Hi,
another question, my bank (in NY) is linked to the cirrus network of atms. in south america i never get charged a fee and get the best exchange rate. I have heard that in europe the charges can be steep. I will be in Barcelona for a year and a half. Should I bring a ton of cash and open an account, or should I keep my money here and live off of atms while in BCN???

Also, according to citibank in NY there is no fee at any citibank in the world for Atm use. Anyone with real life experience on this ??? Thanks!

Maybe you can ask your bank to do a wire transfer and open an account at Citibank in BCN?

I am going to be in barcelona for a while and am opening an account here at Citibank in Chicago, but will use ATMS.

Just out of curiosity, what are you going to be doing there for so long?

Last month I used my Bank One ATM card all over Spain. Since I didn't see any Bank One branches, I got charged a $1.50 fee for each withdrawal, which is exactly what they would have charged me here in Chicago at a non-Bank One ATM. Hope that helps!......Jake

Hi- I also used my atm card all over Spain and was charged about 1.50 euros per withdrawal. Some places did not charge, just as some banks and credit unions don't charge here. Unfortunately, I can't remember which bank(s) didn't charge a fee. Regardless, I would't call the fee exhorbitant.

Have a great trip!

In the year I've been in Madrid, I have yet to be charged a separate fee by a Spanish bank for ATM withdrawals using my US STAR ATM card.

As I remember (way back when I had money in the bank!), Banco Atlantico didn't charge me. I had a bank account with Bank of America. The WORST bank in the world (BofA that is).

Thanks for responding! I'll be there for that long because my wife is getting her Masters degree. I'm unsure what I'll be doing, depends on expenses and work over there.

A heads-up on Citibank - I asked in NY and they told me there is no charge at any Citibank in the world. We went to Colombia afterword and I just happened to go into a Citibank there to ask them the same thing. They told me that they charge $5 USD for each withdrawal to Citibank customers who opened their accounts outside of Colombia. This is what gets me nervous about opening up an account here (NY) at Citibank to withdraw using ATMs in other parts of the world. - Richie

As for CitiBank, there used to be VERY few Citibank offices within Spain. Within Madrid city there seems to be about ten only. Anyway, if you stay in central Madrid you'll probably be close to one or some:

Citibank offices in Madrid Province