I've looked at plenty of topics but many refer to Citibank and ING which are no longer applicable.
My understanding is I'm stuck finding fee free ATM's as there doesn't seem to be any global brands that also operate in Italy/Spain.
So my main goal is to find a debit card that is as close to the actual exchange rate as possible, as well as allowing at least 500 euros in one day.
Is there anyone that has been that can share their experience?
Thats not good for me, that card is expired
That doesn't matter in Italy…
Try wise. Revolut is another one but not sure about the currency spread and then there is restriction on how much your and withdraw each month. Ubank is another good option.
Doesn't wise also only have two free withdrawals per month?
Make sure you look at the full picture. If you are getting a bad exchange rate, then "fee free" doesn't matter and you could still be losing out.
… Also, I think the 2 free limit is for ATM withdrawals, not card purchases.
Are you talking about ATMs charging you to withdraw in Spain and Italy?
Some countries have this which I have no idea why it makes sense.
Same thing in Australia. Sometimes you to go a random pub or use a random ATM there is a surcharge to use it.
Whereas knowing which card you have, and where you can withdraw for free is a knowledge that not everyone has and is always a good question to ask/research.
Those are non bank ATMs. They mint money. I remember something along the lines of make hundreds of thousands a year for the owners.
I've looked at plenty of topics but many refer to Citibank and ING which are no longer applicable.
Do you have then citi debit card, now NAB debit card? It retains fee free ATM withdraw from specific ATMs.
Overseas access
ATM cash withdrawal Fee waived
There are some old data from a few years ago for both Italy/Spain here.
https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/citibank_plus_transaction_acco…
This seems pretty good, do we know if the currency conversion rate is fair?
I was just looking at this not so long ago and found that if you have a Westpac account, there are no ATM fees at Bank ATMs in their alliance.
Otherwise Macquarie bank is great. No international transaction fee and no ATM fees charged by the bank (but overseas ATMs might charge their own fee - it's usually only about $3)
a 3% foreign transaction fee applies when using a debit or credit card
This slaps harder than the ATM fee tho ahaha so make sure that you get the right westpac card too
is there a right westpac card though? haven't seen any in their offerings
You will pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend using our travel money card, the Worldwide Wallet.
https://www.westpac.com.au/international-travel/travel-money…
@CodeXD: yeah but the fx rates on offer there are shockingly poor so that's not gonna be the right card.
any big 4 marketing a travel money card has a shockingly poor value offering and just leech on brand loyalty.
I know because I work at one. E.g. AUD/USD spread for their card is ~3% below MC rate.
Wise
Only two free withdrawals per month.
I could combine it with some other bank offer, but I feel it would be easier to just have one solution.
How often do you withdraw cash at home? I normally just convert AUD to euros in the wise app and just use payWave on the wise card or in the phone wallet.
A lot of the Italian accomodations want the taxes paid in cash.
Macquarie Bank
ubank
up
Thanks, I've gone with Macquarie as they seem to have the best conversion rate.
good choice! just note that as their card is a transaction card, you only get the one. It seems like your running without a backup (ubank, bankwest etc) so would recommend having one in case its lost or skimmed (happened to me in IT). If you're travelling with a SO, then perhaps another Macq for them too.
Great idea, thanks for the tip.
@samfisher5986: no worries, for another tip (following the skimming in Italy, BNP Paribas in Sorrento to be precise). Use one card for all spending in stores (low chance of skimming there) and the other for ATM withdrawals. Made a habit of locking the ATM card when not in use and only unlocking for a withdrawal.
That way if it is skimmed, they shouldn't be able to take any money out, making it functionally useless to them (you also wouldn't find out if it had been skimmed though)
@JDMcarfan: Yes I'm definitely going to use my Bendigo credit card for all spending, if it wasn't for these annoying accommodations requiring the tax paid in cash then I wouldn't need to do this.
With my ING card I used to have two accounts where I would only move money in a minute before withdrawing cash, I'll have to investigate if I can do this with Macquarie.
💳