OK, now that the BofA deal is gone, let's discuss alternatives

[Joyfull]

Lots of great info on this thread. Neither my husband or I have been in the military so how do you get a military connection? My brother was in the Navy...would that work?

[lobita]

Joy, a sibling doesn't qualify you for USAA -- only self, spouse, or parent. A grandparent could work too, but only if your parent joined USAA first, using their own parent's military service as eligibility, which would then make you eligible.

So far we are using Ally Bank, which charges no fees and is refunding all of our ATM fees monthly. Ally's official policy is only to refund US ATM fees, but so far (3 months) they've been refunding all our Mexico ATM fees as well. We'll keep using Ally unless that changes, but I already opened up a Schwab account so I have a backup option ready.

[Mainecoons]

It is possible to open an account with HSBC USA online and transfer money to that new account. They will ask you to sign signature cards and fax them back. It has been realatively easy to do online.

We had HSBC some years ago and dumped them when they started charging 3 percent.

[Curmudgeon]

..., CapitalOne 360 ..... have no Allpoint ATM's in their network outside of the US or Canada.

Not true. All Banorte ATMs are in their network and fee-free. They are in many Oxxos (including the one in central Ajijic, and the one near the Malecon in Chapala), Super Lake and El Torito.

[phxfunguy]

Curmudgeon, on 17 Nov 2013 - 9:22 PM, said:

Not true. All Banorte ATMs are in their network and fee-free. They are in many Oxxos (including the one in central Ajijic, and the one near the Malecon in Chapala), Super Lake and El Torito.

Wow, that's good news. I'll do a test withdrawal from there to compare to the other rates then.

I updated my previous post to reflect this info too.

[Fred Habacht]

Capital One says they have 2500 free to use ATMs in Mexico...like Oxxo and 7 -11 and inside any Banorte

[Mainecoons]

Could you provide a link on that, Fred?

[Fred Habacht]

I went to ALLPOINT ATM...there you will see that they are now world wide with 2500 ATM locations in Mexico. I then called them and was told that the ALLPOINT logo will be slow to appear because the machines don't get new faceplates in Mexico very often. Also was told of the Bananorte and International Bank logo, which also will be no charge. In Lakeside locations I found no IB or Allpoint logos but was told that I could use them when I get my card....which I estimate will get here in 10 days or so and then I will test it all out. I have already re-routed my SS to the new account and my money will be on hand to test the system.

If that doesn't help....ask me more questions. I have been on the phone constantly and noticed that not every cust service rep has the same info but everyone has gone out of their way to help.

[Fred Habacht]

I now have been told that COSTCO will join and accept the AllPoint system in Mexico

[Mainecoons]

Their FAQ says this:

Q: Where are Allpoint ATMs located?

A: Allpoint's 55,000 surcharge-free ATMs are located in local, regional, and national retail merchants across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom. This includes merchants such as Target, Winn-Dixie, ExxonMobil, Sunoco and many others. Use the ATM locator atwww.AllpointNetwork.com to find the Allpoint ATM closest to you.

But when you actually try to use the ATM locator it does not have Mexico on the drop down menu. So I still haven't been able to find out where the ATMs in in Mexico and whether any are here.

[Fred Habacht]

Many reps do not know as the partnership is very recent ...a supervisor who has an aunt in PV told me of the locations and said the ATM site is being updated to reflect Mexico locations

. Thanks to BofA the system is being flooded with new accounts and people making the change will start seeing some delays

[Mainecoons]

Another question: What is the withdrawal limit on these machines in Oxxo? In the past, we've been able to get up to $10K pesos out of the ScotiaBank ATM but when we tried withdrawals from machines in Costco, the limit was far, far lower, like 3000 pesos or less.

[goodcat]

Well for what it's worth....I just spoke to a customer service rep at USAA and was told that there was an ATM fee and a 1% exchange fee when using their card outside the US. It says on their site that they will reimburse up to $15 per month in ATM fees but that is only if card was used in US, according to him. Does peoples' experience differ?

[RVGRINGO]

My experience is different. USAA reimburses my ATM fees in Mexico, but I usually only make one or two visits to an ATM eacn month, so have never exceeded the $15 limit.

[MtnMama]

Husband and I also limit ATM visits and usually get $10 to 12 back each month. And we have only used ATMs in Mexico during that last couple of years.

[Studio del Sol]

We have two threads going on BofA so please don't discuss that on this thread but rather let's take it as a given that we are going to either be stuck with the three percent or we are going to find other options.

Since we are among those who relied on our BofA account and debit card to get money, we're going to be looking for other options. That's what I'd like to see discussed here. For example:

Having a bank account and moving money directly to it, then withdrawing the pesos here. What is the least cost option, including exchange rate penalty, that you all have found?

Other debit card options, like for example this Capital One 360 business. If someone has this, could you explain how it works from setup to usage and what it costs you? I'm a little concerned that we might just go to Capital One and then shortly they start hitting us with the exchange "fee."

Thanks!

I haven't read through the entire thread, so maybe this has been covered. Citi Bank, I think works. It owns Banamex. In CA I opened a Citi Bank account and asked about transferring dollars to an account in Chapala at Banamex. I was told not a problem--no fee, but that I would need to set up an account with Banamex while down here. Which I haven't done, yet. Was also told there was no fee to use the ATM at Banmex as long as I had an account with CitiBank.

If anyone has done this, I'd appreciate hearing how it went.

[Curmudgeon]

Another question: What is the withdrawal limit on these machines in Oxxo? In the past, we've been able to get up to $10K pesos out of the ScotiaBank ATM but when we tried withdrawals from machines in Costco, the limit was far, far lower, like 3000 pesos or less.

My experience is that the Oxxo ATMs have a 3,000 peso limit. The ones inside the Banorte branches (none around here) are 5,000 pesos. Not a problem, just use them multiple times .. it's not a daily limit.

[Fred Habacht]

Capital one said I can draw out whatever the max is at an ATM...but if it limits me 3000 for instance, I can then put the card in a draw again. I set my opening limit at 1000.oo us for each card....as we will each have a card.

[RVGRINGO]

The problem with multiple uses at an ATM with a limit, is that you will incur multiple ATM fees.

[Fred Habacht]

RV...you are right but you will never hit a 3% charge unless you keep taking out small change. Anyone who wants to pay $5.00 ala Wells Fargo or 3% at BofA has the freedom to continue to do so as well as not asking what exchange rate you are getting at places like Activer Lloyd......

[phxfunguy]

RV...you are right but you will never hit a 3% charge unless you keep taking out small change. Anyone who wants to pay $5.00 ala Wells Fargo or 3% at BofA has the freedom to continue to do so as well as not asking what exchange rate you are getting at places like Activer Lloyd......

And if you make your Plan B the CapitolOne 360 debit card e-banking account, you should get no fee using the Allpoint ATM's in Oxxo, 7-11, Costco, and wherever else they show up when they get their list updated. If you can set your daily withdrawal limit to what you want with CapitalOne 360, then I'd think you'd be able to do multiples of $3000 pesos at one machine up to your daily limit with serial transactions and no fees. If the machine somehow knows your card number for 24 hours and won't let you take more out, I'd think going to another machine locally would work if you needed more that day.

[Curmudgeon]

The problem with multiple uses at an ATM with a limit, is that you will incur multiple ATM fees.

Sorry, I was replying to Mainecoons question relating to Banorte ATMs using CapitalOne 360 cards. They do not incur fees so you can use them as often as you like, up to the limit you have set with the bank, with no ATM fees or currency conversion charges.

[goodcat]

I wanted to correct an entry I made yesterday on this thread regarding information I had received from a customer service rep at USAA. When I called today to open an account, I was advised by the "new account specialist" that I would be reimbursed up to $15 each month for ATM fees from a foreign bank and that the exchange rate fee was indeed 1%. Thanks for the heads up RV Gringo and MtnMama.

[Mainecoons]

Sorry, I was replying to Mainecoons question relating to Banorte ATMs using CapitalOne 360 cards. They do not incur fees so you can use them as often as you like, up to the limit you have set with the bank, with no ATM fees or currency conversion charges.

Thanks. So we could use the machines multiple times to get larger amounts without fees.

I want to thank all of you again for making this such an informative thread. Thanks to you, we have a solution to our BofA problem!

[mistermister]

In the opinion of the users of this site which of the above mentioned banks (Banamex USA, Banamex Mx, Capital One 360, etc.) would be the best bet? I have been using BOA for 8 years but need to find another source to withdraw money from an ATM in this area without the 3% fee. The Banamex USA and a Banamex Mexico account seem to me to be the best but maybe someone has another opinion. Thank you.