Stop Paying Killer ATM Fees

Grazie,

There is no need to apologize. I appreciate the fact that you tried to get the info at all. If anyone should be apologizing and reimbursing me it should be Bank of America. They treat you like they are doing YOU a favor by holding your money.
 
this is just typical, standard argentine customer service eric. ill try not to pass judgment here in this post, but in 5 years, i have countless encounters like this. the good ones i have arent enough to wipe out this impression of customer service here. these people keep coming into my hotel and want ROOMS, then they want me to clean them, then they dont have exact change. hehehe, its part of their culture.
just yesterday i had a bad encounter buying sneakers. i wanted to cancel the whole sale and just throw them at the owner. he wouldnt care of course, he doesnt need customers.
Ive noticed an amazing conformity in arg. culture. not sure how you get an entire culture to do the same things, make the same mistakes, eat the same thing for breakfast. But in general, this is how they treat customers and they dont want to hear any suggestions to the contrary. Once they get your money they dont care at all. Lying to your face, slow, lax, service, and industria agentina products being shoddy seems to be the way it is.
 
If you go to a bar with some regularity you will noticed that you will never get an salude from one of the bartenders
 
I called Citibank and they reversed all of my "foreign fee" charges. They really had no explanation for the charge other then it was the fault of the South American partner. In addition, they advised me (knowing already) that other banks in South American charge foreign fees-and to avoid them as Citibank cannot reverse those charges.
 
I contacted BofA through their website and they said they would not be able to offer a refund and that the $5 fees were applied correctly. Any ideas how I should reply? I haven't found an ATM where I can get more than 300 pesos at a time, and the charges end up being over %5 of all money I pull out.
I got the following response from BofA:"Thank you for your inquiry dated 6/4/07 regarding the fees in the amount of $5.00. We will be happy to assist you.



Please be advised that the International ATM fee is $5.00. This fee is assessed for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry performed at a non-Bank of America ATM or non-Global ATM Alliance bank located in a foreign country.

Customers receive an additional 3% Foreign Currency Conversion Adjustment for Check Card point-of-sale purchases made in a currency other than U.S. dollars. The fee is assessed to help recover costs of processing the currency exchange for Check Card purchases. The 3% Foreign Currency Conversion Adjustment is applied to the converted U.S. dollar purchase amount and is posted to your account on the same date as the purchase transaction.

Our research indicates the charge was applied correctly and no error occurred. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with a refund. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Kindly note that while traveling outside the United States, you can avoid the $5 access fee by using an ATM at the following banks in these locations:

- Barclays - United Kingdom

- China Construction Bank - China

- Deutsche Bank - Germany

- Scotiabank - Canada

- BNP Paribas - France

- Westpac - Australia and New Zealand

- Santander Serfin - Mexico



We value you as a customer and appreciate your business. If we may be of further assistance, please contact us again by e-mail. Thank you forchoosing Bank of America."
 
Why don't you get a free checking account from some internet bank that offers ATM rebates?See this fatwallet forum thread, for example.
 
I have bank of america. How do you make deposits from Argentina?
 
I see this thread was resurrected from deep in the archives. More recent threads have dealt with this and there is one answer for those from the USA:

Just talk to Chuck.

That's Charles Schwab of course.

First it is necessary to open a brokerage account. Then you can open an internet checking account which comes with a VISA debit card. You can open the brokerage account online from Argentina, but it is necessary to call them regarding the checking account. I believe it may be necessary to send a voided check/signed form to be able to make online transfers from your "home" bank to your Schwab accounts via their "moneylink" feature.

Bottom line: no ATM fees.

It is NOT necessary to buy any stocks, and even if you have only a small balance in your account, they treat you like it was millions.
 
I just signed up for this in prep for my trip, and it does seem to be pretty easy.

My card should be coming within 7 business days, which is about the amount of time it should take for me to get my bank account linked up to my Schwab account.

No ATM fees, 1% interest in your checking, PLUS they refund the ATM fees that the argentinian/foreign banks might charge (usually just a couple of pesos anyway, but still, it adds up).

It really does seem to be the best possible option at this point.
 
Also, as someone who is just doing this now, you can link up your bank account to your brokerage account 100% online. You just need your routing number.

I'll fill you in on the amount of time it takes, but should be all set to transfer funds between in 1 to 3 business days.
 
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