jumperabv3

Thanks for your tips.
Yes, I used Leumi ATM machine.
I know I can also go into the bank and ask them to swipe the card and give me more cash than the ATM withdrawal limit.

I will look into Schwab and State Farm ... and I would also keep you posted about my charge with PenFed, thanks for your help.

returnoftheyeti

Can confirm, Capital One 360 does not charge ATM fees in China, and Chinese ATMs don't tack on an extra fee either.

uds0

Although a card issuer states that there are "Absolutely No Fees", that does not address ATM fees or (if passed through) the VISA ISA 1% fee. The ATM fees are not charged by the card issuer so their disclosure doesn't need to mention it. Although the VISA ISA 1% fee is charged to the card issuer (not customer) by VISA, most debit card issuers pass that fee through. It IS actually a card issuer charge typically matching their cost from VISA, and therefore should (must?) be disclosed in the pricing schedule. Bank reps often insist that this ISA fee is not charged by them, but by VISA - they are simply wrong! The issuer has no obligation to pass through the fee - it is 100% their choice. Virtually all debit cards pass through the VISA ISA 1% network use fee (except Schwab and reported State Farm).

The big benefit of State farm is that they reimburse ALL charged fees, whereas Schwab only reimburses their debit card ATM cash withdrawal fees. Thus, any other sneaky fee charged by the ATM operator such as balance inquiry, etc are NOT reimbursed by Schwab. Note that any adjustment to exchange rate is not reimbursed (and should be disclosed but there are reports are that it does happen without disclosure)

In addition, getting cash from a bank teller can easily generate a "convenience" or other fee, so be sure to test that to.

And, some cards that have no cash withdrawal FTF fee have purchase FTF fee.

So, to be truly fee free, ALL ATM fees, in person bank cash withdrawal (which are confusingly called "cash advances" since the bank you are withdrawing funds from doesn't yet have your money, but not treated as cash advances re cash advance fees) fees, purchase fees, and exchange rate padding also need to be considered.

uds0

Thanks for that good news.

How's the exchange rate compared to "average" that date?

007shinobi

If you need another incentive to test out state farm bank, you get turbo tax deluxe for free. I decided to sign up for state farm bank as a secondary to schwab. It can't hurt since they both do not have minimum balances (unless you get interest checking with state farm, but I have a different account for that). I also found out that my local bank does not pass a specific cross-border fee(their debit card is mastercard). However, they had a POS transaction and ATM withdrawal limit of $500 and were really slow in responding.

jumperabv3

No, not in Israel.
In Israel you go to a Leumi branch and you hand over your card and Passport, then you withdraw as much as you want (I think it's up to 10,000 Shekels which is approx $2,500).

I know it because I also hold a Halifax Clarity Card and I used it a lot in many countries to withdraw cash. It is a British card, in GBP currency, one most of you might not be familiar with, but it's an amazing card - not only you never ever pay any fee to use it, you even get 5 GBP every month you spend 300 GBP with it! (not including cash transactions)

I must say having a GBP and USD cards that don't charge you for FX is a good thing to have ... I just booked a flight for myself and my wife, I used my Citibank to pay to Expedia in USD and my Halifax to pay in Euros to Air Malta

jumperabv3

Well, the transaction was posted today for $101.55 - which is 3.939 - that seems about right because the exchange rate did touch that line when I actually took out the cash probably, so it seems to be PERFECT! ^

Also as I said if you pay the balance on the very day you make the ATM withdrawal there IS NO interest rate charged because PenFed counts the day you initiate the transfer as the VALUE date of your Card Repayment which is great !!

uds0

To be clear, this is their credit card (not debit)?

jumperabv3

Yes, that's credit ... I'd rather have credit and not debit, because this way you build your credit and can apply for many more credit cards to earn miles and so forth ... I recognize the value of a debit card (just applied for one from Schwab today) but still I would prefer to use more credit than debit, and simply pay it off the moment I use it so I don't pay any interest but on the same time increase my chances to get more credit cards to earn miles etc.

joshwex90

But you pay a cash advance fee?

You'd rather pay a fee than have a debit card which will give you free withdrawals?
And even if you try to pay back "immediately," what do you do when you can't pay back immediately, such as no phone/internet access?

FT777

The official fee schedule on their website states that they have no cash advance fee, and the APR is the same as the one for purchases. I'm assuming that there is no grace period for cash advances though.

uds0

Since Andrews also has no cash advance fee and low interest rate, I tried a cash advance at a local ATM. The ATM tried to charge a $3 fee! Wonder why there was no fee charged with yours?

jumperabv3

No, I don't pay any cash advance fee, none whatsoever.

I don't pay any fee, it's just as good as a debit card, just the bonus is that it builds your credit, which you can use to get more credit cards later on.

Then I don't make a withdrawal, pure and simple.
I would only withdraw if I would be able to pay it back same day (I used my mobile to do that, just 1 minute after the withdrawal was successful from the ATM I made a transfer).

jumperabv3

Honestly I don't know sir, but I researched this card very well before I ordered it ... I don't know why yours is charging a fee ... but mine is charging none ... that's why I like it.

uds0

The ATM operator was charging the fee, not Andrews. My ATM was USA, remind me if your's was non-USA. My understanding is that international transactions do not typically get charged an ATM fee in Europe for US cards.