tominrm
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- 2022
On November 18,2022 after finishing my walk, I had a few hours in Santiago before I leave for my next destination. Then I realized I might need more euros so I decided get some cash out of ATM, and this turned out to be an experiment answering what I always wondered about whenever I used an ATM in Spain: Would I get the same deal if I used other bank’s ATM instead of the one I used?
I was near Plaza Galicia, where there are many banks. The first ATM was BBVA. I request 200 Euros and it says the fee would be 6 Euros. I thought 6 Euros was about twice as much as I had in mind so I canceled the transaction.
I then went to Bank of Santander. The bank’s ATM says the fee would be 7 Euros. Again I canceled the transaction.
The third bank was Abanca. The ATM says it will charge 3% fee and will debit my account $219.27 already converted to the US dollar.
Then I searched for a Deutsch Bank (DB)which I remember not seeing any fee before, and I found one in the area.
Realizing how expensive it is to use an ATM I decided to get 300 Euros instead of 200. Again, it did not say anything about fee. I checked my bank later and found that DB charged my account $312.27 for 300 Euros.
I have a checking account with Charles Schwab so no matter which bank I used, the fee would be reimbursed, but out of curiosity I tried this experiment. I don’t know if DB has a deal with Charles Schwab that give me a preferential deal.
The Googling on the day for USD vs Euro says $1 = 0.97 Euro. So 300 euros at official exchange rate would have been $309.28.
So if you have a choice when you need to get cash, use the following order:
I was near Plaza Galicia, where there are many banks. The first ATM was BBVA. I request 200 Euros and it says the fee would be 6 Euros. I thought 6 Euros was about twice as much as I had in mind so I canceled the transaction.
I then went to Bank of Santander. The bank’s ATM says the fee would be 7 Euros. Again I canceled the transaction.
The third bank was Abanca. The ATM says it will charge 3% fee and will debit my account $219.27 already converted to the US dollar.
Then I searched for a Deutsch Bank (DB)which I remember not seeing any fee before, and I found one in the area.
Realizing how expensive it is to use an ATM I decided to get 300 Euros instead of 200. Again, it did not say anything about fee. I checked my bank later and found that DB charged my account $312.27 for 300 Euros.
I have a checking account with Charles Schwab so no matter which bank I used, the fee would be reimbursed, but out of curiosity I tried this experiment. I don’t know if DB has a deal with Charles Schwab that give me a preferential deal.
The Googling on the day for USD vs Euro says $1 = 0.97 Euro. So 300 euros at official exchange rate would have been $309.28.
So if you have a choice when you need to get cash, use the following order:
- Deutsch Bank - no fee (at least for Charles Schwab customer) - Google for the location near you as it is a foreign bank, you are not going to see a big sign outside Bank of Santander.
- BBVA 6 Euro fee
- Bank of Santander 7 Euro fee
- Abanca 3% fee. Charged in dollars.