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I have an ATM card from Chase and from Bank of America. Which bank charges less fees when activating a foreign ATM? Are they typically the same? Thanks
I would call both banks and ask them how much they charge for foreign ATM withdrawal and what percentage they charge on the foreign currency exchange rate.
Both are bad, I believe. They each charge 3% on top of each transaction. Find a local bank with STAR or CIRRUS ATM cards (accepted EVERYWHERE). Local banks usually don't expect members to travel abroad so they don't slap any ridiculous % on your ATM transactions, just the cash exchange rate and the standard visa charge.
Charges to your ATM card are as follows whenever you make a withdrawl in a foreign currency:
1. The actual US dollar value of the cash withdrawn (usually very close to the published exchange rates (you can find them on yahoo finance)
2. A visa exchange charge of 1% of the total value of the withdrawl. This is unavoidable.
3. Whatever % your bank tacks on. Usually 1-3% if anything. My local credit union doesn't add anything.
ATM's outside the US are not the same. You need to contact your bank and get a list of banks in those countries that accept them from your particular bank. Also you need to notify the bank of the dates that the card will be outside the US or they may decline it.
Check if they have any agreements with other banks. I remember when we went to Mexico my friend avoided some of the charges because the bank there was affiliated with BoA (I think it was the ATM fee he didn't have to pay, not the foreign service fee).
It really depends on where you are traveling. You can find a lot of US based banks throughout the Caribbean, and if you use them you get your money in US dollars and there are no ATM fees over and above the typical ones you would pay here.
I went all through western and eastern europe, southeast asia, central asia, Indian ocean islands, and pacific islands. I withdrews pounds, euros, slovak krownes, hungarian forinths, indian rupees, indonesian rupiah, maldivian whatevers, malaysian er... somethings, thai baht, cambodian uh, no wait, I just used dollars in cambodia, vietnamese dong, chinese yuan, japanese yen, and new taiwan dollars without a fee. The big worry was bank % tack-ons. Maybe 1 ATM in 20 would warn me that it was going to charge extra, and I just wandered a few extra blocks until I found one that wouldn't.
No need to contact foreign banks. Just stick in your card, and read the screen carefully. Most ATMs will have english translations. Look closely, though, often surcharges for foreign banks are printed on the walls of the ATM booth instead of coming up on the screen. If it's a long-duration trip a back-up card is a good idea. My friend had a dodgy ATM eat his card.
Otherwise, if the ATM shows the same logo as your card, you're good to go. Again, Cirrus and STAR are very widely used. Also CO-OP.
Thanks. I would be using a card for 10 months in Israel.
The ATMs in Israel all show which types of cards they accept and will give you all instructions in English upon insertion of your card.
In the past, the Israeli ATMs did not charge a service fee when using a foreign ATM card to withdraw shekels.
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