ATM surcharge refunds - use any ATM for free, regardless of who owns it

Recently, I have undertook a mission to compile a comprehensive list of deposit accounts that offer to reimburse ATM surcharges. I found this thread and this thread in the archive from years past, but neither got very far and there’s been very little mentioned of this great benefit since then.

Most people are aware they can typically use the issuing bank’s ATMs for free, and many will smartly pass up one ATM in favor of another to avoid paying a surcharge. But few realize that some banks will waive/reimburse all ATM surcharges, including those charged by a third party ATM owner (and those who are aware remain satisfied with relatively restrictive limits). And with the onset of the Rewards Checking concept, ATM reimbursements seem to have become a more prevalent account benefit than in the past.

Aside from the potential of saving $100s per year in ATM surcharges, using these accounts helps eliminate the confusion of what debit card you can use at what ATM without being charged and can ensure you always have surcharge-free access to your cash.

If there is interest in compiling and maintaining this list, the Quick Summary will be separated into two parts – one for banks offering ‘unlimited’ reimbursements, and one for banks offering refunds up to a certain limit/cap. Also list any restrictions, and (if known) whether the surcharge reimbursements are posted the same day or as a lump sum at the end of each month.

EDIT: For purposes of this thread, consider 'unlimited' to mean nation-wide (feel free to make a note if international ATMs are also included for any specific account). And consider 'same day' rebates to mean that the rebate is posted per-transaction, even if it technically occurs the following day.

it's a good idea, but you need to distinguish between 'surcharge refunds - all ATMs free' and 'surcharge refunds - all ATMS nationwide free.' Because that is a big difference. E Trade specifically reimburses nationally but not internationally, and I'm sure there are others that fall into that category.

EchoMatrix said: Put down USAA. They refund ALL of them under any circumstance

If by all, you mean only $15, then yes.

Fidelity brokerage with atm access will do it if you are a gold member (I think 500K HH accounts) and limited to $75.00/yr. In this day and age, if I go to the atm once per month it is rare.

Merrill Lynch "Beyond Banking" reimburses up to $200 a year.

I use Fidelity Mysmartcash.

Dman081 said: I've always wondered what the limit is to the unlimited reimbursements. There's got a be a point at which they call and ask to end their relationship with you.Etrade even says as much (right on the promo page, not even buried in the terms):
In the event E*TRADE Bank in its sole discretion determines that there has been either fraudulent or excessive use of the feature on a given account, E*TRADE Bank reserves the right to remove this feature and not refund the ATM fees.
It'd be interesting to know if anyone has suffered such punishment, and at what usage level it occured.

gmacbank

Everbank... I think is $6.00/ month reimb.

Next best type of debit/atm card to have (other then ones where you get all your atm charges refunded) is from a Credit union that participates in both the COOP and ALLPOINT Networks.....you can't use every atm for free, but one will find about 75,000 of these nationwide....and with those, you don't get rebates because your withdrawals are free to begin with

Glitch99 said: Could we please limit discussion to accounts/banks that offer free access to ALL ATMs nationwide, regardless of where it is located, what network it is on, or who ownes it, or if a surcharge is applied at the machine? Virtually every debit card offers free use of certain ATMs at certain locations.Also, it would be nice to have notes on whether or not the same policies apply for international ATMs, or the thread title should be modified to reflect that discussion is limited to domestic ATMs.

kranky said: For people who get ATM surcharges refunded - does your bank refund the exact amount of the surcharge, or a flat rate per foreign ATM transaction?The exact amount, unless there is a per-transaction cap.

Glitch99 said: kranky said: For people who get ATM surcharges refunded - does your bank refund the exact amount of the surcharge, or a flat rate per foreign ATM transaction?The exact amount, unless there is a per-transaction cap.

The reason I asked is that I get refunded $2 each time, even when I use a foreign ATM that does not charge me a fee.

Honestly, I never understood why anybody would use a bank that did not reimburse them for atm usage. When I am out with friends and they "have to find a chase" bank or whatever, I just shake my head and wonder why they would add that kind of stress to their lives. Sure, they wonder how I can spend time making 10 debit card transactions every month to earn 6% on 25,000 and 5.5% on 50,000, but you'll never catch me struggling to find an atm machine that won't charge me a fee.

DavidScubadiver said: Honestly, I never understood why anybody would use a bank that did not reimburse them for atm usage. When I am out with friends and they "have to find a chase" bank or whatever, I just shake my head and wonder why they would add that kind of stress to their lives.

Same here. In my neck of the woods (Philadelphia), everyone goes to WaWa, a better version of 7-Eleven, since their ATMs are surcharge-free. It kinda annoys me because we have to make an out-of-the-way trip to one and then stand in line because there are 10 other people trying to withdraw money. I just withdraw money at the bar, corner bank, wherever...because I have a Fidelity mysmartcash with unlimited ATM withdrawals.

I have to give +1 to Charles Schwab. I have used them for about a year now. They have refunded every single ATM surcharge and I just called them to confirm their international ATM fees. They will reimburse any ATM fee I incur while abroad. Their customer support is also amazing.

EDIT: I love not caring where I withdraw my money from.

It is also important to note that banks like Citibank often have affiliates.

Citibank customers can use any Citibank, 7-11, or moneypass atm for free. (You would be hard pressed to find an area without 1 of those 3).

If you are a preferred plus member at Compass Bank in Texas and other southern states, they will automatically refund you any fees.. used an ATM in Vegas, for instance - $5 dollar fee - took out $20 - charged $25 - there was an immediate $5 dollar "credit" to the 25 dollar "debit".

what about strip club atm's that charge a crazy $10 fee?

If everyone stopped using ATM's for a week or two and cashed checks anywhere they can be cashed, the lending institutions would soon wake up! Yes, it's slightly inconvenient, but after the bailout without any significant ramifications, evenly indirectly to local ATM's, the most inept have to get the idea that the public distrust is at an all time high and waiving the charge might be a simple way to "sweeten" their image to the general public. Who knows, the CEO's might get a free donut or cup of coffee(lol)!

soushi said: If everyone stopped using ATM's for a week or two and cashed checks anywhere they can be cashed, the lending institutions would soon wake up! Yes, it's slightly inconvenient, but after the bailout without any significant ramifications, evenly indirectly to local ATM's, the most inept have to get the idea that the public distrust is at an all time high and waiving the charge might be a simple way to "sweeten" their image to the general public. Who knows, the CEO's might get a free donut or cup of coffee(lol)!What in the world does ATMs and cashing checks have to do with lending institutions and bailout money?

And more importantly, what does any of it have to do with banks that rebate third-party ATM surcharges?

t60 said: Look at grex's past threads/posts..

All I see now is "Ignored User" or "Quote ignored"

You won't win the battle, as was pointed out in the Alliant thread, grex is on another planet (grex, please don't take that as an invitation to talk about being from Mars..).
I switched to "modern" from "classic" just so can do this. First member on my ignore list.