Each Friday, we feature a reader-submitted tip as our Travel Tip of the Day. This week’s tip comes from reader Larry J., who wrote in yesterday with the following:
“I am currently in Copenhagen, Denmark. I used a Euronet ATM to take out a sizable amount using my bank card. Their exchange fee was 15% and they do not warn you or give you any notice of this exorbitant charge. Euronet has a large string of ATMs throughout Europe. I would suggest you warn your readers about using this machine, and tell them to use a regular large bank ATM to get a fair exchange rate. If you Google this name you will find many unhappy users of these ATMs. Please help others to avoid getting ripped off like I was.”
Thanks, Larry! My pal Rick Steves has written the same thing about Euronet ATMs and similar ATMs in Europe, advising in this roundup of ATM tips to “avoid ‘independent’ ATMs, such as Travelex, Euronet, Moneybox, Your Cash, Cardpoint, and Cashzone” which “have high fees and may try to trick users with ‘dynamic currency conversion.'”
Your best option is usually to check with your bank to find its international banking partners in your destination. If it doesn’t have any, you might look up the major banks where you’re going and the fees they charge so you know what to look for before you arrive.
Related:
- How to Avoid Bank of America’s International ATM Fees
- This Is What an ATM Skimmer Looks Like
- Avoiding ATM Fees
____________________________________________________________
Have your own tip? Email it to whitney@johnnyjet.com!
Want to see more tips? Click here for all 1,466!
Want even more travel tips? Sign up here for the Daily Travel Tip newsletter! Just fill in your email address and check the Daily Travel Tip box—and you’ll have Johnny’s best tips, straight to your inbox each day!
If you already subscribe to our weekly newsletter, you can sign up on the same page. Just fill in your email and check the Daily Travel Tip box on the same page and you’ll receive an email with a link to update your JohnnyJet.com preferences. On that page, just click the Daily Travel Tip box and Update Profile.
I always tell friends to check with their banks for global atm alliance partners (as Bank of America calls them). You can avoid ATM fees, though not the foreign transaction fees this way. Definitely helps ease the pain if you need cash.
Great tip. I usually change a very small amount to begin with, precisely in order to check the fees.
Most US credit cards these days do not charge for using them overseas, so keep cash spending to a minimum. Not to mention the risk of carrying large sums of cash.
Good advice!
Are you awake of any tips in accessing ATMs in China? I’m a Chase Bank customer and I have a Citibank VISA.
As an added comment, most Chinese pay electronically via their smartphone and the Alipay app. However you must have your account linked to a bank in China. Are there other alternatives to pay for expenses in China and avoid excessive fees?
Euronet has nothing to do with de banks or with de currency. Everybody pays the fee that is advertised while using Euronet. There are other ATMs with no fees. Personaly when using diferent currency I use Revolut Card and don’t pay fees.But in his kind of atms like Euronet you will always pay, no matter where are you from or what currency or what bank.