Pat Gannon
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- I plan to walk the Camino between 18th, August, and 26th, September, 2014
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Where did you get your card please. Ours is similar but can only be topped up by the holder, so has to be well loaded pre-Camino. Also it looks a though it costs less to withdraw money at the ATM with yours, unless there are other hidden charges.I took a Euro card,mine was Fair-fx but others are available.You load it up before you leave and it acts like a debit card.You can make cash withdrawals for E1.50 or make purchases free of charge.When I ran low of funds,I contacted home and got it topped up.
Where did you get your card please. Ours is similar but can only be topped up by the holder, so has to be well loaded pre-Camino. Also it looks a though it costs less to withdraw money at the ATM with yours, unless there are other hidden charges.
It all depends on your home country of where you do have your bank account.
Taking money at a Spanish ATM with a bank card from a bank within the euro zone is for free..
I used a VISA debit tied to a secondary checking account with no overdraft. The debit card was restricted from accessing my primary accounts. I then transferred money from my primary account into the secondary account via my smartphone app to the credit union and then immediately withdrew it at the cash machine. There is no way (short of compromising my phone and internet banking) that I can get "cleaned out".
Next time I will use the same process, but also include a Mastercard debit as well, and keep it separate from my VISA as a protection against physical loss of card (e.g. from pick pocketing, accident, ATM eats it, etc.).
Make sure your PIN is 4 digits and you know the numbers (not letters) for the code.
My bank - Westpac - has an alliance with Deutchebank so theoretically I can use my debit card at any Deutschebank branch or ATM relatively cheaply. However, I wondered just how many Deutschbank ATMs I was likely to find on the Primitivo and del Salvador.
Thanks
I have used a Commonwealth Bank Travel Money Card in the past while overseas and had no problems with it.Silvester, I think you are unlikely to find any. Apart from the major cities ATMs in Spain are usually run by the local banks. You are obviously an Aussie, have you considered a Qantas cash card (preloaded with euros), a GE MasterCard card (no international transaction fees on purchases, no currency conversion fees, no annual fees - but to avoid credit charges for cash you'll have to preload it a month before and keep it in credit)? Westpac might also have a travel money card. There is a good article on the Choice (Australian Consumers Association) website which compares the different travel money cards.
Having had 2 debit cards taken by ATMS in America last trip I have decided to still take them but have some old fashioned travellers cheques with me.
I have used a Commonwealth Bank Travel Money Card in the past while overseas and had no problems with it.
I am a Westpac customer but I take a card from another bank as well when travelling. Thanks re the travellers cheques I was actually wondering about taking some this time - haven't for years but as 2 ATM's in America decided to keep my cards - and on a Sunday as well, I thought it might be an option in large cities to have some cheques. Guess I should just use ATM's outside of a bank during working hours! Thanks KangaYes, we've used the Commonwealth card too - I didn't suggest it because he's a Westpac customer. We also take a couple of different cards "in case" but haven't had any trouble with any of the cards I've mentioned.
Having a 4 digit number pin is critical.
We used to take a backup of travellers cheques but these days don't because no-one wants to change them. Especially in rural Spain.
You are the second person to mention Charles Schwaab. Have you used this service and had a positive experience with it?BIG caution on credit cards: Usually a withdrawal at an ATM counts as a 'cash advance' and you will pay heavily for it, beginning on the day you make the withdrawal, not on the next statement cycle like other purchases.
Two other options: Use a Visa (or MasterCard) debit card which draws from a checking account (called 'current account' in Europe), or get a 'Travel Card' and load it up. Both are protected by Visa or MasterCard against fraud and theft.
There are two different kinds of fees involved with using a debit card outside your home country: Foreign transaction fees which are a percentage of the amount withdrawn for the service of converting your currency to euros, and a per-transaction fee charged by your bank (I've never come across an ATM machine in Spain that charges its own transaction fee). If you live in the US, Charles Schwaab offers a debit card that charges NONE of these fees!
If you aren't sure how your card will work, call the number on the back of the card and ask them to clarify. They can tell you the percentage for the foreign transaction fee, the per-transaction fees, and if there will be a cash advance fee. You can save a lot of money by knowing these things in advance!
And as a side note, withdrawals from an ATM will have the best currency conversion rate - better than changing currency at a bank or money changer at the airport.
When I lost my wallet with three debit cards and two credit cards, Schwab was the only one of the five that did anything for me; they sent a Western Union money wire. All the rest offered sympathy, but no help.You are the second person to mention Charles Schwaab. Have you used this service and had a positive experience with it?
Glad I just opened that Schwab account!When I lost my wallet with three debit cards and two credit cards, Schwab was the only one of the five that did anything for me; they sent a Western Union money wire. All the rest offered sympathy, but no help.
My bank - Westpac - has an alliance with Deutchebank so theoretically I can use my debit card at any Deutschebank branch or ATM relatively cheaply. However, I wondered just how many Deutschbank ATMs I was likely to find on the Primitivo and del Salvador.
Thanks
Deutschbank, if memory serves me well, has a partnership with the Spanish post office. However, I was able to use my (Canadian) credit union card to withdraw euro directly from my account at all sorts of ATMs in Spain. Looking at my transaction records (I really should pitch them), I withdrew euro in Oviedo, Tineo, Grandas de Salime, and Lugo. Most villages seemed to have ATMs. Just let your financial institution know in advance that you will be in Spain on certain dates, so your card does not get frozen. I knew pilgrims who only used ATMs at banks during business hours in case their card got swallowed by the machine. Check the foreign service surcharges from your financial institution-- while they might wave them if you bug them sufficiently, the standard charge is 2.5% from a Canadian bank-- the charge is quite excessive and unconscionable. Charles Schwab is notable in not charging the fee, which is why other posters like them so much.
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