ATM fees hit a record high for 4th straight year

The Hill ^ | 08/22/2024 | Rich Johnson

[ChicagoConservative27]

(NewsNation) — If you need money from an ATM, and it’s not a machine run by your bank, you’ll be paying more than ever before, according to an annual survey from Bankrate.

The national average combined out-of-network ATM fee is now $4.77, up from $4.72 last year. The combined fee is the sum of the charge by an out-of-network bank, $3.19, plus the average charge of $1.58 levied by your own bank for using an out-of-network ATM.

“Confine cash withdrawals to in-network ATMs or get cash back when using a debit card,” advises Greg McBride, Bankrate’s chief financial analyst. “See if your bank participates in a nationwide ATM network that can be used free of charge.”

[AF_Blue]

RAF Mildenhall ‘88-‘92, then RAF Lakenheath ‘08-‘11.

I didn’t use the Community Bank on base for money exchange, just for the pound checking account. I’d deposit the money I withdrew from the ATM on the economy to cover checks. That’s when I learned how to use a credit card to benefit me: no fees from the issuer, market rate money exchange, and no interest charges when the balance was paid every month. I withdrew the rough equivalent of half my monthly BAH every two weeks, with a two-week cushion in the checking account to cover the utilities.

I went to Paris while at RAFM. The travel was great: train to Dover, Hovercraft across the Channel to Calais, train to Paris. Nice city to visit (in the 80’s), but the city itself was FILTHY. If you were a dog in Paris, the city was your toilet. Ate out of bakeries and sandwich shops (smile, point to what I wanted, paid the total on the register, “Merci, beau coup.”

[AF_Blue]

I will pay extra if they can do my cat also.

That would be worth the cost just for the entertainment value.