ATM Cards in Europe

[gators70]

I know this subject has been beat to death on many strings, but I don't seem to get the real answers I need. I fully understand the positives and negatives of using an ATM card overseas (fees and xchange rates) and I know about making sure of what fees I am being charged. I know the advantages/availability of chip and pin cards, but my question is a little more basic.

 

I have a debit/ATM card (not chip and pin) from GTE Financial (not that the bank matters). It is a Master Card Debit/ATM card, The back of my card identifies the useable networks as "CO-OP" and "Star".

 

Will I even be able to use this in Europe? Can I use it at ATMs outside of the CO-OP and Star network (may be additional fees?)? My bank help line is clueless; I think they just give any answer they can think of to get you off the phone. I know Cruise Critic folk are vastly more experienced than the talking head at the bank.

 

I also know that I need to advise the bank ahead of my trip as to what countries I will be visiting and the dates I will be out of the country. I am also told by the bank that they can raise my withdrawal limit as needed for the trip duration. But all of that is only meaningful if I can actually plug the card in an ATM in Europe and have it do its magic.

 

All having been said, I am just tempted to take a pile of US dollars and exchange them on the ship for local currency. It is my understanding that the ship (Princess) has a cash exchange machine that will convert my US dollars to local currency (albiet with a $3.50 per transaction fee which is bearable). I asked my bank if they could give me euros before I leave and (of course) they don't offer that service.

 

I just have the concern of needing to hit up an ATM and not being able to. Any experience or info would be helpful.

[ducklite]

The bank DOES matter. Some banks have agreements with various European banks to provide no fee ATM withdrawls.

 

Also you will need a four digit PIN, not six.

 

I bank with BofA and was able to withdraw money with no fees in Italy at one of the banks there in Rome and Venice.

[kitty9]

European ATM's require pins so if the card you're using doesn't have a pin to access the account, it won't work. I've also found that a lot of Europe is converting to the cards with the chip----B of A just sent me a new card with the chip, knowing that I travel a lot and use my card at foreign ATM machines. And like ducklite said, the bank certainly does matter. I was able to use a bank in London with no fees. Call the main HQ of B of A and ask for a list of banks with which they have a reciprocal agreement.

[Hlitner]

You do have the right idea by notifying your issuing bank. As has been posted, if your PIN is more then 4 digits it might (not always) be a problem. For folks with 5 or 6 digit PINs you should discuss this with your issuing bank and perhaps you can get it changed to a 4 digit for your trip. Your card should work in almost any European ATM but if it does fail to work at a machine then just move on to a different bank's ATM. Do not ever keep trying to use a terminal that rejects your card. Also be aware that there will be a daily limit on your withdrawals that is set by your own bank and also by the withdrawing bank. Most folks are able to get about $500 a day (a little less then 400 Euros) but it can vary. If you try a withdrawal and it rejects because of the limit you can try again at a lower amount..

 

Hank

[ducklite]

European ATM's require pins so if the card you're using doesn't have a pin to access the account, it won't work. I've also found that a lot of Europe is converting to the cards with the chip----B of A just sent me a new card with the chip, knowing that I travel a lot and use my card at foreign ATM machines. And like ducklite said, the bank certainly does matter. I was able to use a bank in London with no fees. Call the main HQ of B of A and ask for a list of banks with which they have a reciprocal agreement.

 

It's on their website--just hidden. Easiest way to find it is Google something like "Bank of America foreign ATM"

 

I'll have to ask them about new ATM cards with chips for DH and myself.

[LHT28]

Some ATM's will charge a fee it can range from $3. TO $5 if your bank does not have an agreement with overseas banks

the exchange rates are about the same as here where I get my foreign currency but I hear in the USA they charge you a fee ...that is something to consider

Some places have a limit on what you can withdraw daily regardless of your own banks daily limits

 

I have an HSBC account strictly for travel where I keep less than $1000. so if my card is compromised that is all they will get

I can make transfer from another bank account should I need more $

[chipq]

I have an HSBC account strictly for travel where I keep less than $1000. so if my card is compromised that is all they will get

I can make transfer from another bank account should I need more $

 

I like that approach. Great idea.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[SadieN]

We ran into an odd problem in Rome. ATM said that our card was not good and (thankfully) spit it back.

 

Called Schwab and card was fine. Went to another ATM and got our money. As near as we can figure it out the first ATM either didn't have enough money or couldn't communicate with Schwab. We used that ATM the whole trip, DD still uses it.

 

Problem with exchanging money on the ship. Not only do they charge a fee their exchange rate could be much lower.

[cruisemom42]

I don't think your specific question about the ATM networks has been fully answered....

 

Yes, the networks listed on the back of your card do matter. You need to look for a machine that has the same logo on it. Lots of ATMs will accept cards from more than one network. I think "PLUS" and "Cirrus" are two of the most popular networks.

 

I met a couple when I was traveling in Turkey a few years ago that were on the "STAR" network. They didn't have as many choices, and in some (less touristy) areas they had a harder time finding machines that would take their card. But they did find them.

 

I'm not sure about the other network you mention -- don't think I've ever heard of it.

[zekekelso]

As long as your card has the MasterCard logo, it'll probably work in most European ATM machines. You'll see Cirrius or Maestro on the machine if you don't see MasterCard (they all use the same overlapping circle logo.)

 

You can think long and hard about this is you want. But it's generally very easy to find a machine that will give you money and the total fees are going to be small compared to the total trip cost.

 

The biggest holdup is often knowing the number for you PIN (the actual number). Machines won't necessarily have letters on the keys, and they arrangement of keys can be different.

[LHT28]

Had this happen in Budapest & Norway... we tried a bank ATM it would not work then we tried a different bank's ATM ..perfect

If one does not work just try another bank chain

[Blue Elephant]

When we travelled in Italy last year, we had three different cards, just in case we had troubles. I think we had one problem, but had plenty of back up.

[SadieN]

When we travelled in Italy last year, we had three different cards, just in case we had troubles. I think we had one problem, but had plenty of back up.

 

So right. Don't do what DH did. His card stopped working day 3 of a 15 day trip. After about an hour on the phone with the bank DH realizes his card expired. He forgot to put the new card in his wallet.

[sk8teacher]

We have used our Cap 1 debit card throughout Europe and never had an issue. Works just fine. As long as you have notified your bank where you are traveling, you understand you may incur additional charges, and you have a four digit pin, you should be fine.

[bean24]

Another thing to be aware of, we keep most of our money in our savings account. On a trip to Italy the trains went on strike the day we were going from Rome to Florence. Had to hire a private car and went to the ATM to get the cash we could only access our checking acct. there was no option for savings acct. So make sure if your card accesses multiple accounts there is money in all of them.

[gators70]

Thanks to all for the responses. Maybe I am just a little paranoid since DW and I will be "in charge" of the whole family of kids and grandkids (10 in all) and will be picking up most of the tabs for the trip. It would be bad enough to spoil a trip for DW and I, but I would be really upset if my lack of planning spoiled the trip for all 10 of us.

 

We have opened a Capital One bank account and our debit/ATM cards are on the way. When they arrive we will make sure they have a 4-digit pin. We will advise Capital One of our dates and locations we will be out of the country and make sure the bank account is funded adequately. We will also be taking US dollars to exchange on the ship if necessary.

 

Once again....thanks.

[agabbymama]

Thanks to all for the responses. Maybe I am just a little paranoid since DW and I will be "in charge" of the whole family of kids and grandkids (10 in all) and will be picking up most of the tabs for the trip. It would be bad enough to spoil a trip for DW and I, but I would be really upset if my lack of planning spoiled the trip for all 10 of us.

 

We have opened a Capital One bank account and our debit/ATM cards are on the way. When they arrive we will make sure they have a 4-digit pin. We will advise Capital One of our dates and locations we will be out of the country and make sure the bank account is funded adequately. We will also be taking US dollars to exchange on the ship if necessary.

 

Once again....thanks.

 

gators70, Looks like you have everything covered. Just be sure to take twice the money you think you will need. I had budgeted $2000 and it ended up costing $4000 pp for a 12 day cruise + 9 days total on land. That's hotels, food, taxis, tours & souvenirs.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[Hlitner]

I should have added something important to my prior post. Since we do a lot of extensive international travel (often away over 2 months) our ATM cards are very important. So DW and I maintain separate bank accounts at two different banks and have ATM cards for both. This means that if a card gets eaten, stolen, or fails to work we have the other card as a back up. It is the same with credit cards. We have separate cards issued by different financial institutions. I should add that choose our cards carefully and find banks that charge zero fees and credit cards (such as Capitalone) that have no foreign transaction fees.

 

Hank

[maryann ns]

My DH and I do it a bit differently from Hank, but it is the same idea. We have all joint accounts, but we have two debit cards each from two different banks, as well as a Visa and a MasterCard. We can access our accounts online to do some juggling if necessary.

 

Some ATMs limit how much you can withdraw but we discovered that I could use my card and then my DH could use his right after letting us withdraw twice as much.

 

If an ATM refuses to give you cash, try asking for less. The messages they give do not say that you are over their limit, but that is often the problem.

[tigger_ag]

As a word of caution take a back up card in addition to your Capital One just in case! I happened to be in Canada and did alert Capital One that I was traveling out of the country to avoid my card being shut off and Capital One ended up having an issue where credit cards and debit cards were compromised from a European country and even though they were informed, Capital One still shut off my card (and a lot of others) as a precaution. They were very quick to respond to me through the messaging center on their website, but I still had to have my parents wire me money in Canada as my cards would not work to pay for the rest of my hostel/hotel stays. Thankfully Capital One was great about getting me new cards and refunding fees for wiring once I got home, but it would have been a lot easier if I had a backup card from another bank to start with.

[grandmacani]

Does anyone know if the travel cards will work? AAA said they will be assigned a 4 digit pin. We would only use them to withdraw from ATM machines. I would like to take a couple of cards loaded, but worry that they won't work. Thanks for any heads up