ATM FEES

[ELHS220]

I did the Francés in 2015 and again in 2017 and rarely had to pay an ATM fee. I am now doing the Norte from Oviedo/Avilés to Santiago and was rather shocked to find that a €5 fee is the norm no matter whose machine you hit. I am currently in Luarca and I happily stumbled upon a CAJA RURAL ATM that charged me NOTHING. Needless to say, I will be on the lookout for them from now on!!

 

[Colopalm]

Thanks for sharing. I am on the Frances and was charged 5€ this morning. I'll watch for Caja Rurals for the next withdrawal.

 

[TMcA]

I just returned from 2 weeks on the CF and had the same reaction. My post on the this subject received a lot of replies, some of which explained the recent increase in fees.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/atm-charges.55460/#post-621377

 

[Sandi Smith]

Darn it! It was free when I was last in Spain in 2014. Bummer. Guess I’ll be taking my max each time to minimize the hit on atm fees!

 

[Vacajoe]

Realize, though, that the fee-free ATMs MAY add that cost on via a poorer exchange rate on the money you take out PLUS your own bank may add a fee. Deutschbank ATMs also don’t charge. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a fee-free lunch...

(And yes, I AM aware of Schwabb’s debit card, Aspire’s online banking, etc. but there are plenty of other posts on that topic...)

 

[scruffy1]

Our banks here in Israel l-o-v-e-d you to use the ATM abroad, unless otherwise specified, all such transactions were calculated in dollars so the the banks added on to their basic service charge a fee for exchanging the Euros withdrawn into dollars then another fee to exchange the sum into our local currency Shekels. Nasty. I am told that there may be some pleasant bank clerks somewhere, if you can find one at your own bank do try and discover the policies regarding ATMs abroad. And yes, Vacajoe is correct, banks l-o-v-e to gerrymander the exchange rates.

 

[Nomad Pack]

I use librebank here Cantabria, no transaction or exchange fees with British debit cards.

 

[Calvin & Hobbes]

In 2016 I hiked the CF. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Santander was not charging a fee at their ATMs. I was using a CapitalOne360 card because it doesn't charge ATM or conversion fees either (U.S.) Does anyone know if Santander now charges fees? Santander does have a presence in the U.S. if that makes any difference.

 

[JanelMcB]

If you can open an account with Charles Schwab, they reimburse all fees paid. They do this monthly at the end of the month. I saw that posted somewhere on this site some time ago. I opened an account with them and was told this is true.

 

[ELHS220]

Realize, though, that the fee-free ATMs MAY add that cost on via a poorer exchange rate on the money you take out PLUS your own bank may add a fee. Deutschbank ATMs also don’t charge. As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a fee-free lunch...

(And yes, I AM aware of Schwabb’s debit card, Aspire’s online banking, etc. but there are plenty of other posts on that topic...)

The card I am using is the UBER card through Barkley Bank. There is no foreign exchange conversion fee. The rate has been about $1.18 not counting the €5 rip-off. The Caja Rural hasn’t posted yet.

 

[ELHS220]

I did the Francés in 2015 and again in 2017 and rarely had to pay an ATM fee. I am now doing the Norte from Oviedo/Avilés to Santiago and was rather shocked to find that a €5 fee is the norm no matter whose machine you hit. I am currently in Luarca and I happily stumbled upon a CAJA RURAL ATM that charged me NOTHING. Needless to say, I will be on the lookout for them from now on!!

I am afraid that I misspoke in the above post. In checking my on-line bank and credit card statements, I discovered that the above transaction at the Caja Rural was made (IN ERROR!) via a credit card CASH ADVANCE rather than a bank ATM card WITHDRAWL. This MIGHT be the reason that no fee was taken, but I am not completely sure about it. In any event, although there was no fee from Caja Rural, my credit card bank charged me a $10 CASH ADVANCE FEE. All the more reason that I maintain that banks are nothing more than LEGAL THIEVES. Next time I need cash though, I will give CR another whirl making sure to use my ATM card.

 

[jcat]

If you can open an account with Charles Schwab, they reimburse all fees paid. They do this monthly at the end of the month. I saw that posted somewhere on this site some time ago. I opened an account with them and was told this is true.

Charles Schwab is the way to go for US residents. They have never missed reimbursing me for all ATM fees. Opening an account is easy online also.