We are officially in summer. And, for many, summer is synonymous with vacations. A third of Spaniards who already have their destination decided will travel abroad, according to a recent study by the National Observatory of Outbound Tourism.
Visiting another country is not usually cheap. To transport, we must add accommodation, cultural visits and food. What many travelers do not expect is that their final bill ends up growing because the bank charges them commissions when crossing the border.
Paying for a purchase of one hundred euros in dollars or pounds, for example, can have an additional cost of three euros and withdrawing 20 euros from an ATM in a country that does not use the euro can cost about six euros adding the commission for currency exchange. , the cost of the refund and what the owner of the ATM charges. But all these expenses can be avoided by taking a card to travel without commissions, explain the experts of the financial product comparison HelpMyCash.com.
CaixaBank, BBVA and Banco Santander charge a commission of 4.5% for debiting money abroad with a minimum of between three and four euros. In addition, the first charges a commission of 3.95% to change currency and the last two, 3%. These are the costs that travelers usually have to bear when using their cards outside of Spain. And we would have to add an extra expense that does not depend on our bank, the commission charged by the owner of the ATM.
Experts recommend prioritizing card payments before refunds, especially if you are traveling in the euro zone, since you will not have to pay any additional costs when paying with debit. However, the cheapest thing is to take a card to travel. "They are much cheaper and allow you to save a lot of money in commissions," they explain in HelpMyCash.
Likewise, comparator sources recommend withdrawing high amounts from the ATM. “If your bank charges you a commission for withdrawing cash, it surely has established a minimum, so that if you withdraw little money and do not reach that limit, you will pay the same, so it is convenient to withdraw more money and go to the ATM less times” , point out in HelpMyCash. An example: if a bank charges 4.5% with a minimum of three euros to withdraw cash, any withdrawal of less than 67 euros will accrue a commission of three euros. Thus, withdrawing 30 euros three times will mean paying three times that minimum, while if 90 euros are withdrawn in one go, the cost will be four euros.
Some banks do not charge commissions for paying in another currency and apply a reasonable exchange rate, be it interbank or Visa or Mastercard. In addition, there are entities that do not charge a commission for withdrawing money at ATMs located outside of Spain.
