ATMs for my bank are inconvenient to get to and there aren’t very many of them.
I don’t really want to switch banks because I have so many things tied to that account number.
Is there any way to use all ATMs (or many) for free? Maybe some sort of non brick-and-mortar bank that I could transfer money to every once in awhile?
Heck, my bank wouldn’t let me use their ATMs for free. I asked last week, and the guy almost laughed at me for asking. So, I don’t spend a dime on ATMs. I also don’t use them.
Many Internet banks offer refunds. Mine, for example, (First Internet Bank of Indiana) refunds up to $6/month of charges by other banks ATMs. I’ve never found an ATM that i couldn’t use in the USA, and only a handful in other countries.
As a side benefit, you’ll get much better interest rates than your brick-and-mortar bank (both savings and checkings). I wouldn’t be surprised if this bank went from being your secondary bank to your primary bank. I don’t see why anyone puts up with the insane policies of traditional banks (OK, there are a handful of disadvantages, but non really make a difference to me).
There are many Internet Banks these days. Look around, and find one that works for you.
You can also try and find a store that takes debit cards and gives cash back without charging a fee. My local Pathmark does that. Since my bank doesn’t charge me to use outside ATMs, it’s essentially free.
I usually just use my card at a store that allows cash back (which most do nowadays). I use it as a debit, tell it I want $20 or whatever back, then that’s it. I have not been charged for that so far.
Following on Cheesesteak, you can do this with any bank’s ATM/debit card at Walgreen’s, Jewel and Dominick’s, at least. But you have to buy something, even a candy bar, to get cash back. There may be a limit, but I’ve never tried to get more than $50.00 this way.
Was your card also a debit card?
My credit union belongs to the SUM network; I can use many other bank’s ATMs without charge. You might see if your bank is a member of an ATM network that doesn’t charge member banks.
Cool, I thought there would be some sort of internet bank or something that would offer ATM refunds.
Does anyone have any specific recommendations for one.
I can do the debit card thing, but there are so many times I need cash immediately and can’t make it to one of those bigger grocery stores that offer cash back.
Credit Union ATMs are free to anyone.
My current bank doesn’t assess an additional fee for getting cash back with a point-of-sale transaction, but my previous bank would charge 25 cents for any point-of-sale transaction in which I entered my PIN, even if I didn’t get any cash back. The only way to escape this charge was to use my bank card as a credit card, and of course I couldn’t get cash back that way. When I mentioned this point to a teller at my previous bank, she brushed aside my criticisms and tried to argue that I would still get hit by hidden costs at my new bank any time I acquired cash through non-ATM channels (I disproved this objection by getting cash back, with no additional charge, at a grocery store purchase the very next morning). At that point my regard for the previous bank’s customer service hit a record low, and I haven’t returned to any branch ever since, even to convert small coins into larger bills (a service they still offer at no cost to customers and non-customers alike).
In my experience as a cashier at the Rite Aid pharmacy, we were allowed to give up to $100 cash back in a debit card transaction. Stricter limits might be imposed by the bank issuing the debit card, but I never ran across any requests for $100 cash back that were denied, barring the obvious exception of too little money in the account.
Certain convenience stores – I think WaWa is one of them – advertise “no fee” ATMs. Of course they can’t control if your own bank charges. That’s why I use Commerce Bank, which never charges a fee, either.
The money back at point of sale gambit has generally worked well for me, too. Heck, back in the day, when there was no such thing as an ATM, I had a check-cashing card at the local supermarket. When I needed cash & couldn’t get to the bank, I’d just go buy something I probably would need eventually anyway and write a check for $30 over the amount.