Best Bank for Thru Hikers? ATM Fees Are Whack!

[Crunchygroovesbra]

Any seasoned veterans know what banks are around the trail? I have bank accounts for ny area but don't want to get hit with tons of fees. My bank charges me an additional fee for using a non company ATM....damn leeches....

[CrumbSnatcher]

this is a dying art but i prefer traveler checks myself, usually free at your bank or maybe a $1.00 fee per hundred i always had them in bills of 20.00 or 50.00 and AE will replaced if stolen/lost!
even had a family member send me a post office money order a couple times! and cash them with the postmaster while you're there.
never used a bank card on the trail before last sept. hiking in maine i was hit by charges from everybank in the world it seemed like if you do maildrops you could keep a few in each box spaced out and also maybe not overspend that way? have a great HIKE

[A-Train]

What I did in 07 on the west coast (i'm from NY) is basically try and get cash back from post offices and supermarkets when I could. I would always try and keep cash on me and use my debit card when I could. Be aware some small town PO's will not carry much cash and will not likely want to shell out money for many thru-hikers.

[Frosty]

Any seasoned veterans know what banks are around the trail? I have bank accounts for ny area but don't want to get hit with tons of fees. My bank charges me an additional fee for using a non company ATM....damn leeches....

Best way is to get as much cash as you can from supermarkets, but in rural areas this isn't much.

I don't know how to get around the fees because all banks do it. About the only thing you can do is not nickle and dime yourself to death. Take money out in hundreds, not twenties as the ATM fee is for the transaction not the amount, and pay for meals/goods/services with a card as often as you can so you don't keep needing to replenish your cash.

[K2]

I use online banking, and my bank refunds ATM fees, and I get interest paid on my checking account. You might want to see if your bank has a similar programs

[Helios]

usaa has online banking and refunds any ATM fees.

[Scooby99]

Schwab Bank refunds all ATM fees, though its online only.

[boarstone]

join a credit union

[scope]

A lot of community banks share a network where they do not charge fees at ATMs in that network. Still, while there's a good chance that there will be a community bank in town areas, whether its in the network is secondary to where it is in relation to the trail (mostly). Might not be practical.

Think about a Visa debit card that can be reloaded. I would think this would be better than cash, although its probably a good idea to carry some cash.

[Toolshed]

Unless you feel like paying for a platinum style plan which reimburses fees, (You either pay a monthly fee, or keep your avg daily balance in S&C above an arbitrary figure, such as $50K or 75$) then I would suggest either travelers checks, as mentioned before or Try BOA or Wachovia - Both are nationally charted institutions and have ATM locations in towns in states the trail runs through. I am not sure how far away those towns are, though how far one is willing to hitch (and how much time they are wiling to waste) to save an ATM Fee is a personal preference.

Personally, I usually don't use paper money for too much any longer, preferring all transactions on my rewards credit cards. But if I needed cash, I'd rather pay the $4-$5 dollars for the immediate convenience and get more money out to reduce the need to stop in the coming month. Many small stores and whatnot will allow you to pay for purchases over $10 with credit cards.

[mweinstone]

pnc refunds fees and was the pilot program for this rule nationwide. they have a branch next to the doyle and my bank card is connected to my checking account so its also a debit card. also i carry my routing number and acct number so i can fix messed up bill payments from the trail.

[peakbagger]

A few years back I would run into a lot of "private" ATM's mostly down south that charged additional fees over and above standard fees along the trail. The outfitter in Hot Springs was one of them with relatively high fees and low amount of cash available per withdrawal. In most places it was strictly a convienience issue, there were probably banks in the area with ATM's, they just werent obvious or convienent for thruhikers on foot that didnt know the town.

[JustaTouron]

ATM fees have two aspects.

1. The amount you pay your bank. To use the ATM (typically free if you use the banks own ATM)

2. The amount you pay the ATM owner.(typically refered to as the ATM surcharge)

The first one is easier to avoid. Most banks and credit unions have at least one account type that waives the fee for using out of network ATMs. Although that may require having a fairly high min. balance to avoid the monthly fee.

The second one is harder to avoid. As there is no one bank that is going to have ATMs in every town. However, there are some "banks" that will even refund the second one.

Obviously you want to avoid both fees.

While not banks, brokerage house are one way to go. Schwab has an account that refunds the fees. It requires a min account balance of $1000. Fidelity has a refund policy as well but appears to require that you be an active stock trader. Others may as well.

The other option is purely on-line banks. They often refund the surcharge on out of network ATMs to attract customers and because they have NO network. Such as www.ally.com or www.usaa.com (they won't refund all the surcharges, but up to $15 per month, that is 5-7 as most places charge between $2 and $3. probably more than enough if you are willing to carry some cash) The down side is you have no local customer service person to deal with.

[Deadeye]

You have an expensive machine, full of cash, and you can access it 24/7 to get cash and do other banking. I don't see the fuss about paying a few bucks for that luxury.

[white_russian]

Unless you feel like paying for a platinum style plan which reimburses fees, (You either pay a monthly fee, or keep your avg daily balance in S&C above an arbitrary figure, such as $50K or 75$) then I would suggest either travelers checks, as mentioned before or Try BOA or Wachovia - Both are nationally charted institutions and have ATM locations in towns in states the trail runs through. I am not sure how far away those towns are, though how far one is willing to hitch (and how much time they are wiling to waste) to save an ATM Fee is a personal preference.

USAA doesn't make you have a platinum style plan. It is just their regular old account. I keep a hundred bucks in my USAA checking just in case I need to use a foreign ATM and that is it.

[JustaTouron]

You have an expensive machine, full of cash, and you can access it 24/7 to get cash and do other banking. I don't see the fuss about paying a few bucks for that luxury.

It can cost up to $6 to withdraw money from an ATM ($3 fee to bank plus $3 surcharge) do that weekly over the length of a thru-hike can easily add up to more than $100. That's a lot of packages of ramon noodles. Worth switching banks to avoid it.

[garlic08]

I'm with you all the way on avoiding fees. I have the Schwab account mentioned above that refunds all fees. I also found out my local bank has a special account for travelers that allows up to 4 reimbursed ATM transactions a month. So there are a few options if you ask around. For illogical reasons, I don't like debit cards and have never used one for cash back.

Travelers checks do seem to be a dying breed. I haven't used them in years, and I hear about some folks having problems here and there getting them accepted. I bet there are many young clerks in stores along the AT who have never seen them. Last time I used them, I also needed my passport for ID. At 1%, they are generally cheaper fees than ATMs, where you pay about $4 per transaction. If you don't take out $400 per transaction (and I think that's over the max for ATMs), you're ahead with the TCs.

[JustaTouron]

Travelers checks do seem to be a dying breed. I haven't used them in years, and I hear about some folks having problems here and there getting them accepted.

Easiest place to get them cashed is resturants. Unless the place has a sign saying in advance that says that they don't accept travelers cheques. I don't ask if they accept travelers cheques. I order my meal. After I am done eating I pay with a travelers cheque. I have had places intially tell me that they don't take travelers cheques. Thats when I tell them I have no cash. Only once I had a guy tell me he didn't trust them so we didn't want to give me change. I told him I wasn't paying $50 for a $12 meal. He let me have the meal for free.

[mweinstone]

we have atm's in philadelphia that will give you 700.00$
cards from banks with no atm network do not charge .
being scared to carry cash is in the face of soldiers who bought your freedom.this isnt burma.
you would be better served carrying gold

[CrumbSnatcher]

I'm with you all the way on avoiding fees. I have the Schwab account mentioned above that refunds all fees. I also found out my local bank has a special account for travelers that allows up to 4 reimbursed ATM transactions a month. So there are a few options if you ask around. For illogical reasons, I don't like debit cards and have never used one for cash back.

Travelers checks do seem to be a dying breed. I haven't used them in years, and I hear about some folks having problems here and there getting them accepted. I bet there are many young clerks in stores along the AT who have never seen them. Last time I used them, I also needed my passport for ID. At 1%, they are generally cheaper fees than ATMs, where you pay about $4 per transaction. If you don't take out $400 per transaction (and I think that's over the max for ATMs), you're ahead with the TCs.

i never had a problem with Travelers check but yeah like you said a few cashier had to ask the managers about them(thay had the deer in the headlights look on thier faces). there was a problem a few year ago somebody was using bogas canadian TC. i have never had to go looking for a atm machine. my next long hike i will use them again!