ATM fees - which ones are a rip-off?

[notion900]

Since I got my preloaded currency card to avoid the predations of my UK bank's steep ATM fees and awful exchange rate, I've been paying more attention to the fees charged by the Spanish banks to use their ATM's, which seem to vary widely.

I started a list on my phone last year of the culprits that had steep fees:
BBVA
Sabadell

Can anyone add to this list, or recommend cheaper ones?

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I'm from the USA and when in Spain I always use Santander bank ATM's, along with my Charles Schwab debit card. They are great and reimburse me all atm fees.

 

[brian560]

Since I got my preloaded currency card to avoid the predations of my UK bank's steep ATM fees and awful exchange rate, I've been paying more attention to the fees charged by the Spanish banks to use their ATM's, which seem to vary widely.

I started a list on my phone last year of the culprits that had steep fees:
BBVA
Sabadell

Can anyone add to this list, or recommend cheaper ones?

If you're walking the northern camino, Leiberbank has no charges. The cash machines in supermarkets appear to have no charges either

 

[jgiesbrecht]

Here is a post with a cheat sheet

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/atm-fees-cheatsheet.64292/

 

[Felice]

If you have a Santander card, not only do they not charge you an ATM fee, they also do not charge you the 2.75% currency conversion fee, I believe. Only applies in Spain though.

And if you need to use plastic to pay for something, use a Halifax Clarity card. No fees there too.

 

[CWBuff]

I thought about it for a moment in the context of question asked....
The answer is ALL of them!!!!

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Here is a post with a cheat sheet

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/atm-fees-cheatsheet.64292/

I see the Euronet freestanding ones charge among the highest--3.95 euros. These are popping up all over the place in tourist areas in Portugal--Lisbon train stations, airport, etc. Sometimes where there are already "built-in" institutional ones nearby that possibly have lower fees. Be warned!

 

[Jay Es]

Santander charge €5. BVA charge €2 Caixa €5
Best is Liber Bank is free. Iber Caja is free.

 

[aname4me]

I am Canadian and last Fall I used the IberCaja

They were a challenge to find (a few times) but charged NO Service Fee

 

[Roland49]

I drawn 3 times on my CF last year and was charged ~1,70€ per withdrawal.
I used the Caja Rural, that's the equivalant network as my bank at home.

Many pilgrims I've met in bigger supermercados used the chance to withdraw cash at the cashier as they pay for their goods they bought. That's free most of the time.

Anything above €2 is too much in my opinion.

 

[notion900]

Santander such a bunch of gougers!

 

[OzAnnie]

I drawn 3 times on my CF last year and was charged ~1,70€ per withdrawal.
I used the Caja Rural, that's the equivalant network as my bank at home.

Many pilgrims I've met in bigger supermercados used the chance to withdraw cash at the cashier as they pay for their bought goods. That's free most of the time.

Anything above €2 is too much in my opinion.

Thanks for that reminder. I had read that certain places may allow you to add your ‘cash’ withdrawal to the sum of items purchased in a store with your card and avoid the bank cash machine fee.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Caixa €5

Caixa charges seem to vary according to whether your bank corresponds with them either directly or indirectly -- fun fact, I once paid fees on a bank to bank transfer even though I was technically an employee of both banks at the same time on the transfer date (so contractually free at each end), because the transfer went through a third party bank which charged a fee.

Personally though, I pay no withdrawal fees at Caixa ATM, and as it's € to € no exchange commissions either ..

 

[Vacajoe]

You should realize that many of those “no fee” machines make up for it by charging you a worse exchange rate, so the only way to REALLY know the cost if your withdrawal is only AFTER you take your money out and your home bank processes it.

In short, they will always get their piece of the action...

 

[notion900]

Well I also feel sorry for Spanish people - in the UK we can use any cash machine at any bank for free (apart from the gougey ones in corner shops which people only use when intoxicated..)

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Santander such a bunch of gougers!

Yes, but with my Charles Schwab debit card they remove ALL fees, so Santander bank is no issue for me to use! I then step inside and exchange some of the larger bills for smaller ones.

 

[Ungawawa]

Unfortunately the Schwab card is only good for the Americans on this forum. If you're European, you'll need to shop around a bit more. I currently use Starling Bank for no-fee withdrawals around the world.

 

[Annette london]

Santander such a bunch of gougers!

Not really!
Santander members can withdraw cash without incurring any charges whatsoever whilst in Spain ....from a Santander bank only ...also their exchange rate is pretty good from my many years experience with them and there's a Santander bank in almost every town
When PAYING with a Santander debit card however...charges are incurred ...therefore we have a Santander ZERO credit card for this purpose
By using both at different times in Spain, we haven't ever paid a penny in charges

 

[caminka]

what about stepping inside a bank (if it's there and it's open) and withdrawng the cash from the cashier? do they charge any extra fees there too? (apart from the exchange rate which is no issue for euro-using countries.)

 

[Roland49]

Thanks for that reminder. I had read that certain places may allow you to add your ‘cash’ withdrawal to the sum of items purchased in a store with your card and avoid the bank cash machine fee.

As far as I am informed it's possible at EROSKI, MERCADONA and LIDL as a service. The small oldtown stores won't offer that service, but the bigger ones will.

 

[OzAnnie]

I had read some years back about it being a possibility in the larger stores - but hadn’t thought of using it or asking at a supermercado..
never a harm in asking.

 

[Annette london]

what about stepping inside a bank (if it's there and it's open) and withdrawng the cash from the cashier? do they charge any extra fees there too? (apart from the exchange rate which is no issue for euro-using countries.)

Hi,
We tried that a few times but they always direct us to the ATM which are usually outside the bank
Also we always ..and only..take out money from the ATM when the bank is open
Years ago we tried to take out money in Finistere and the machine "ate" the card. we then had to wait till 10.30 the morning after to get it back!
Not ideal if one wants an early start.
Annette

 

[caminka]

Hi,
We tried that a few times but they always direct us to the ATM which are usually outside the bank
Also we always ..and only..take out money from the ATM when the bank is open
Years ago we tried to take out money in Finistere and the machine "ate" the card. we then had to wait till 10.30 the morning after to get it back!
Not ideal if one wants an early start.
Annette

I thought that might be the case. ripping us off at the ATMs.
pilgrims have reported that you need to take out the card immediately after the transaction, otherwise the machine will eat it and possibly destroy it - a security measure.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Hi,
We tried that a few times but they always direct us to the ATM which are usually outside the bank
Also we always ..and only..take out money from the ATM when the bank is open
Years ago we tried to take out money in Finistere and the machine "ate" the card. we then had to wait till 10.30 the morning after to get it back!
Not ideal if one wants an early start.
Annette

Yep, I only get cash from ATM's in Spain during bank's business hours too. I had a card "eaten" as well on my first camino and learned my lesson.

 

[Ungawawa]

You may know already but I'm maintaining a "cheatsheet" image which you can all save to your phones. It lists the fees of all the different banks, from free up to 5 euros. It's the result of another forum discussion where everyone contributed their experiences. Wherever possible I've verified the fees personally. Not getting overcharged by banks has become a minor obsession for me ;-)

See here:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/resources/spanish-atm-cash-machine-fee-cheat-sheet.749/

My one line summary of all of the above is this:
Liberbank or Ibercaja, and when not: ABANCA!

 

[Derrybiketours]

Since I got my preloaded currency card to avoid the predations of my UK bank's steep ATM fees and awful exchange rate, I've been paying more attention to the fees charged by the Spanish banks to use their ATM's, which seem to vary widely.

I started a list on my phone last year of the culprits that had steep fees:
BBVA
Sabadell

Can anyone add to this list, or recommend cheaper ones?

Halifax Clarity card has no charge to use, no commission or loading fees

 

[Ungawawa]

Since I got my preloaded currency card to avoid the predations of my UK bank's steep ATM fees and awful exchange rate, I've been paying more attention to the fees charged by the Spanish banks to use their ATM's, which seem to vary widely.

I started a list on my phone last year of the culprits that had steep fees:
BBVA
Sabadell

Can anyone add to this list, or recommend cheaper ones?

It's good to stress that fees can come from two different sources : your bank or the Spanish bank / ATM owner. The cheatsheet list I mentioned should let you avoid fees from the latter. For the former, in the UK you can try either Metro Bank or Starling Bank for banks which give you a Mastercard debit card which is fee-free in Spain, and in the case of Starling, for the whole world.

 

[JanelMcB]

Since I got my preloaded currency card to avoid the predations of my UK bank's steep ATM fees and awful exchange rate, I've been paying more attention to the fees charged by the Spanish banks to use their ATM's, which seem to vary widely.

I started a list on my phone last year of the culprits that had steep fees:
BBVA
Sabadell

Can anyone add to this list, or recommend cheaper ones?

If you open an account with Charles Schwab, you can get their credit card that will work at an ATM. They do not charge ATM fees. If you do get charged, CS will reimburse you at the end of the month.

 

[Ungawawa]

If you open an account with Charles Schwab, you can get their credit card that will work at an ATM. They do not charge ATM fees. If you do get charged, CS will reimburse you at the end of the month.

Schwab is definitely the best choice for pilgrims from the USA, but it's unfortunately not an option for Europeans, who instead have to do a combo of having a good home bank and being careful which brand cash-machine they use if they want to avoid the fees.

 

[Canche]

I'm from the USA and when in Spain I always use Santander bank ATM's, along with my Charles Schwab debit card. They are great and reimburse me all atm fees.

And Fidelity reimburses me all ATM fees so I really don't care what they charge

 

[Stephan the Painter]

For US based pilgrims, I’ve had luck with a capital one 360 debit card. Never a charge from them, and they even refund fees from overseas banks. Or they did the last time I was in Europe. On the other hand, I have an old account with them so I might be grandfathered in. Check their terms and conditions for yourself.

And it’s funny, that bank account actually started out as a ING account, but then Capital One gobbled up ING’s American division. I have a different bank account that started out when I was a small child. A small neighborhood bank with a passbook. But bigger and bigger banks kept gobbling various smaller banks (there were at least 3), Until I ended up with an account with one of the big international banks. There’s the story of the financial system in a nutshell, and why fewer and fewer people end up with most of the wealth.

 

[Former member 99816]

And Fidelity reimburses me all ATM fees so I really don't care what they charge

Is this the Fidelity cash management account deal?

"Use your Fidelity® Debit Card to make purchases or get cash anywhere you see the Visa®, Plus®, or Star® logos. All ATM withdrawal fees reimbursed with a cash management account."

Are those logos on Camino ATMs?

 

[C clearly]

This thread is almost 2 years old and bank fees can change, so use it only for general ideas! You'll need to ask your bank for the exact current policies.

Are those logos on Camino ATMs?

Logos are found easily for Visa®, Plus® and others - all the major systems.

 

[Canche]

I use Fidelity and rhey always reimburse me ALL atm fees worldwide

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I use my Charles Schwab debit card and they reimburse me all ATM fees worldwide, as well. I live in the USA.

 

[Former member 99816]

I use Fidelity and rhey always reimburse me ALL atm fees worldwide

Sounds great on the Spain end. What about on Fidelity end - fees, exchange rates, service charges...?

 

[Marbe2]

I recently tried to extract an amount from two different banks in the same town. The 5 euro fee was similar in both banks but the proposed return for 360 euros was a 40 dollar difference! So don’t only look at the bank fee.

 

[Canche]

Sounds great on the Spain end. What about on Fidelity end - fees, exchange rates, service charges...?

None

 

[Scott Sweeney]

I'm from the USA and when in Spain I always use Santander bank ATM's, along with my Charles Schwab debit card. They are great and reimburse me all atm fees.

Navy Federal is then same here.

 

[Former member 95219]

I recently tried to extract an amount from two different banks in the same town. The 5 euro fee was similar in both banks but the proposed return for 360 euros was a 40 dollar difference! So don’t only look at the bank fee.

This is the key issue, and far more significant than a withdrawal fee, and a difference of €20 on a €300 windrawal on ‘their’rate versus ‘on the day’ rate! is typical so be careful! Also check wording on screen. Also recently I note that whilst the ‘accept without conversion’ tends to be the left hand option, some are now offering it to the right of the screen. Take time to absorb on screen info!

Re fees I tend to find regional banks rather than the big national ones can be ‘fee free’.

On the upside £ been doing well versus the € for a while so an upside for the UK folks.

 

[Kitsambler]

So, for the math-inclined, there are four numbers to check (who knew?):
- Service fee charged by home bank
- Service fee charged by destination bank
- Currency conversion fee by destination bank
- Currency conversion rate by destination bank

Ugh.