Using an atm or credit/debit card

[HedaP]

Others may already know this but I didn't and was pleased to learn it. If you are not from an EU country, when using an atm or your credit/debit card on the camino, you are presented with an option to make the withdrawal/payment in local currency (ie. euros) or your home currency. I never knew how best to answer this question. Listening to the BBC early this morning there was a great segment on just this topic. Apparently the charges involved in converting to home currency can be excessive. According to the BBC, and I quote, "It is almost always better to pay in local currencies".

 

[KinkyOne]

... "It is almost always better to pay in local currencies".

Not only that in Spain you can't pay with dollars or pounds even credit cards aren't widely accepted in rural areas And in my experience the exchange rates at ATMs are more favorable than those at exchange offices (+ fee).

 

[Kanga]

Even at the ATM machines the banks like you to convert from your home currency because they make more money on the transfers involved - and you pay. I always pick the "do not convert" option.

 

[KinkyOne]

Even at the ATM machines the banks like you to convert from your home currency because they make more money on the transfers involved - and you pay. I always pick the "do not convert" option.

As I see it you just pay exchange fee at different "counter". But still my experience is that ATMs have official exchange rates and don't charge extra fees. But that's with European currencies of course!!!

 

[Kanga]

If we use the "convert" button we seem to get charged twice.

 

[KinkyOne]

If we use the "convert" button we seem to get charged twice.

Ah, that sucks... But we all know they are trying to rip us off any way they can.

 

[natefaith]

Yes, I always pick the "Pay in Euros" option instead of the convert-from-USD option. Sometimes the sales clerks push a button for me, though, and I don't know what they've picked. So I've learned that if their finger is headed toward a button I have to be on my game and blurt out, "En euros! En euros!" Then I feel a bit absurd. But at least I've saved in conversion fees.

 

[Kanga]

Yes, that's happened to me too! A couple of times on my last trip I was not quite fast enough. It shows up on the credit card statement - with the conversion fee.

 

[Jersey]

I have question
In 3 weeks I'll be with a friend of mine who works in finance in Coruna
He can exchange my $ for Euros at the official exchange rate. No fees whatsoever.
Is it still cheaper for me to withdraw money from the ATM in euros?

 

[Priscilla NC]

Even at the ATM machines the banks like you to convert from your home currency because they make more money on the transfers involved - and you pay. I always pick the "do not convert" option.

At Santander ATMs, whenever I pressed 'do not convert', the transaction abruptly ended and returned my card. I either used other bank ATMs or went with their plan

 

[Nick MJ]

DCC - Dynamic Currency Conversion or the "convert to your home currency" option - can often be at a poor rate. It is the local merchant or bank (not your card company) that does the conversion and their motivation to offer this service is to get a slice of the profit on the conversion. The only advantage of DCC is that you see exactly what you will be charged in your home currency at the time of the purchase. But then the card company that issued you with your card may decide to levy an additional fee for using the card abroad.

What I do is buy my Euros before leaving home by purchasing a Euro prepaid card. That way there is no currency to convert in Spain as I am either spending Euros from my card in a shop or drawing Euros from an ATM. If I run short, I can top up the Euros via my phone. And if the worst was to happen and the prepaid card is lost or stolen, then my maximum exposure is just what was on the card, not the contents of my bank account!

 

[tjb1013]

Do not convert. You want to use the home currency and prevent the local institution from doing the currency conversion. See this: https://lifehacker.com/5957566/alwa...youre-in-at-atms-to-not-get-swindled-for-cash

My experience traveling:

In general, if a big company like Visa manages your ATM card, you get a very favorable exchange rate. The big credit card processors use what's known as the "interbank rate", although even they can differ slightly from company to company.

When you use an ATM and don't convert, the exchange is handled by the credit card processing company that services your ATM card, not by the local bank that operates the ATM. The local bank is likely to provide a much poorer exchange rate.

The exchange rate can work as a "hidden fee" much the way "expense ratios" do for mutual and/or index funds. It doesn't show up as a fee but comes out of your pocket just the same (in this case, in fewer Euros for your dollars/pounds/etc than you would otherwise receive).

Another note for US citizens (and maybe others?): Charles Schwab offers a bank account that provides reimbursement for ATM fees anywhere in the world. Schwab does not require you to trade with them to have this account. (There are no other fees, either, for regular banking. Presumably the "catch" is that the convenience of the bank account makes you more likely to invest with them, so the checking account serves as a loss leader.) Visa processes the payments for Schwab and uses the interbank exchange rate.

When traveling abroad and making many ATM withdrawals, both an unfavorable exchange rate and ATM per-transaction fees can add up. For the Camino, using an ATM card with these benefits (reimbursed ATM fees and a favorable exchange rate) can reduce your expenses and increase security - you can reduce the amount of cash you carry because you're not taking out a ton at a time to mitigate the per-transaction ATM fees.

I don't have any reason to promote this particular provider. I opened an account for this purpose after researching best options for international travel. There may be other institutions that offer similar benefits.

I also asked Schwab to prevent the ATM card's use for debit purchases. Now it can only be used for ATM withdrawals by someone who knows the PIN, which provides some security if it is lost or stolen. (The former being far more likely - I'm not paranoid about crime.) I will use a credit card with no fees for foreign transactions, an excellent exchange rate, and fraud coverage ($0 liability) for non-cash transactions.

 

[JanneVi]

A related question from a first time camino traveller (camino frances in September): how frequently there are ATMs and what's your recommendation how much cash one should have?

 

[KinkyOne]

A related question from a first time camino traveller (camino frances in September): how frequently there are ATMs and what's your recommendation how much cash one should have?

How much cash you should have depends on how much you want/afford to spend but I think that 25-35€/day is kind of average if you sleep in albergues.
ATMs are quite frequent. In all cities, towns and bigger villages there is at least one. You can do quick search here:
https://www.gronze.com/camino-frances
Click on desired Etapa and with the name of the village there are icons on the right side for bars, restaurants, pharmacies etc. If there is an icon of globe that means all infrastructure is existent and you'll be able to find an ATM also.
ATM in Spanish is cajero automatico. Try not to use them on weekends in case the machine eats your card for any reason and you'll be stuck there until Monday to retrieve your card. It's best to use those that are within the Bank office and in opening hours.

 

[natefaith]

I have question
In 3 weeks I'll be with a friend of mine who works in finance in Coruna
He can exchange my $ for Euros at the official exchange rate. No fees whatsoever.
Is it still cheaper for me to withdraw money from the ATM in euros?

I would think - but could be very wrong - that if he's exchanging money for you at the official exchange rate and not charging any fees that *that* setup would be better for you than having to pay even a slight markup at the ATM machines. I don't know if any ATM machines or merchants actually have you pay at the official exchange rate, but rather they always mark it up a bit.
But as I said, I could be wrong!
Buen Camino!

 

[Jersey]

Do not convert. You want to use the home currency and prevent the local institution from doing the currency conversion. See this: https://lifehacker.com/5957566/alwa...youre-in-at-atms-to-not-get-swindled-for-cash

My experience traveling:

In general, if a big company like Visa manages your ATM card, you get a very favorable exchange rate. The big credit card processors use what's known as the "interbank rate", although even they can differ slightly from company to company.

When you use an ATM and don't convert, the exchange is handled by the credit card processing company that services your ATM card, not by the local bank that operates the ATM. The local bank is likely to provide a much poorer exchange rate.

The exchange rate can work as a "hidden fee" much the way "expense ratios" do for mutual and/or index funds. It doesn't show up as a fee but comes out of your pocket just the same (in this case, in fewer Euros for your dollars/pounds/etc than you would otherwise receive).

Another note for US citizens (and maybe others?): Charles Schwab offers a bank account that provides reimbursement for ATM fees anywhere in the world. Schwab does not require you to trade with them to have this account. (There are no other fees, either, for regular banking. Presumably the "catch" is that the convenience of the bank account makes you more likely to invest with them, so the checking account serves as a loss leader.) Visa processes the payments for Schwab and uses the interbank exchange rate.

When traveling abroad and making many ATM withdrawals, both an unfavorable exchange rate and ATM per-transaction fees can add up. For the Camino, using an ATM card with these benefits (reimbursed ATM fees and a favorable exchange rate) can reduce your expenses and increase security - you can reduce the amount of cash you carry because you're not taking out a ton at a time to mitigate the per-transaction ATM fees.

I don't have any reason to promote this particular provider. I opened an account for this purpose after researching best options for international travel. There may be other institutions that offer similar benefits.

I also asked Schwab to prevent the ATM card's use for debit purchases. Now it can only be used for ATM withdrawals by someone who knows the PIN, which provides some security if it is lost or stolen. (The former being far more likely - I'm not paranoid about crime.) I will use a credit card with no fees for foreign transactions, an excellent exchange rate, and fraud coverage ($0 liability) for non-cash transactions.

Finally some

I would think - but could be very wrong - that if he's exchanging money for you at the official exchange rate and not charging any fees that *that* setup would be better for you than having to pay even a slight markup at the ATM machines. I don't know if any ATM machines or merchants actually have you pay at the official exchange rate, but rather they always mark it up a bit.
But as I said, I could be wrong!
Buen Camino!

Im not a 100% sure either except my buddy is exchanging my $ for Euros at the official rate. I'm gonna try one and then the other.
Just to be sure and and because now I'm curious lol

 

[tjb1013]

The published exchange rate (and the interbank rate that tracks it) bounces around all day, so it's always likely to be a percentage-ish different depending on the moment the exchange occurs. In the case of the big servicing companies (Visa, MasterCard, etc), I think they settle on one rate per day rather than exchange currencies at the moment of every transaction.

 

[stevov]

Others may already know this but I didn't and was pleased to learn it. If you are not from an EU country, when using an atm or your credit/debit card on the camino, you are presented with an option to make the withdrawal/payment in local currency (ie. euros) or your home currency. I never knew how best to answer this question. Listening to the BBC early this morning there was a great segment on just this topic. Apparently the charges involved in converting to home currency can be excessive. According to the BBC, and I quote, "It is almost always better to pay in local currencies".

Never convert...always get euros and when purchasing pay in euros. Most retailer card readers, like atms, request that you choose home currency or euros so it's literally in your hands. Some of those serving may read the screen back to you so it's no problem to respond with 'en euro's'.

 

[Ricokiwi]

I have an RBS visa debit card and have to use the convert to your GBP option otherwise the ATM just rejects the transaction and spits mt card out. So I get stung with a poor exchange rate plus an ATM fee by my bank! I left my travel card behind which I now realise was a big mistake

 

[jmcarp]

A bit of additional advice...even if your credit card allows you to use it for withdrawals at an ATM machine, don't do it. When using a credit card for cash withdrawals, the credit card company usually treats that as a loan and charges their normal exorbitant interest rate on the withdrawal amount.

 

[stevov]

If your from the UK there are a few cards that do not make charges for cash withdrawals. You can find details on the MSE website. In some cases ie Santander this includes debit cards when used at Santander atms. I was able to combine two cards, one for cash and the other for purchases and my total costs after 17 days was 51pence. You will of course pay interest on credit cards if you don't pay off the balance in full at the required time.

 

[tjb1013]

... and charges their normal exorbitant interest rate on the withdrawal amount

And in most cases, the interest begins to accrue as soon as you withdraw it - no "grace period" as with purchases, where interest only starts when a balance is unpaid at the end of the first billing cycle.

 

[long trails]

Highly recommend the Revolut and Monzo cards if you are UK based. I believe Revolut is available in other European countries too.

For credit cards, the Halifax Clarity Card is the boss!

 

[Thornley]

Others may already know this but I didn't and was pleased to learn it. If you are not from an EU country, when using an atm or your credit/debit card on the camino, you are presented with an option to make the withdrawal/payment in local currency (ie. euros) or your home currency. I never knew how best to answer this question. Listening to the BBC early this morning there was a great segment on just this topic. Apparently the charges involved in converting to home currency can be excessive. According to the BBC, and I quote, "It is almost always better to pay in local currencies".

Withdrew in euros for 7 weeks , no problems
Went to Manchester and purchased and tried Aussie dollars
The transaction was refused , tried again same result,
Tried euros and it went through immediately,
Maybe it was that our bank was notified we would be away until August
Simple rules when you travel
Never worry about conversion
Never worry about costs associated with card,
If you do
Pay before you leave or take cash , it's that simple.

 

[Marbe2]

We stayed at a combination of albergues, hostels and hotels. Only 3 times did we need cash to pay the bill! IF we ate at the respective residence we added the cost to our accommodations charge. Eroskis, And Dias (Supermarkets) also took our card. Our card waive conversion fees. Used the ATMs as little as possible and the need for cash!