Zero Cost ATM Card for USA to Mexico ATM Withdrawals

[T.J.]

Friends told me about this years ago and it remains the best deal I know of for ATM transactions with a foreign (USA) bank issued ATM.

You can open an online account with BankofAmercia and there are no fees FROM BOA if you do ONLY ATM tranactions in the states. There is no fee for the initial deposit when you go in to set up the account. You need a US address to which they send your ATM card.

After that, if you want to add or withdraw funds from the states, you simply do so from a BOA ATM. There is some way to set up the account electronically but you need to get your hands on the card. So I just went to BOA when I was in the states.

Here is the really good news:

You take your BOA card to a Santander ATM and they not only give you pesos with no fees from Santander, the rate is incredibly good and better than at any of the other Mexican banks as far as my referring friends explained. Not being a curious person, I have not checked this out.

There is some fee for using it at a store so the strategy is simply to withdraw and use pesos.

Three potential problems:
1. BOA is on shaky grounds but I don't think the US gov't CAN allow them to fail.
2. There are costs if you use this ATM card at a retail merchant, so DON'T.
3. Walmart still has a stupid policy about buying with dollars but their rate remains slightly better than the BOA/Santander rate. My solution to this for now is to shop at Comalcalco. NO, I will not shut up about Walmart. Jajaja, I know this had nothing to do with this thread.

[Gringation]

Wow TJ, that actually sounds really good!

I might wait a few months to see what happens with BOA, then order one in December (I'll be home for Christmas, yay!) Thanks for the heads up

[Windknot]

This has been around for years, BoA used to own a chunk of Santander, but Santander recently bought it back. So I have been looking for this deal to "go away," but so far so good.

More good news is that you can also use your BoA debit card at a Scotiabank ATM for a zero fee withdrawal.

And TJ is right....the exchange rate is FAR better than any place else.

A few tips for those thinking of opening a BoA account to take advantage of this:

1) Have the bank raise your daily withdrawal limit to the max they will allow. The default daily limit seems to be anywhere from $200-$500 per day. Mine is $1000. Point is, that it is this amount that determines how much money you can withdraw at one time....NOT the limits (1500-3000 pesos daily) set by Santander/Scotiabank, for their own customers. This really comes in handy if you are needing cash for a trip or a big ticket item.

2) Be sure to tell BoA that you travel to Mexico frequently and will be using your ATM card to get cash. They will make a note of this on their computers and maybe your card won't be invalidated, the first time you use it. If you NEVER use your debit card for anything but ATM cash, you shouldn't have a problem. I have had no problems for 6 years now. My BoA credit card is a different story. They recently accepted my charges for 2 RT plane tickets to Los Mochis, but then kicked out the charge for the hotel I would be staying at, while there. I had to call them, in order to verify the charge.

[Mike M.]

I travel to Cancun twice a year for 8-10 weeks and have been using B of A/Santader for pesos for years. As noted, you must notfiy B of A that you will be using in Mexico. I am advised that this can only be done with a phone call (not via their web site ) and is only good for 90 days. You must then call again.

[Vic]

Here is another advantage, if you happen to have a Santander account (checking or savings) you can make money transfers from BofA to Santander, no commission, no fees, preferred rate. Its called Safe Send.

Vic
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[kgunn]

We use the Schwab Bank Invest First Visa. No foreign transaction fee, no ATM fee worldwide (reimburses all fees at the end of the month). Also, unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, right into our Schwab One brokerage account. This and our platinum AMEX (no foreign transaction fees either) are the only two cards we use.

[SamCancun]

Hey thanks for the info TJ. Out of interest, which bank here has the best exchange rate normally? We use HSBC but if there is a big difference between them, then it might be worth switching, from when i see the odd rate in a bank window, it always seems to vary a lot and nothing close to being just below the average rate on something like xe.com. Any tips are appreciated, could make a big difference to us as get paid in dollars.

[T.J.]

Sam,
For me Scotiabank seems to consistently have the best, walk in off the street deal for exchanging USD for MXN. At Paseo Cancun the service is typically fine and the lines are typically short. I used to like Banamex but lately the rate they actually pay/charge is reduced by 5-6% from their website rate. $12.30 for example, becomes $11.70.

Honestly though, I don't drive around checking for the best rates, on a regular basis. I think I will check Santander soon as they have the best rate for my US ATM card.

[Arizona Al]

I got this from Bank of America regarding using AMT's outside of the USA.

"Be sure yous PIN is four digits, does not start with a zero, and that you know your PIN by numbers, as some ATM's abroad do not have letters on the keyboards."

Wouldn't you know it my PIN started with a zero so back to the bank to change my PIN.

[T.J.]

Mike M.
I never notified BOA of my intent to use my ATM card outside the country, yet it works without fail. I think I have only used it 2 or 3 times IN the US.

Al,
I disagree for obvious reasons with will not expound further.

Hey Vic,
I asked Santander about bank to bank transfers with BOA and the gal at Plaza Hollywood told me it cost (I forget) either $25 or $30 US to make such a transfer. She also told me that after the account was open for xis months, you could no longer deposit dollars into it, but you could exchange dollars for pesos and then deposit them. That day I got like $13.65 at the ATM but could only have gotten $13.10 inside the bank. Go figure.

I will check into that Safe Send thing. She may not have known about it or may not have understood that my question had to do with a BOA transfer in.

Thanks to all.

[Arizona Al]

T.J.
You will notice I said outside of the USA, it may NOT apply to Mexico or to every country. My guess is that they have had problems somewhere.

[T.J.]

Originally Posted by Arizona Al

T.J.
You will notice I said outside of the USA, it may NOT apply to Mexico or to every country. My guess is that they have had problems somewhere.

Thanks Al, for the clarification.