Chas Schwab ATM card

Did you notify Schwab of your travel plans? Even if you did, an error may have occurred on their end. Before one of my trips I walked into my credit union, sat down at a desk, and gave the staffer my travel details. She recorded them on her computer while I was there. When I arrived in Rome a week or so later, the card would not work. That was a royal pain because I do not have phone service in Europe. I managed to find a workable email address by Googling and got the situation straightened out that way. If I had been dealing with a larger institution, I doubt that sending an email describing my account (as a form of identification) to such a non-targeted email address would have worked.

If you have a working phone, call the international contact number on the back of the card or Google to find a number you can use. I understand that regular US toll-free numbers are not usually accessible from Europe.

It's also possible that you hit a time when the network was down briefly for some reason, but I think that's a lot less likely.

Try asking for less cash.

Thanks. I’ve used the card worldwide since February - last week in Tangier - so it must be a corporate glitch. Guess I’ll have to call.

At what point is it rejecting the card? Can you go through the first steps of choosing language, entering PIN, picking money amount etc. or are they just not accepting you've inserted a usable card? That would help in discussing with your bank where the problem is. Are you sure (per a recent discussion), that you haven't rejected the "offer" to add a withdrawal fee to the transaction (not the separate DCC "offer", which is different)? If you do that it will cancel the deal.

I’ve used the card worldwide since February - last week in Tangier - so it must be a corporate glitch.

Exactly the kind of place that triggers fraud algorithms, so not necessarily a "corporate glitch". Hopefully, you warned them about your trip to Morocco in advance? Card may simply be blocked due to suspected fraudulent use - that would be my first guess. Has it worked anywhere since the rejections started? In any case, you need to give them a call - it's not going to heal itself.

On my most recent trip a couple of ATMs (in either Poland or Czechia) declined to give me money without explanation. It can happen if the machine is empty, but twice within a very few days seemed odd. I was able to get money immediately at other banks' ATMs. I wondered at the time whether it was a result of my having turned down the offer of dynamic currency conversion.

I wondered at the time whether it was a result of my having turned down the offer of dynamic currency conversion.

Hah - maybe that'll be the next wrinkle in the scourge of DCC: if you refuse the shake-down, then their system just punishes you?

Time will tell, David. I'm sort of an early warning system for ATM quirks since I make so many withdrawals each summer.

Just got off a call to CS everything’s fine on their end up to my last withdrawal in Morocco. They’ve no record of my failed attempts in Spain and there’s no sign of fraudulent activity. My only recourse now seems to talk with a Spanish bank rep or just leave the country.

How many different banks' ATMs did you try? In 2015 my card was rejected at a couple of ATMs in Quedlinburg; they may have belonged to the same bank. I stuck my head in the second bank and was told that their ATMs had a problem with some (all?) US ATM cards. They directed me to a different bank, where I had no trouble. I haven't read of or experienced such problems in Spain, but who knows?

I was just in Spain. Had no trouble with my Charles Schwab card. I used Santander and BVVB.

Do you think there might be something wrong with the chip on your card?

That happened to me with my Chase card earlier this year while in Paris. I tried multiple ATMs, to no avail. Called Chase. Same response that you received from Schwab. I tried again the next day and got my cash. My guess is that the ATMs were down. I travel internationally at least monthly and never had an issue until then. Good luck!