Avoid ATM fees by planning ahead for travel, routine
By Alyson Ward
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
FORT WORTH, Texas — It's brilliant, really, the ATM. We insert a plastic card and tap in some numbers, and out comes our money in crisp green bills — no matter what time it is, no matter where we are. Even if we find ourselves in a parking lot in Omaha, Neb., in the middle of the night, we can still get cash.
There's a price to pay for all that convenience. And we pay dearly: According to Bankrate.com's latest Checking Account Pricing Study, released twice a year, the average ATM fee is now $1.64 — and rising.
But that's not all. If you use an automated-teller machine that doesn't belong to your bank, you sometimes pay two fees: a charge from the ATM's owner and a surcharge from your own bank.
It takes some planning, but you can find ways to avoid — or at least reduce — all those fees. Here are five ways:
Instead of driving through an ATM, get cash back when you make a purchase. Even if you just buy gum, you can request cash back at most grocery and convenience stories. You'll be out 89 cents for gum, but that's better than a $1.50 fee — and you'll have gum.
It may be impossible to find a bank that protects you from "all" ATM fees. But you can find one that helps you out with "some" of them. Banks do offer some breaks, but you have to read the fine print. Washington Mutual, for instance, promises free ATM use — but if you go to a non-WaMu ATM, you still have to pay the other bank's charge.
One solution: Switch to an online-only bank — it will "have" no official bank ATMs, so it'll often reimburse you for those "foreign ATM" fees. (Try Netbank.com or bankus.etrade.com — eTrade's Max-Rate checking account, for instance, will refund an unlimited number of fees from other ATMs.)
Spending the summer in Italy? Or even Italy, Texas, where there's no First Hawaiian or American Savings Bank branch? Think ahead. If you call your bank, explain the situation and ask to have the ATM fees suspended or refunded while you're out of town; you just might get lucky. Banks will make exceptions sometimes; it's worth a call to find out.
Where convenience is a priority, fees are usually sky-high. If you're rushing to make your flight at the airport or standing in the middle of an out-of-town street, banks (and ATM companies) know they've got you — that you'll pay $2.50, $3, maybe even more when you don't have other options.
So keep that in mind and plan ahead. If you're on your way to dinner at the cash-only Joe T. Garcia's, don't wait until you get there to hit the ATM. Get cash at the nearest bank or convenience store on the way and you'll save at least $1.
Find a bank that doesn't charge you to use its ATMs, and then swing by to withdraw money, say, every Monday morning on the way to work. You'll have cash when you need it, and you'll seldom find yourself making a quick stop at the nearest ATM. It may take some discipline so you don't blow all your cash on the first day.
