Withdrawing money from US ATM's and Travel tips

chazbat1

Hi All,

I have a Visa Debit card and was wondering what the daily max is on withdrawing money from ATM's in the US? as I was in the US in 2011 and remember a $200 limit - also what option do you choose as last time I had issues as it asked was my account a checking or savings account and had to find another ATM!!!

Lastly has anyone Visited Fort Myers Beach in South West Florida? any good places to eat or things to do? I am going there on 9th Oct for 2 weeks and just wanted some Irish opinions on whats good!

Dave1442397

My ATM (Wells Fargo) limits me to $500 a day. If you're using an ATM that asks whether checking or saving, I always say checking.

I haven't been to Fort Myers, but check Tripadvisor - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34230-Activities-Fort_Myers_Florida.html

Novella

I have an AIB Visa Debit and the withdrawal limit on it in the US is $200 per day. Also, when the ATM asks you to select checking or savings, you just choose checking. It will work find, no need to go a different machine.

Ponster

chazbat1 wrote: »

I have a Visa Debit card and was wondering what the daily max is on withdrawing money from ATM's in the US? as I was in the US in 2011 and remember a $200 limit -

The limit is most likely imposed by your bank, not the ATM as such.

ProudDUB

chazbat1 wrote: »

Hi All,

I have a Visa Debit card and was wondering what the daily max is on withdrawing money from ATM's in the US? as I was in the US in 2011 and remember a $200 limit - also what option do you choose as last time I had issues as it asked was my account a checking or savings account and had to find another ATM!!!

Check with your bank here. Each bank puts limits on what you can withdraw when you are out of the euro zone. The withdrawal limit in the US will vary from ATM to ATM & bank to bank. There is no industry standard. If you are using a debit card that is linked to your Irish current bank account, select the checking account option at US ATM machines. That is what the Yanks call current accounts.

BuffyBot

Indeed, checking = current account

ceadaoin.

You should let your bank know that you plan to travel to the US before you go so that they can make a note on your account. Ulster Bank put a stop on my visa debit card when I tried to use it here the first time because they thought it was being used fraudulently.

InTheTrees

ceadaoin. wrote: »

You should let your bank know that you plan to travel to the US before you go so that they can make a note on your account. Ulster Bank put a stop on my visa debit card when I tried to use it here the first time because they thought it was being used fraudulently.

This happened to me too and scared the crap out of me. I had to call my bank to find out what was up and have them unblock it. Now I let them know every time I travel.

coylemj

Check your bank's website to see what charges are levied for foreign withdrawals. Especially look for the minimum charge and calculate the amount of money that you'd withdraw to incur that charge, that then is the minimum you need to withdraw at a time, otherwise the charge will be a disproportionate % of the amount.

For example, BoI says that the charge for withdrawing from a non-EU ATM using a Visa Debit card is 3.5% but a minimum charge of €3.17 applies, this means that you need to be withdrawing the equivalent of €91 (about $115) or more per transaction.

You'll be tripping over ATMs all over the place in the US, they're in McDonalds, liquor stores, hotel lobbies etc.. Virtually all of them will charge you for the privilege of giving you cash so I normally try to stick to ATMs in bank branches, they tend to have lower charges.

Dave1442397

There are plenty of ATMs that don't charge fees, but note that your home bank may still charge you.

http://www.fool.com/Money/Banking/Banking05.htm

JohnMearsheimer

ceadaoin. wrote: »

You should let your bank know that you plan to travel to the US before you go so that they can make a note on your account. Ulster Bank put a stop on my visa debit card when I tried to use it here the first time because they thought it was being used fraudulently.

Ulster Bank are a funny one. Last year on my last day in NYC I tried using my debit card to pay for the subway as I had run out of cash and didn't want to have to take money out of the ATM just to pay for my fare. Anyway my card ended up being blocked by Ulster Bank after I put it into a ticket machine in a subway station.

I was in the US and Canada 2 weeks ago. A few days before I left I called Ulster Bank to let them know I would be out of the country and the girl I spoke to said they did not take advance notifications of people being out of the country. She gave me a number to call in case my card got blocked. I used my card away in Montana without a problem.

My girlfriend banks with Bank of Ireland and there was a section in her online banking where she could inform the bank that she would be out of the country.

coylemj

Dave1442397 wrote: »

There are plenty of ATMs that don't charge fees......

According to that article you posted a link to, the only ATMs which won't levy their own charge are the ones owned by your own bank. And I've yet to come across a Bank of Ireland or AIB ATM in NYC.

All the machines that belong to somebody other than your bank. These will charge you about $1 to $1.50 to make your transaction, and they'll post that they're imposing a fee either on the "welcome" screen or else with a sticker on the machine itself.

Dave1442397 wrote: »

..... but note that your home bank may still charge you.

There's no 'may' about it, if you use an ATM in a non-EU country, your bank will charge you for the privilege.

Dave1442397

coylemj wrote: »

According to that article you posted a link to, the only ATMs which won't levy their own charge are the ones owned by your own bank. And I've yet to come across a Bank of Ireland or AIB ATM in NYC.

All the machines that belong to somebody other than your bank. These will charge you about $1 to $1.50 to make your transaction, and they'll post that they're imposing a fee either on the "welcome" screen or else with a sticker on the machine itself.

Not true, there are many stores in my area that advertise no-fee ATMs. This is from Wawa's site -

Are Wawa ATMs surcharge-free?
Yes, all of our ATMs are surcharge-free. While Wawa does not charge a fee, your personal bank may charge an out-of-network fee when you withdraw money from one of our ATMs. Please check your bank’s service agreement for information about fees.