Hey guys,

I found this site recently and since I'm going abroad soon its been incredibly helpful but I still have a few more questions.

I'm going to be in various countries(mainly Czech Rep.-Prague) in Europe for the next 4 months and I've been looking around for cards with the cheapest atm withdrawal fees.

All my current credit/debit cards charge a flat fee + a 2%/3% conversion charge which I'd really like to avoid.

I've thought about signing up for Capital One Money Market Account which comes with a no fee ATM card but I wanted to get other peoples' feedback/experiences before I got one. Are there no fees at any ATM in Europe or only at select locations? I've also had doubts about it being accepted as I've heard that the ATM card has no mastercard/visa affiliation?

I would really appreciate some help as I'm lost as to whether or not its worth the effort.

Thanks

Schwab checking comes with no fees+ALL ATM rebates, but takes about a week to fully open/transfer funds (takes a few days to get money in there).

Many ATMs in Europe have no fees, but some US banks charge you for using out-of-network ATMs.

CapitalOne CCs also have no int'l fees.

I have a Citibank card in the UK and Citi does not charge if using another Citi ATM anywhere in the world. I have accounts in sterling, US dollars and Euros. if I withdraw in any of these currencies I also don't pay any fees (though the local bank may charge).

Same. I have a Citibank card from Singapore and I'm not charged for using another CITI Atm anywhere else.

Exercise situational awareness when using your ATM card overseas. Skimming is rampant. Happened to me in London.

HSBC cards also have no fees anywhere within their system.

In some places in Europe and elsewhere it is becoming more difficult to use cards without the chip/pin. For some important things (gasoline stations in France and Italy, for example, where the best prices are usually pay-at-the-pump and often unattended) chip/pin is the only acceptable payment method.

The E*Trade money market ATM card works the same as Schwab's, I believe. Credit unions generally have low ATM fees, but the ATM card is often a VISA debit card which usually means that transactions get hit with a 1% international exchange fee.

Schwab eats the fee for you so it really is FREE!!! + you get a better exchange rate. I compared with two local currency exchange around my hotel in Berlin, the 3 times I took out money I noted the rate down. When I got home and comparing the two rates at the time, I got a excellent rate from Schwab!

Ally Bank's ATM policy does this too.

I have a US-issued Citibank ATM card, and after the subprime crisis they imposed a charge (about 2%, IIRC) for withdrawals from non-US Citibank ATMs, at which point I stopped using the card outside the US. Does anyone know if they've since dropped that fee for US customers, or are they treating non-US Citbank cards differently?

FYI Schwab refunds ATM fees at the end of the statement. Other banks do it the next day. Just something to be aware of.

It's hard to beat the cost of overseas transactions using an USAA debit card, nor have I had a problem in any Western/Central European country in the last six years or so. I do tend to find and use bank branch locations as least likely to be subject to skimming (although the one "skimmer" I ever saw was so blatantly apparent as to scare away any but fools).

One question for the cognoscenti... Given BBVA Compass's major presence in so many US cities and BBVA's branches on every corner in most of Spain, do the two banks offer their customers some pricing benefit when it comes to ATM transactions at a foreign "partner".

To do so, at least with a benefit enough to matter, would be the only reason I might open a BBVA Compass account.

Can you confirm with Foreign ATM Transactions? I can't get a straight answer from the Ally Website. It looks like there is no fees on Foreign ATM Transactions but there is a 1% when doing a POS transaction and I'm wondering does this apply when doing ATM Transactions?

My USA Citibank ATM debit card is 3% even at Citibank branches in Chile and Argentina. It is clearly spelled out in their current terms so foreign issued cards are obviously being treated differently.

I believe that US Citi Gold members have this fee waived.