Travel: Money question

[Tiger]

I'm off to Europe in a little bit and wondering if anyone has had problems using your bank cards to get money out in europe, I'm jusst wondering the best way to get money well in europe (I have a PC bank card and was wondering if anyone every used those cards in europe)

Also is there an exchange in calgary to get euros (other the the banks)

[Locke]

European ATMs dont read Savings accounts, so have everything in a chequing account or talk to your bank about it. I almost got screwed with that and had to do an internet funds transfer.

Locke.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

No problems in Spain, Portugal, or the UK for me. As long as you have that PLUS symbol on your card you should be OK. Not sure about PC as they do somethings.....differently.

Calforex will do exchanges, as will Advantage - both on 8th Ave. These guys may actually be quicker as I think they have cash on site vs having a bank order it in.

[Sylvanfan]

I've always put money onto my Visa account and done my withdrawals as cash advances. I suppose something like a Visa Cheque card would work too. But I've never had problems getting money out of an ATM with a Visa card in any country I've visited.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

One thing to think about is that some foreign banks require a 4 digit PIN.
So if you have a PIN that is 5 or 6 digits, change it before you go.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

I've always put money onto my Visa account and done my withdrawals as cash advances. I suppose something like a Visa Cheque card would work too. But I've never had problems getting money out of an ATM with a Visa card in any country I've visited.

Yeah, but you pay interest on each cash advance doing it that way.

[Draug]

Originally Posted by fotze

IIRC most banks will work but not PC. Look on the back, there is no Cirrus or Plus logo. Mine worked in Miami though which suprised me.

You are right, the PC cards dont have either of those logo's. But...

I was just in the Britain in April. To my suprise, my PC bank card worked at bank ATM's. I used it at Lloyds bank machines a few times.

The charge when I got home was only $3 Cdn for a foreign bank machine withdrawal. The exchange rate was the same as any other posted bank rate.

[4X4]

I use TDCanadatrust and only ever encountered problems in Scotland. The rest of western Europe was no prob. Except for the conversion. Damn.


ps, make sure your account is chequing and that your pin is 4 digits.

[getbak]

I just got back from a month in Europe on Saturday.

I brought my TD Canada Trust card and didn't have any problems taking money out anywhere (London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Venice, Rome, Florence, Lucerne, and Paris). I only used bank owned cash machines, so I don't know if that'll make a difference.

[Incinerator]

PrePaid VISA TravelMoney Card from AMA. Works on most places on earth that takes VISA cards whether for purchases or ATM withdrawls, automatically converts to that country's currency from your Canadian balance. I never leave home without it Because your money is tied to a PIN not the card, if you lose the card just call collect & they'll courier you a new one.

[coolsurfer]

PC cards are actually on the Cirrus and Plus systems. I travelled around Europe for 3 months a couple of years ago and my card worked pretty much everywhere. I was in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, and Hungary. I only had trouble in one country. It was really hard finding a working cash machine in Belgium due to the lack of Cirrus and Plus bank machines, but I finally found one at a Deutche Bank in Brugge.

[McG]

i just got back from scotland and i had no problems at all taking money using my royal bank avion visa from ATMs.