$ Exchange question for "j'adoreparis"

%26quot;j%26#39;adoreparis%26quot;, earlier you posted:

%26quot;If you bank with Bank of America, you%26#39;re in luck. Bank of America is part of the Global ATM Alliance...%26quot;

%26quot;...I find using BNP Paribas ATM machines in France convenient, and it gives me the best exchange rates. ...%26quot;

Are you referring to a Bank of America card credit card? or debit card?

Further, what exchange rate do you get with the BoA card?

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Kirkrik,

I was referring to the debit card. I am in Canada, so I would not know what the BoA exchange rate is. I suggest you contact them directly. All I know is the info. my bank here gave me about the Global ATM Alliance, and I noticed that BoA is part of the Alliance.

Cheers ;)

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Here is a link to a site that provides some info about how much some of the larger US banks charge for various types of overseas transactions.

www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20020513c.asp

The obvious way to beat the charge for an ATM withdrawal, if you are not a BoA customer or a customer of one of the other Global ATM Alliance banks is to withdraw at one time the maximum amount you feel comfortable carrying back to the room safe in your hotel room - or the maximum your bank will allow.

Using an ATM still cheaper AFAIK than any other method of obtaining foreign currency.

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Thanks for responding %26quot;j%26#39;adoreparis%26quot;.

And thanks for the link %26quot;IrishRovr%26quot;.

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IrishRovr, thanks for another good website to bookmark.

I noticed Washington Mutual wasn%26#39;t on there. They zap you $3 for ATM use.

Easier than a Global Alliance is a credit union%26#39;s account. Their credit cards often have lower or no fee for currency conversion. And their ATM cards often have perks of four or more free (reimbursed actually) non-member ATM machine visits per month.

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kirkrik~ I posted this a while back, hope it helps.

I called BofA today to verify their rules for ATM fees:

If you happen to have a Bank of America debit card, you will not be charged a fee if you use it in an ATM that belongs to Barclays in the United Kingdom. That%26#39;s because BOA and Barclays belong to a Global ATM Alliance whose members have agreed not to charge each other%26#39;s customers ATM fees.

The same holds true for those going to France. BNP Paribas- France will not charge an ATM fee either.

If you have trouble with your cards, while in these countries, call BofA collect or these numbers:

France : 08-009-900-11-plus customer ser. # on back of card.

UK :

Brit TelCom - 0800-89-0011-plus customer ser. # on back of card.

CNW TelCom - 0500-89-0011- plus customer ser. # on back of card.

Goodluck and hope this helps someone out.