Blocked ATM cards

Maybe open an account at a commercial bank like CHASE or BofA to get an ATM card, and fund it to cover your anticipated travel expenses? Of course, confirm with the bank that their ATM card (PLUS network for both?) will work in Iceland and Estonia. I couldn't find anything on the CHASE website to indicate they are blocking ATM use in those countries, and one of my colleagues recently visited Estonia. We talked at length about her trip and she didn't mention any problem getting local currency. I realize this is not a definitive answer. :)

Prepaid VISA cards probably won't work for several reasons. Many of them cannot be used outside the US. "Travel" cards can have high fees for setup and removing any unused cash after your trip, and the exchange rate can be bad. In your case, I would just bite the bullet and exchange some dollars at a booth on arrival, and use your credit card when you can

Rather than open new bank accounts, you have several options. The best one might depend on how long you will be visiting. Estonia is in the Eurozone. You could buy local currency ahead of time in the US, but Icelandic currency might be hard to come by. Getting euros is not a problem. Use your credit card for most purchases. Buy some local currency at a currency exchange on arrival in Iceland. The rates are high, but having some cash will get you through when a CC won't work.

Can you explain how (and why) a credit union can/would "block" A VISA/Master Card debit card in certain countries? I don't even think that's legal - the credit union is just an intermediary for those cards - as long as an ATM machine has the Cirrus/Star symbol, it must accept the card unless it blocked it in case of fraudulent activity to protect you. I've been to Iceland twice and used my credit union VISA ATM card without any problems - so what is different now?

Agnes, I believe there has been a lot of atm fraud lately with those card readers that get inserted and skim your information. Banks usually repay you if your account is hacked, so I guess they're getting tired of it. Google it, there's some that even block the UK and Italy. There's also different levels of blocked, mine has a complete block on Iceland. Frustrating to deal with but with a little preplanning we should be fine. It probably surprises people who don't check first. Thanks for all the advice, I think we'll just get some money out at the country before our trouble ones and do currency exchange.

Hi Janine, I couldn't find anything striking by googling it - so I'll just take your word for it. Best of luck - if this happened to me, I'd use my Capital One card as much as possible (no foreign transaction fees) and in Iceland, credit cards are widely accepted.

Janine is correct. The Fort Knox Federal Credit Union has blocked use of their ATM card in a whole 'laundry' :) list of countries, including Iceland and Estonia. There was recently a gigantic, coordinated ATM scam that pulled many millions from various banks. Generally speaking, Federal credit unions tend to be more conservative than large commercial banks. http://www.fkfcu.org/blocked.html