hunting down one of these banks, too much waste of time to save maybe $5.00 in fees.
   1. Do you pay fees for ATM transactions? Yes, if I use my backup -but again, not a big deal for me.
   2. Regardless of your income status, regardless of how much you spend when you travel to Italy, (for less than a month at a time), how much do you withdraw from an Italian ATM each day? We do not withdraw cash each day. We withdraw 500€ at a time, hubby takes 50 I take 50 and the rest goes in the money belt. Cash is for incidentals like gelato, street food, small gifts and other small daily expenses. We use a credit card for all meals/hotels/lodging/transportation. For a 21 day trip we plan on 1500.00€, it will probably be much less.
   3. What are the names of the most reputable banks/ATMs to use while in Rome or the Amalfi Coast? Any ATM attached to the outside of a bank or inside the lobby of a bank. I would never use a freestanding ATM in a grocery store, liquor store etc. It must be attached to the building. When we run low on cash and we see such and ATM we withdraw.

Credit card used: Capital One due to no foreign fees, which is important as we use this for all of our bigger purchases.

You're leaving in 2 weeks as of yesterday? It's a little late now to be getting new cards/opening new accounts.

1. I use the Capital One 360 card. No fees for anything, no minimum balances required, open online and you should have your card in about a week. I carry my Chase card as a backup, but it has high fees and so far I have not needed to use it.

2. No, I do not pay ATM fees of any kind -- as long as I only use my Capital One 360 card.

3. I don't make daily withdrawals. I withdraw when I get below €100 cash in my pocket, or when I know I have a large cash payment coming soon I will stock up. This can be a little as once a week. I do get €500 at a time as my Cap One 360 card has a $750 daily cash withdrawal limit.

4. Any actual bank ATM is good. They all, at least as of my last visit, do not charge fees at the ATM. Do avoid the cash machines you find in bars & restaurants and places like that as the fees can be scary high.

Mark-for the Capital One 360 do you do the travel notifications online? Has the card been reliable as for as systems being up?

To tcsonjack: You'll notice that many of our responses are similar/the same. By the way, the responses would be the same for other foreign countries, with one addition. In more and more countries (not yet Italy, but it could arrive any day), the bank ATM's have an option for "dynamic currency conversion." This is a fancy way of saying they allow you to process the charge in dollars. This is tempting to the beginner, but DON'T DO IT! This almost always costs you more, at no advantage to you. Always choose "local currency" or euros; never choose "my currency" or dollars. When you are charged in euros, the bank does the conversion at a very favorable rate. When you are charged in dollars while abroad, the bank (or store or hotel) does the conversion at a bad rate, and you still pay any foreign fees.

For more great money tips, read all the links on this page, and you'll be an expert: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

If your current bank has high fees for ATM withdrawals and if you want to open a new account and if you live near a TD Bank, you can do this quickly; they issue a permanent ATM card while you wait (they have machines in each branch). Otherwise, as said above, it's getting a bit close to your trip to start opening new accounts.

Letizia,

The Capital One 360 Debit card has always worked everywhere I have gone in Europe for 12 years. It is a MasterCard Debit and has worked when Visa cards were being denied due to system outages (October 2015).

I do the online notifications and they have always worked so far.

I have used the card only to get money out of ATMs. I have a Capital One Credit card I use for purchases among others.

To those replying that you use the CapitalOne360 debit card - it sounds like there are no fees charged by CapitalOne, are there "local" fees charged by the ATM you use? If so, what is the norm there?

Thanks for your advice here.

So far, for me anyway, there have never been any ATM fees for using a bank ATM in Europe. This is very important. An ATM you might find in a bar, restaurant, other store, will most likely not be operated directly by a bank, as are many similarly in the US. Banks in Europe don't tend to charge fees for using their ATMs. The other ATMs do tend to charge fees. But since I avoid those machines, I can't say what the fee might be.

There are reports that banks have started charging fees at ATMs in Spain and Portugal. I have not been there recently so don't know.

And Capital One 360 does not refund ATM fees except for those within the US. So still no fee from Capital One 360, but you can get stuck paying fees charged by the ATM owners.