Frequent Problems Using PLUS ATMs When Traveling

Well, the ATM ate my card yesterday in Portugal, so I completely understand your pain. (Bank is sending a new one.)

My solution thus far has been to carry multiple cards; don't wait until I'm out of cash to get more; and carry dollars that, worst case, I could exchange.

I dislike the fees of my 2 backup debit cards so I'll be finding a new backup before my next trip.

At what point in the process do you get rejected? Sometimes, I believe its due to the machine running low on cash, and will only part with a smaller amount than requested. If it is working, I'll take out the max to reduce the number of times I need to get more.

What is your daily withdrawal limit in US dollars? I ask because I was on a trip with a friend a few years ago, and she got "rejected" on her first attempted withdrawal, with no explanation from the machine. She was panicked, but I gave her some euros, and she called her bank and learned she had a low limit, like $300. She raised it over the phone, and no more problems. But I see you got in touch with your bank and they are clueless, so maybe that has nothing to do with it.

I know from experience that some ATMs in Europe have limits on how much you can take out but there is no signage indicating that limit, you only find out when your request is rejected. Try a smaller amount, maybe?

Whenever I have had a rejection at an ATM in Europe, I have simply found another machine.

It can be a lot of things from the bank wanting you to go through DCC and convert to dollars to being out / low on funds or you wished to withdraw more than the machine was authorized to process. One question how many different ATM cards do you carry when in Europe? We carry 3 from separate banking institutions. We have found over the years sometimes a different card will work better at specific location.

We used our PLUS system ATM card last month in several different machines in both Poland and Austria with no problems. Like others, I wonder if you are asking for more than your account withdrawal limit, or the machine limit, or the machine happens to be low on funds. Have you retried the requests asking for a lower amount?

I traveled to Italy for two vacations this summer. I did have two ATMs that wouldn’t give me money - of course, the first one I tried at Stresa just to cause a little stress! I think it was out of money that day because it worked the next morning. I do request approximately 290€ withdrawals each time.

Another one in Parma was acting very weird. I noticed the two people in front of me annoyed but speaking in Italian, so I couldn’t catch the exact problem. When I tried it, it kept saying I was asking for too much money. I finally asked for 50€, and it gave me that much. Then it was out of money.

I plan on bringing Euros for the next trip, so I usually start with 150-200€. And I try to replenish my money throughout the trip when it falls below 100€, keeping it in my money belt.

I appreciate all your responses.

We did always try lesser amounts if we were turned down initially but it never made a difference.

I am assuming if people are carrying multiple ATM cards it is because they have also experienced unreliable ATMs?

At one point we did use a "non PLUS" ATM in order to get cash and suffered the higher fees. We had no problem using the high fee ATM.

I think we will also begin carrying multiple ATMs from different banks as it seems this is the most reliable way to get cash. It just really bothers me when travel writers (Rick Steves included) toss off advice about ATMs without warning people how unreliable ATMs can be.

Thanks...Rick

I am assuming if people are carrying multiple ATM cards it is because they have also experienced unreliable ATMs?

Yes.

In recent trips, we have resorted to getting some euros from our bank to get us started on the right foot. As the use of Apple Pay and tap to pay has grown, we have gone with that flow, and our next trip to Europe we will likely greatly reduce our need for cash.

One other warning: several years ago, my ATM card number was "stolen" either by a hidden camera or a skimmer when I withdrew money from a bank machine inside a Budapest bank. About a month later, i was alerted to a "teller withdrawal" at a bank in Indonesia - I immediately canceled the card - no other withdrawals happened. For the problems I have experienced such as yours, that incident put me over the top, and I try to bring the foreign currency I need from my bank and avoid ATMs in Europe except as a last resort...

“ I am assuming if people are carrying multiple ATM cards it is because they have also experienced unreliable ATMs?”

Yes, both because sometimes one card will work but not the other & also in case a card was “eaten” by the ATM machine, I still have one card to use.

Personally, I wouldn’t arrive in Europe without some local cash because I don’t want to increase my chance for a slip up with an ATM or non-working machines at the airport.

I am assuming if people are carrying multiple ATM cards it is because they have also experienced unreliable ATMs?

It is called redundancy. If one card eaten by the machine, stolen or becomes unusable you have other sources to obtain cash. We travel with 3 ATM cards and 3 credit cards all on separate accounts. If you are from the USA, you are several thousand miles away from home and will need backups just to be on the safe side.

It's all fine until the ATM machine swallows your card. For no apparent reason. (Not expired, PIN was correct: travel plan was set; card was activated for international use; funds were available, card has been used in other countries; my bank confirmed they did not decline it, etc,etc.)

Oh and the idea of using a bank ATM during open hours so that bank personnel can help you get it back....well that's a myth - at least at the banks I've asked in Portugal. Nope. Nothing they can do locally.

Now, that could be because in Portugal, most ATMs at banks are not directly owned or managed by the banks. It's a 3rd party system called MultiBanco who puts their ATMs in at the banks. And MultiBanco controls the logic to swallow a card.

Apparently it did not like my Schwab card, and neither Schwab nor I can figure out why not. They've shipped a new card to my hotel in Lisbon. Until then....

....good thing I had Euros from my last trip. And some dollars. And 2 other debit cards that I can try. And my credit cards are fine.

ETA: I'm glad this happened in Portugal, instead of my earlier trip to Turkey, where I needed cash a lot more.

My #1 debit card for foreign ATM use has, in addition to the PLUS symbol, two others: Interlink and Star. Just curious if this has anything to do with this situation for the OP, multi network compatibility? Taking a shot in the dark here...

Hi JoJo Rabit:

I have been using a Wells Fargo ATM card and only shows the PLUS symbol.

I will definitely be getting other ATM cards before my next trip.

1 I wonder if I can get a second ATM card in my daughter's name even though she isnt on the account; like I have done for the credit card?
2 In the last 3 years I have lost (temporarily) my cell phone twice and left a credit card in the AirBnb kitchen utensil drawer (had to cancel it, but I have a back up credit card).
3 As for ATM's eating cards, you know how in foreign countries sometimes you pick the language after you put the card in?, well, in Odesa after I put the card in, it didn't offer me English ....... only Russian ...... I had to guess which of the buttons was the cancel button to get my card back (bottom right was the right choice, then got help and got my cash).
4 In maybe 15 years I have used my ATM from Russia to Turkey to France to the UK; never an issue but there is one ATM near where I stay in Budapest that will turn me down on occasions, but I am certain it is an issue of no cash, or no cash for non-bank customers and it always works the next day (or I go to the next machine down the block).

I had two different machines in the same city (Salamanca, Spain) not return my debit card after ATM transactions in 2016. (What are the odds?) The first time, simply pressing the Cancel key solved the problem. The next time, Cancel did nothing. I thought for a bit and decided to try making another withdrawal. Fortunately, the machine spat out the card after the second withdrawal. The next year an ATM in Lyon, France, ate my card and didn't respond to any of my button-pressing. Luckily, the bank was open and an employee retrieved my card after I proved my identity.

In summary, I've had three significant ATM issues in Europe, any of which could have resulted in loss of a card. I now travel with two debit cards.

As for credit cards, I have a long, sad history of leaving them behind, so I now travel with three. The likelihood of losing a credit card is reduced these days since we can often pay by tapping without the card leaving our hands. Still, I consider it risky not to have at least one back-up card, whether debit or credit, when traveling. In my experience it can take 7-10 days or more to get a replacement card overseas, assuming the card company is willing to mail a new card to something other than the cardholder's home address--which some will not do.

I have been using a Wells Fargo ATM card and only shows the PLUS
symbol

I never look at the symbols on the back of my card or even the symbols on the ATM machine. I just go to the closest bank and insert the card. 90% of the time it will work, when it occasionally doesn't I just cross the street to the competing bank and use their machines and it always accepts the card.
So I guess I'm saying don't get overly caught up on symbols, there is a good chance it's also compatible with other networks that Wells Fargo didn't bother to print on the card.