# free ATMS
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 7, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801 "2006-09-07T17:44:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/1 "2006-09-07T17:44:32Z")
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?
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/2 "2006-09-07T17:46:44Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/3 "2006-09-07T17:57:00Z")
> [@Folly](#):
>
> 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?
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.
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### Author:  [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/4 "2006-09-07T18:00:05Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/5 "2006-09-07T18:03:22Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/6 "2006-09-07T18:05:46Z")
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?
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### Author:  [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/7 "2006-09-07T18:15:25Z")
My credit union belongs to the [SUM network](http://www.sum-atm.com/index.asp); 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.
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### Author:  [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/8 "2006-09-07T18:28:58Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/9 "2006-09-07T19:19:34Z")
Credit Union ATMs are free to anyone.
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### Author:  [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/10 "2006-09-07T22:22:33Z")
> [@BoBettie](#):
>
> 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.
My [current bank](http://www.bbt.com/) doesn’t assess an additional fee for getting cash back with a point-of-sale transaction, but my [previous bank](http://www.chevychasebank.com) 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).
> [@Mr. Rosewater](#):
>
> 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.
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.
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### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-atms/371801/11 "2006-09-07T22:57:37Z")
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.