debit cards for travelling

Discussion in 'Credit Talk' started by Sarah, Feb 8, 2001.

  1. Sarah

    Sarah Guest

    Hi. I'm a college student who is leaving in March to go Backpacking across Europe for four months. I'm planning on using check/debit cards as my primary source of money. Right now I have a TCF check card. I want to get another one, in case something happens to my TCF card. (stolen, broken, etc.) Which would be the best card to get? I don't want to pay annual fees, or usage fees, as low of atm fees as possible, etc. Online banking would be nice too, so I could check my account balance while travelling. So, basically, can anyone tell me where I should go about starting another account and getting another check card? thank you so much!!
     
  2. jamie

    jamie Well-Known Member

    Be careful with this, ATM cards have a daily allowable withdrawal limit. Most of the time it is around $500 a day depending on your bank. Weekends are not included. So if you withdraw or debit $500 on friday, you cannot get more money out of the ATM unitl monday afternoon. I became aware of this on vacation in Key West. We thought it was a daily limit, meaning 7 days. Used our card to get cash, on the third try the ATM ate our card. We were in Key West with $60 bucks between us on a holiday weekend, even though there was 3K in our accout. We had to wait until Tues. to call our bank and have the money transferred to my account and had to wait until Wed. afternoon for the funds to be available. This really sucked, we only had a credit card with a $300 limit, and had to use it for our room. We were saving it for an emergency. Then on the way back north the car broke down. Wednesdays daily limit went to fix the car. It took us till Thursday to be able to access our funds again. Just be careful, check with your bank and see what their policy is. Or atleast take a major credit card with you just in case. You can always pay it off when you get home.
     
  3. Geo

    Geo Well-Known Member

    Washington Mutual Bank 1-800-788-7000
    (free checking account), ask for a visa check card, they do not charge any fee when using as a purchase, point of sale or cash advance in a Bank agency for foreign countries.

    Also you can check your balance, etc online.
    I use it everytime!
     
  4. Claudio

    Claudio Guest

    I recently went to Europe and used my Bank One card which is a debit card with a Visa logo (just to clarify for those who may not know :). I used it in France and Belgium constantly for cash from ATMs. The exchange rate is much better than what you would get from American Express or any other bank in Europe. I think it is the best option. Make sure you bring another card in case you lose the first one or something. Make sure you know your daily withdrawl limit. Also some ATMS in Europe have problems accepting cards with pins with more than 4 numbers. Make sure your pin consists of 4 numbers. The Atms have instructions in English everywhere.
    Use your REAL cards for restaurants and other purchases that don't involve cash advances. They also give you the best exchange rates. Good luck on your trip!
     

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