Using ATM cards abroad

[SDHALFAN]

I'm leaving for England two weeks from today - not on a cruise unfortunately but on an Elderhostel trip. Anyway, I had decided to get some pounds sterling before I left and then use my ATM card to get extra money when in England.

 

Sunday morning, I'm lying in bed drinking coffee and reading the Travel Section of the local newspaper when I find an article written by someone who had recently travelled in both Southeast Asia and England. She was able to use her ATM card to get needed funds up until February 13th of this year. On February 14th, in England, she found that her card had been blocked by her bank, which is Wells Fargo. Her card was blocked not because of lack of funds but Wells Fargo had put into place a blocking program because of a rash of thefts and fraudulent use in the U.K. and several other countries around the globe. Apparently there were people on her tour with Citibank cards who were also unable to use their ATM cards in the U.K.

 

I went up to my bank this morning and found out that indeed such programs had been put into place but they were not in force right now and the chances are good that I can use my ATM card while abroad. I just wanted to let you all know that it might be a good idea to check with your particular bank before you leave home so you don't have any unpleasant surprises.

 

I have ordered some English pounds and some travellers' checks, my ATM card should be viable and I'm ready to go once the bank lets me know my funds are in. I wish it were a cruise but I'll still have a great time, weather permitting (it is England after all:D ).

 

Valerie:)

[lougee1043]

i would call the bank customer service dept and tell them that you are going to england and plan to use your atm card and to remove any blocks on your card and to make a record on your acct of the trip==== i do this all the time with my credit card and have never had a problem

 

also make sure that your atm pin code will work in england --sometimes the foreign atms require one number more then ours do -so be sure to doublecheck

 

i personally avoid using the travelers checks but for an emergency --- store owners really hate than and you will be beat up on the conversiion rates that they will charge you

[Scottish Cruiser]

I always advise my bank and credit card company of my itinerary when going abroad and have not had a problem. I agree with the previous poster. Travellers cheques are a pain in Europe. Few retail places accept them and changing them at a bank is time consuming, expensive and frustrating.

[SDHALFAN]

i would call the bank customer service dept and tell them that you are going to england and plan to use your atm card and to remove any blocks on your card and to make a record on your acct of the trip==== i do this all the time with my credit card and have never had a problem

 

also make sure that your atm pin code will work in england --sometimes the foreign atms require one number more then ours do -so be sure to doublecheck

 

i personally avoid using the travelers checks but for an emergency --- store owners really hate than and you will be beat up on the conversiion rates that they will charge you

 

 

I can't disagree with one word you have written. I just wanted to give everybody a "heads up" so they will be prepared. I worked in the banking industry for 15 years so I am always careful to consider every option.

 

I actually went to the bank and had them make a notation on my file that I would be in England and did plan to use my ATM card (credit cards being a whole different kettle of fish, but it certainly is the only sensible thing to do to let your bank know that you will be travelling in such and such a country and will be using your C/C while abroad). One thing I had forgotten to mention though, and thank you for mentioning it, is that in many cases abroad a PIN number of 5 (five) digits is required so be sure to change your PIN number before leaving home.

 

I only purchased the Travelers' Checks for an emergency situation - that's why I ordered pounds sterling, with my ATM card as a backup. If I get to the airport on the way home and still have Travelers' Checks left then I'm going to have a great time in the Duty Free Shop - they don't seem to have a problem with T/C's.

 

Happy cruising everyone.:)

 

Sorry - I just read Scottish Cruiser's post. If one has American Express T/C's then they can always be cashed at the nearest American Express office, thereby negating any kind of charges.

[SDHALFAN]

I see that part of my "edit" didn't make it. What I pointed out is that I purchased T/C's in the currency of the country to which I'm going (U.K. - Pounds Sterling), therefore it shouldn't be time consuming, expensive or frustrating. If I wanted to cash in U.S or CD dollars then I see where it would be a problem but all I'm asking them to do is cash in some Pounds Sterling for me.:)

[karen2cruz]

I agree with the above, just notify your bank of the dates you will be there, no more or less. Also, our 4 number pins worked just fine in the UK and Ireland last fall. Be careful for pickpockets especially in London proper, such as Covent Garden, a pickpockets paradise.

 

Have a great time SDHALFAN! My daughter and I would love to go back. We just organized and reminised(spelling?) our 317 pictures we had taken over there-sigh.

[trubey]

. . . One thing I had forgotten to mention though, and thank you for mentioning it, is that in many cases abroad a PIN number of 5 (five) digits is required so be sure to change your PIN number before leaving home . . .

 

I know that on cc we pick each factoid to death, but I think four digits is European standard. My Portuguese bank card, which I've used all over Europe and America, has a four digit PIN. susana.

[HalFan]

Four digits is the European standard and for most other countries. Also no leading zero.

[TedC]

We were in London last month and always use the ATM to get pounds at a usually favorable rate. And since we're using our own money, there's no interest involved. Sometimes there's a small fee. We have an HSBC card and use HSBC ATMs, which abound in London.

 

But it is a good policy to tell your credit card or ATM providers where you'll be using the cards.

[jhannah]

I've used our 4-digit PIN ATM several times in Europe with no problem.

[TheMiz]

I agree with the above, just notify your bank of the dates you will be there, no more or less. Also, our 4 number pins worked just fine in the UK and Ireland last fall. Be careful for pickpockets especially in London proper, such as Covent Garden, a pickpockets paradise.

 

Not to mention Lester Square.

[Grumpy1]

My bank has no option for anything other than 4 digit PIN numbers. I used mine in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South Africa and Brazil... and several places in between. Never had a problem with the 4 digit pin.

[SDHALFAN]

It was a fellow banker who suggested the 5-digit pin number since he travels extensively in Eastern Europe (or Mittel Europe, if you prefer). It doesn't hurt anyway to change over if you have a mind to. My bank, unlike Grumpy's, doesn't have a problem with a 5 digit PIN number.

 

"Miz" I had to laugh over your spelling of Leicester Square - it IS actually pronounced Lester Square, but only the English, who pronounce Beauchamp as Beecham, and Cholmondeley as Chumley, would make it so darned difficult to figure out how to speak "The Queen's English" ("as she is spoke", so to speak). No flaming please since I am a Brit by birth and an American by choice;) :D .

 

Karen2cruz: Thanks so much for your good wishes. I am "going home" for the first time in more than 20 years. I no longer have any close family members living in the U.K., so no have real ties there anymore, but I want to go back once more before I leave this earth.

 

I'm going back to Europe (France) in August. I spent a lot of time in Paris during my "misspent youth" since my degree is in French and I spent a lot of time teaching French to English speaking students or English to French speaking students. This time I'll be going from Marseille, up the Rhone on a Riverboat, to Paris (well actually to Chalon sur Saone and then on a bus to Paris, where I will spend a few days). That may well be it as far as Europe is concerned since I now live in San Diego and have a long term addiction to cruising. I especially enjoy the Panama Canal cruises and the Mexican Riviera or Sea of Cortez cruises - interesting isn't it that I spent so many years of my life learning French and now I am starting all over again learning Spanish, which is a lovely language, and I am having fun learning it.

 

Fair winds and following seas to everyone on their next cruise.

 

Valerie:)

[TheMiz]

 

"Miz" I had to laugh over your spelling of Leicester Square - it IS actually pronounced Lester Square, but only the English, who pronounce Beauchamp as Beecham, and Cholmondeley as Chumley, would make it so darned difficult to figure out how to speak "The Queen's English" ("as she is spoke", so to speak). No flaming please since I am a Brit by birth and an American by choice;) :D .

 

 

 

 

 

Valerie:)

 

Gee as much as I am there, you would think I knew how to spell it!

Truth is after I typed it , I thought it didn't look right!

 

TheMiz

[arzz]

We did have a problem with our ATM card in France a few years ago. We did everything right. We informed the bank. They said all was fine -- we knew what symbols to look for on the ATM's -- but we were totally unable to use the card anywhere -- we even got help inside one of the banks -- good thing that we brought back-up traveller's checks also -- they were in dollars as we did not think that we would have to use them -- so we paid cash conversion fees everywhere that we went and used our credit cards to the max.

 

Since then we always bring a back up (travellers checks in dollars as they are only for emergencies - since the ATMs usually do work and currency conversion is so much cheaper that way) -- it never hurts to be prepared for contingencies -- TRIPS happen just like SHIP happens

[localady]

Thanks for the information! I would be very concerned if I couldn't access my ATM because of some bank-wide international blocking. I will remember to contact my bank to confirm there are no hold in the countries we will be travelling and adjust accordingly.

 

I know that on cc we pick each factoid to death, but I think four digits is European standard. My Portuguese bank card, which I've used all over Europe and America, has a four digit PIN. susana.

Susana-

Thanks for the information!:cool: Nice to know our 4 digit pin might work in the Azores! I will definitely call my Bank and let them know I will be travelling.

Last year I left my debit card home while in the Baltic to have it stolen by a subcontractor working on our house who spent 7500$ on it....this year my debit card is either locked up or hidden somewhere very private on my body while we travel!!:eek:

[SDHALFAN]

Gee as much as I am there, you would think I knew how to spell it!

Truth is after I typed it , I thought it didn't look right!

 

TheMiz

 

Hey there "TheMiz",

 

Please believe me in that I was not making fun of your spelling, but rather that I was making fun of my "mother tongue" which is "The Queen's English" . It never fails to amaze me how we Brits (especially the English) can take a French, German, or Spanish word, and put our own pronounciation on it and claim it as our own. I'm actually a Scot by birth, although pretty much raised in England, and even we Scots have our own way of pronouncing (or mispronouncing) French (and several other languages), despite the fact that we have a much older alliance with France than the English do.

 

Valerie:)