I can feel the judgey eyes of the PF community on me right now, but let me explain:
I would never pay an ATM fee in Canada. I have my phone which can locate an ATM in 5 seconds and I am really, just that cheap that I will walk out of my way to go to my ATM rather than pay a convenience fee. However, I traveled a bit last year. While I prefer using my Visa, sometimes you need cash while abroad and I don’t have access to my bank’s ATM.
Travel guides tell you to carry traveler’s cheques while abroad but, come on. I’m 24 years old, not 80. I don’t have the time or inclination to buy, carry, redeem or worry about traveler’s cheques. Who wants to spend their vacation hunting down the best place to exchange traveler’s cheques for currency? Who wants to pay 1-2% to buy them?
Yes, there is security in carrying traveler’s cheques, namely if you lose them, AMEX will cover the loss and you won’t be out any money. Here’s the problem, at least from my point of view:
Traveler’s cheques come in denominations of $100 and cost (at RBC), 1.25% or $1.25 each. Once redeemed, the cash is a “loseable” as had you not bought traveler’s cheques at all. Alternatively, you can do what I do which is called “Find a local ATM and withdraw local currency”. It costs $2 which is pretty much the same as the price of $150 of traveler’s cheques. If I withdraw $160, I come out ahead and don’t have to deal with the hassle of traveler’s cheques. Obviously, if the ATM from which you are withdrawing money charges additional fees, you might need to reconsider. I, however, have only see local ATM fees in North America and gladly pay them because the cost is nominal when compared to the traveler’s cheque commissions.
Alternatively, some people just carry large amounts of cash with them when they travel which is just ridiculous. Yes I ran around London looking for an ATM and panicky about having only £5 in my pocket but at least I didn’t sleep with one eye open like my friend who left Europe with over $1000 in leftover currency.
Finally, you can check with your bank to see if they have agreements with international banks. A friend of mine visited France last year and was able to withdraw without charge from BNP Paribas because she banked with Bank of America.
Various and sundry:
- I bank predominantly with ING means that I pay $0 in fees. I am automatically ahead of everyone who doesn’t bank with ING because Canadian banks are insane with monthly fees ($5-10 minimum)
- I am not allowed to bank with Ally or PC Financial because I live in Quebec. Just want to put that out there
- Why is it that I’m charged an ATM fee if I use my ING card at an ING ATM in the States or Europe but also when I use it at a Scotiabank ATM? Why am I not charged fees when I use HSBC and certain National bank ATMs? It’s all very confusing.
- Similarly, why does my Scotiabank card not free to use at Scotia ATMs in the Caribbean? Or my RBC card in American RBC ATMs?
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No judgement here – I do the ATM thing when traveling internationally as well. When I studied abroad in college, I found I tended to get better rates with lower fees by doing my “currency conversions” at the ATM rather than the exchange kiosks that are so common in touristy areas.
Even at home it’s not a big deal if Mr. PoP needs to use an off-brand ATM… our credit union reimburses all the fees (up to $20/month)!
Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies recently posted..PoP Income Statement – January 2013
Oh! I’d like to use your credit union then! The freedom to use any ATM for free… wow
To answer your question about why you are charged fees some ATMs but not others is because ING is part of The Exchange network. So, any ATMs on this network won’t charge you fees, but any not on this network will. I used to work for a credit union that was on it. Check it out … http://www.the-exchange.ca/
Yup, I checked that link which is how I found out about HSBC being a part of my network. ING has a separate list of seemingly random NBC ATMs that I’m allowed to use as well
I carry large amounts of cash ($500 – $1000) when I travel, but then again, I don’t stay in hostels and sleep with one eye open.
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I’m not as rich as you
There was this awesome bank for a bit called citizen’s bank, but they have gone the way of the do-do bird. They were a subsidiary of VanCity and they had zero foreign atm withdrawals! You could transfer money online, it was great. You’re getting off light, too. Most banks I’ve found have a $5 ATM fee outside of North America!
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$5!? Wow. I’m going to double-check next time I leave the country to make sure that ING is still only $2
Oh, there is a lot of judgement here
. Just kidding. I would do that same thing as you, so don’t feel that you are out there. I also like convenience.
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As the vice-president of the judgey part of the PF-sphere, (Joe is clearly the president) allow me to point out that taking like 49 trips is a much greater waste of money than a few ATM fees.
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That depends on your definition of a waste of money. I like an hour from the border… Going to the States is like you visiting Calgary
People still use traveler’s cheques?
We will be using cards when we travel later this year. The card I’ve gotten minimises fees but no doubt there will still be a lot of fees here and there. It’s just the nature of traveling.
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I hate the ATM fees. They kick me in the tush! However, I do earn cash back rewards, only 1% — that does help a little.