Mexico - Need advice for best prepaid cash/ATM card for Mexico

Help! My daughter, 19, has just decided to go ALONE to Oaxaca, Mexico NEXT WEEK and I'm helping her with the travel details.

She wants to bring a back-up ATM/credit card that will work in Mexico. Currently all she has is a BofA debit card affiliated with her savings account and it works only in BofA ATMs. She does have a credit card but she doesn't want to do cash advances against it.

This is a wake-up call to her to become more financially savvy and she's hoofing it down to BofA tomorrow to see what she can do about converting her savings account card to a regular ATM (against a checking account) but in the meantime she needs something else.

Any suggestions?

Not sure this may be the best forum for such inquiry. Have you asked on the Mexico forum?

Probably not enough time, but I actually really like my fidelity cash management account debit card. They refund ATM transaction fees and I've had no trouble using it at international ATMs with no fees (either from the ATM or from the "bank" side). As long as you can find an ATM that takes VISA (or Plus, or Star), it's nice to get cash at official exchange rates at a simple 1% exchange rate fee.
http://personal.fidelity.com/accounts/aong/more_fcma.shtml?tab=MostRequested&source=aong
(I haven't, however, used it Mexico)

Fidelity might be willing to fedex the initial card if you ask nicely enough.

Not sure this may be the best forum for such inquiry. Have you asked on the Mexico forum?

thanks--will move

oshelef offers some sage advice. But in the end, if it has a Cirrus (MasterCard) or Plus or Star, you can use it.

Beware of foreign bank fees with some cards - if it's $5, you pay regardless of whether you extract $50 or $300 at one time, in MXN Pesos. Also be aware some cards may charge forex fees, though your card may just use the bank rate. If you use your credit card, that is a cash advance, and will likely have more onerous terms than a purchase.

Beware of stores / providers offering to bill your card in US Dollars - they will most likely play the "dynamic currency conversion" - the merchants use their own rate and you find you paid more than you intended. Link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_currency_conversion)to Wikipedia discussion on DCC.

Try to figure how much you will need - you may not get a great deal on your pesos once you leave Mexico, and in many cases U S dollars will be accepted (just watch the offered rate!) On weekends, especially Sundays, cash machines may be exhausted - this is very true in the Cancún area, with hordes of cruise ship folks causing an "ATM run".

Also eyeball the ATM - not just in Mexico, but anywhere. Is it in plain view, are there folks hanging about that might make you nervous? Move on. Is the ATM plain, or does it have, say, a bulky card reader that looks like it has some parts added on, sometimes with a brochure holder n the frame of the ATM facing the card reader? Move on - some ATMs have card readers "grafted" on by bad guys.

Use the ATM when the bank is open if at all possible. Some place little plastic strips inside to trap you card - when you can not withdraw it, the usual drill is some nicely dressed and "helpful" person tells you it's a known problem and please try your PIN a couple of more times.

http://wordpress.yell.com/homesecurity/files/2009/09/trap-in-slot1.jpg http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ61KfZuNJZzkA5z9FnXI0P5kJF4tCq5 Lwq-K8wIcE4-ydLLgdeIzY4926q
ATM / Cash card trap

That will not work, but once you leave the person retrieves the card and now has your PIN. These will generally occur at ATMs that are standalone or near a bank that is closed.

The other kind of trap is one where your ATM card is accepted but a steel trap prevents the ATM from actually dispensing cash - until the bad type who installed the trap removes it and gratefully accepts your cash.

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/images/imgstore/295_2phql4oy27.jpg
Cash or "glue" trap with false front occluding cash dispenser

In Mexico, but we live in Roseville, CA and they found a "grafted" ATM in nearby Auburn last week, and we've had these issues for some time - they exist in Mexico as well. And this version is from the U.K.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/americanservices/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/atm-fraud.jpg
U. K. rigged ATM, c/o U. S. Embassy

There are even some ATM / cash machines with an entire face over the original, which record your card and PIN but dispense nothing but grief for the would-be customer - as mentioned previously, examine the mechanical condition of the machine and use those at open banks and areas that are watched and active for some protection.

http://www.gasa-cognito.com/media/Invent22.jpg
Phony cash machine face plate

Don't leave your cards in your purse or baggage - a particular instance that's popular (it happened to my sister in Cancún at a pricey resort) is you are offered use of a day room, and decide to go swimming or whatever. In my sister's case, she merely used the bathroom to change into her swimsuit, and when she emerged there seemed to have been no problem.

Someone had taken ONE card from her purse (and sometimes they merely get the number and your identification information) and by the time she became aware of the issue at he airport her card had been severely hit with charges.

Hey there, I hope it's not too late for this tip.

The best US ATM card for withdrawals in Mexico is in my experience Bank of America, at least with my debit card I get charged NO fees whatsoever when using a Santander ATM, Santander is everywhere in Mexico so it's pretty practical. Another bonus is that you pretty much get the interbank exchange rate which is pretty darn close to the official rate and much better than what you'd get at any casa de cambio.

Good luck and hope your daughter enjoys Oaxaca, it's a great place.

Buena información, Ricardo.

Another recommendation for those who travel with frequency - I have a separate account I use for travel with limited funds and a separate ATM. I can transfer what I want into this account via my normal one, but if my card is compromised, it is unconnected to any other account with my bank and can not be used to draw on any other account, nor will it draw any overdraft protection funds from my checking.

It's merely one more protection. (It's branded Visa, can be used as a Visa debit card and can be used at Visa, Plus and Star branded ATMs.)

Hey there, I hope it's not too late for this tip.

The best US ATM card for withdrawals in Mexico is in my experience Bank of America, at least with my debit card I get charged NO fees whatsoever when using a Santander ATM, Santander is everywhere in Mexico so it's pretty practical. Another bonus is that you pretty much get the interbank exchange rate which is pretty darn close to the official rate and much better than what you'd get at any casa de cambio.

Good luck and hope your daughter enjoys Oaxaca, it's a great place.

Thanks--dd managed to get her BoA savings changed over to checking (with a debit card) just in time for the trip. She has my PayPal debit as a backup. PP is no bargain, but it is the only debit card that has worked in virtually every country, at every ATM, I have ever used. When all other debit cards seem to go bellyup, the PP card works. Never understood why.

BTW, dd enjoyed Oaxaca immensely. Met a guy, fell in love. That's another post.