Customers of VR-banks and savings banks pay about 15 % too much!

Florida: Withdraw money ► How and where is it most favorable?

17.12.2015

As you will see in the article, it does not matter for cardholders of the test winner credit cards at which ATM they withdraw in Florida. They always have a good exchange rate and no surcharges, because of the foreign transaction fee and even get the ATM fee refunded.

All others will have to look for one of the few “No-Surcharge-ATMs” that I myself have not seen in Florida yet. Please feel free to post your recommendations via a comment!

In this article, you will learn:

• which credit card is the most favorable to withdraw cash in Florida (or somewhere else in the USA),
• how you get the American ATM fee refunded.

For the first time included: a credit card of a “traditional” bank in order to document how well our top credit cards of this special portal really are compared to other banks!

Every ATM is automatically the most favorable for you! Who likes that?

1. Video clip documents the test withdrawals and provides valuable instructions on the refund of the ATM fees (please watch to the end)

2. Comparison with all the details

Provider	Compounds of a cash withdrawal at an ATM in Florida (USA)
	Withdrawal amount	+ ATM fee	Exchange rate	Foreign transaction fee	Debit from the account	Refund	= Total amount Difference to the best provider
				Withdrawal amount
Top providers of this special portal
DKB	$ 60	$ 3.50	1.0572	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 60.06	€ 3.25[1] ($ 3.50)	€ 56.81 ± € 0.00
Comdirect	$ 60	$ 3.50	1.0549	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 60.20	€ 3.32[2] ($ 3.50)	€ 56.88 − € 0.07
Fidor	$ 60	$ 3.50	1.056748	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 60.09	–	€ 60.09 − € 3.28
Number26	$ 60	$ 3.50	1.051672	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 60.38	–	€ 60.38 − € 3.57
Comparison to a traditional bank
VR-Bank	$ 60	$ 3.50	1.056748	€ 0.57 (1 %) € 5.00	€ 65.66	–	€ 65.66 − € 8.85

Test conclusion: With the DKB Visa credit card, I have withdrawn 15.578 % cheaper than with the MasterCard of the local VR bank (comparable to the savings banks)!

Extrapolation to a withdrawal amount of US-Dollars 1,000:

Provider	Compounds of a cash withdrawal at an ATM in Florida (USA)
	Withdrawal amount	+ ATM fee	Exchange rate	Foreign transaction fee	Debit from the account	Refund	= Total amount Difference to the best provider
				Withdrawal amount
Top-Anbieter dieses Spezialportals
DKB	$ 1,000	$ 3.50	1.0572	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 945.89	€ 3.25[1] ($ 3.50)	€ 942.64 ± € 0.00
Comdirect	$ 1,000	$ 3.50	1.0549	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 947.96	€ 3.32[2] ($ 3.50)	€ 944.64 − € 1.99
Fidor	$ 1,000	$ 3.50	1.056748	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 946.30	–	€ 946.30 − € 3.65
Number26	$ 1,000	$ 3.50	1.051672	€ 0.00 (0 %) € 0.00	€ 950.87	–	€ 950.87 − € 8.22
Vergleich mit einer herkömmlichen Bank
VR-Bank	$ 1,000	$ 3.50	1.056748	€ 9.46 (1 %) € 5.00	€ 955.76	–	€ 955.76 − € 13.12

Explanations (important for penny pinchers 😉)

^[1] The DKB refunds the foreign fee with value date and exchange rate of the processing day. By this, customers suffer or win a difference of a few cents.
^[2] The Comdirect refunds the foreign fee with value date and exchange rate of the withdrawal day! By this, there is no disadvantage for the customer!

3. Evaluation and instructions

3.1 DKB and Comdirect (Test winner credit cards)

With a few cents advantage, the DKB Visa credit card won this test!

On the second place, there is the Comdirect Visa credit card. Then there is a huge distance!

This is due to the refund of the ATM fee, which is regularly charged in the USA directly to the customer. This is requested by both banks on your request. How this works, you can see in the video from minute 7:15.

We only briefly summarize here: At the Comdirect, a phone call is enough, at the DKB an e-mail is necessary. Please feel free to use my e-mail text:

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

leider berechnete mir der ausländische Geldautomat eine Abhebegebühr (siehe Kartenabrechnung vom X.X.XX). Ich bitte um Erstattung auf mein Konto Nummer 11223344.

Vielen Dank und mit freundlichen Grüßen

A template for you!

At the refund, the Comdirect Bank was in my opinion better, because

• the refund was processed and completed immediately on the phone,
• the refund was already visible in online banking on the next banking day
• and this with value date = withdrawal date (there was no loss of interest)
• and using exactly the same exchange rate (there was no reduction of refund due to exchange rate shifts).

The processing at the DKB took four banking days and I saw the refund on the bank statement only on the fifth day. The DKB always takes the exchange rate of the processing day, so that customers could receive a higher or lower refund amount.

Criticizing that would be senseless whining – and we do not do that being smart bank customers. We are pleased that there is the option of refund and are aware of the circumstances of the different processes.

Please take advantage of it meaningfully!

Especially because of the background that hardly any other bank has so customer-friendly terms, we take advantage of it meaningfully. This means that we do not withdraw US$ 20 every day, but perhaps US$ 140 once a week!

So, chances are high that we will get those foreign fees refunded also in the coming years.

However, if one is abusing this, banks will take countermeasures – just like the Comdirect bank announced that cash deposits through the Commerzbank will be free of charge only 3 times a year in the future.

Further articles on the refunds: Comdirect refund · DKB refund.

3.2 Fidor and Number26

On the third and fourth place, there are the Fidor SmartCard and the N26 MasterCard.

Although both providers said that they use the exchange rate of MasterCard without fees and surcharges, we had different results. The exchange rate at Fidor, which was calculated by me because the bank itself does not state it, was the same as at the VR-Bank. This bank used – before adding its charges – the same MasterCard exchange rate.

Why the exchange rate of Number26 deviates, could not be explained. A feedback via e-mail inquiry remained unanswered until today.

Maybe due to the absolutely excellent conditions, Number26 currently receives a huge amount of new customers and perhaps the customer service cannot grow as fast?

The exchange rates in the test are anyway a snapshot and are constantly changing. Once, one bank is ahead, and then the other!

Not as good for Florida, as the refund is missing.

Preferably pay attention to the withdrawals in Florida that the ATM fee will be refunded and no further surcharges apply by your credit card provider (as with the next provider).

3.3 VR-Bank (comparable to our savings bank on site)

This time, I deliberately included a credit card of the local VR-Bank (elsewhere called Volksbank, Raiffeisenbank or Genossenschaftsbank) to the test to recall people on the high level of our top credit cards of this special portal!

The result can be applied to many savings banks (Kreissparkasse, Stadtsparkasse), because the conditions are similar and, in particular, their fees.

The fact that cooperative banks and savings banks do not refund foreign fees of cash withdrawals, was obvious right from the start!

A withdrawal fee of Euros 5 per procedure and additionally 1% of the amount is pretty high compared to our top providers!

Unfortunately, many Florida-travelers take exactly these credit cards from their main banks with them and thus pay no less than 15% for the same cash withdrawal. See our test withdrawal of US-Dollars 60!

At higher amounts, the disadvantage in per cent is, of course, less, because the Euros 5 incur once per withdrawal. However, even in the extrapolation to US$ 1,000 withdrawal amount, the Volksbank customer pays Euros 13.13 more than the DKB customer.

Do you want to get a second (better) credit card?

Truth is that the difference is even higher, as I did not find any ATM in Florida that processes US$ 1,000 per withdrawal. The maximum was US$ 800. So you would have to make two withdrawals to sum up US$ 1,000 and thus pay twice the withdrawal fee!

4. Documentation

4.1 Settlement of the DKB

4.2 Settlement of the Comdirect

4.3 Settlement of the Fidor Bank

4.4 Settlement of Number26

4.5 Settlement of the VR-Bank

5. Conclusion and recommendation for action

• If you are already a customer of the DKB or Comdirect, you do not need to do anything further. You are already well prepared!

• If you are not a customer of DKB/Comdirect, but of Fidor or Number26, then you are well equipped.

  An additional account opening at the test winners is recommendable, if you wish to withdraw more often at ATMs in Florida or other states in the USA. Alternatively, you have to pay the US$ 3.50 per withdrawal and this is okay.

• If you are currently only a customer of a VR bank or savings bank …, then it is obvious that it is meaningful to turn to another bank, at least for your journeys to Florida (unless you do not need or want to lower your expenses).

Further articles (account opening):

• DKB account opening (step-by-step instruction)
• Comdirect complete account opening
• Comdirect better than DKB?
• Open a business account in Germany for self-employed: The 5 minutes solution

Further articles (USA journeys):

• USA journeys: credit card required?
• The right credit cards for card payments in the USA
• Further test between DKB and Comdirect in the USA

Private photo

Small appeal!

If you know people, who travel to Florida, then please send them the link to this article. It would be nice, if even more people knew about the favorable possibilities of cash withdrawals with refund of foreign fees. 🙂 Many thanks!