ATMs

Dynamic currency conversion. Banks are becoming scam artists.

some hotels, shops and restaurants will also offer the "convenience" of doing the conversion for you.

At ATMs I click on the French or the German language options...thanks for the tip.

We have been over this a hundred times. Clicking on the Union Jack doesn't do anything other than turn the directions into English. IF the ATM is giving the conversion to dollar or pounds that is a separate choice later in the process. And it is yes or no. If offering pounds then I would assume that the network concluded that the debit card present is a British based bank. Same if offering dollars.

For David - the extra charge probably is being levied by your card issuer so call and ask them. It is also possible that their is a service charge being added for using that particular ATM. Very common in the US but I have rarely seen it in Europe. But 14 to 40 pounds seems bit more than excessive.

On my recent 2.5 week trip to France, I always hit the "English" button at the start, and never was presented with a DCC option. The only time it happened was in the Amsterdam airport on the way home when we had lunch.

Nevertheless, some ATMs (and I hear it is particularly prevalent in the UK; I've never seen it in Germany) try to get you to use "dynamic currency", where they convert the amount of the withdrawal from UK Pound to US dollars, at a conversion rate favorable to them. Trouble is, your US bank is still going to charge you their rate (3%?) whether the charge is in Pound or dollars, so you pay an extra conversion rate (and a bad one at that) by accepting the banks dynamic conversion.

we never use an ATM, just our credit card, which is accepted for nearly all transactions

I need to explain I drew out 200 euros a day for six days the first transaction I pressed with conversion the other five were without conversion I don't pay any charges on my transactions ,when I checked my withdrawals on my account I was charged £183 for the first withdrawal and £169 for the next five .I thought I would mention it to save anyone being charge the £14-40 extra for nothing.

DCC is 'particularly prevalent' in the USA as well for ATMs at least. In Europe the worst countries are Ireland (which some think is where the whole thing started in the first place) and Spain. Some establishments actually are clueless about avoiding it; others are evasive.

One answer is American Express, surprisingly ...

I don't use a credit card ever or American Express I don't believe in paying to spend money thanks for your input .

We head to Ireland and Scotland and Iceland next week.

Honestly the only time I ever used an ATM is the once or twice a year when I'm in another country. I never use one at home so it's always a little bit of an adventure when i travel.

I love most Adventures but these I do not. Someone please spell it out like I'm 10 years old.

Once I put my card in, what buttons do I need to push. Haha. What exactly am I looking to avoid during that process.

I bank with Wells Fargo and they do not charge me any fees. But it's obvious the ATM I use is going to charge me a fee.

Some ATMs in some countries charge fees. In my experience, that information appears on the screen early in the transaction, probably right after you switch the language to English (if necessary). If you see something about a fee on the screen, cancel the transaction and go to another ATM belonging to a different bank.

Most ATMs walk you through the process. You'll be asked how much money you want. In some places I've been asked whether I want to take the money from my checking account or savings account (though terminology might be a bit different); usually the assumption is that the withdrawal is to come from the checking account.

If the ATM is going to offer you the unwanted dynamic currency comversion, that will come after you specify how much money you want to withdraw. Read the question carefully to be sure what the right answer is.

If you see something about a cash advance on the screen, stop and think: Did you insert a credit card in the ATM by mistake? (I did that myself today.)

David, if your reference to paying to use a credit card refers to an fx fee, a lot has changed. Amex discontinued this practice a few years back and there are many credit card companies that don't charge a fee (Capital One, Chase Sapphire e.g.). Same goes for a ATM withdrawals. It pays to research this. I don't like to carry much cash so I use a Visa or Master Card branded credit card in Europe since Amex is not as universally accepted.

Be aware that even using a credit card to pay for something in Spain, anyway, you should say "charge this in Euros" or a lot of them will charge you and add the conversion fee without saying they are doing that. They make it seem like it is a service they are preforming for your convenience. It is a bank scam, to be sure. Always ask to be charged in the currency of the country you are in at the time you use your card.

Even if you tell them to charge you in euros, some Spanish hotels and restaurants will ignore your request. I never had it happen in a shop, but I made very few credit card purchases in shops. Especially in Spain, I recommend settling your hotel bill the night (or day) before departure so there's time to make them re-run the charge in euros if they try the dollar flim-flam. You don't want to have to deal with straightening that out when you should be on your way to the airport or train station. It will probably take considerably longer than you expect, because the server/desk person is likely to claim that he doesn't know how to reverse the charge.