Rome Forum: ATM fees in Rome

The ATM fee is set by your bank: ask Wells Fargo. If you use a credit card, it counts as a cash advance, and you will pay interest charges.

Thanks Zerlina.

So an ATM card is a better option than a credit card?

The Debit Card is best to get cash from a ATM and a Credit Card is best for point of purchase items such as restaurants, hotels etc.

when you use a credit card it is a loan and you pay whatever usurious fees your credit card company charges on unpaid balances FROM THE DAY you take the money out -- no up to one month grace as is the case on purchases if you clear the account monthly

you should get an ATM card (debit card) from a bank that will not charge a fee for withdrawal. often local banks are best for this.

Fantastic! Just what I needed to know. Thanks, everyone!

Hi Anne,

On our trip to Ireland last spring we used our Wells Fargo ATM card often. The charge when we returned was $5 per transaction plus 3% of the amount withdrawn.

For our upcoming trip to Rome I opened a Capital One checking account. Their debit card is free of charges. Their credit card btw also has no international surcharges.

Have a great trip.

Frank

We are going to Italy in about a month so I have looked into this also. Wells Fargo will charge five dollars for using an ATM and three percent for your credit card. They did tell me that since I have been with them forever, they MIGHT wave the fees after I get home but I didn't want count on that. I set up an online checking(w/ debit card) and a credit card with Capitol One, who has promised no foreign fees on either account and will reimburse up to $25 per month of atm fees charged by other banks. We shall see....

Sam

We also opened a Capital One credit card and a money market account (ATM card) for our first trip to Europe last September. It worked great no charges or fees.

We will be using it again this June for our trip to Italy.

When we travel we use a credit card, we put a lump sum on the card before we leave, that gives us a surplus balance. When you take the money out it is NOT considered a cash advance and the credit card ATM fees are much lower (may even have been nonexistent) than debit card ATM fees. We will take a separate credit card which we will use for a purchase that we don't want to eat up our 'cash balance'. Don't forget to tell your bank you are going on holidays.