Originally Posted by DavidHatt
What I do now is order my foreign currnency on wellsfargo.com. I get the money the next day and there's an $8 service charge. I order all the currency upfront rather being gouched by the overseas ATM charge, WF's ATM charge and then, I think, 3% for privilege being able to withdraw money from an overseas ATM. I don't paying a fee -- people need to make money -- but I resent being gouched.
David
You are losing big time on Wells Fargo's exchange rate. Though not the safest in some countries, you will always get the best exchange by taking nice clean 100USD bills and exchanging them yourself in the country you are visiting.
My first trips overseas, I too ordered currency from WF. After my first trip, I realized how naive I was, and now take 2 ATM cards, WF and my CU, and 1000-2000 in cash. I charge all I can, unless the merchant wants to surcharge CC's like many in Asia do, and use cash for the rest.
BTW, WF charges a 5.00 fee when using a foreign ATM. There is no % fee on top of that. There is a % fee now in the conversion rate on a charged purchase.
Terry