Dan K wrote:

Alfred Molon wrote in message m...
Dan K wrote:
The ATM card issued by my bank (Charter One) is a Mastercard. I have
always used it as an ATM card in Europe with no problems. Last week I
was in Rome, Italy, and went to use it to get cash, and was told by
the ATM machine "Card not valid for international transactions." I
tried many different ATM machines, and kept getting the same type of
message. Fortunately, I had brought some travelers checks along, so I
cashed those.

Mastercard is a credit card. It's better to use a true ATM card
(Maestro), which charges lower fees than a credit card. With my Maestro
card I have never had problems withdrawing cash from ATMs.

Yes, but the only ATM card that Charter One issues is their Mastercard
debit card. So if you are a customer of theirs, you have no choice.
Next trip I plan to get a pure ATM card from a different bank.

I think I'd change banks, period! (Especially if they didn't see fit to
inform their card-holders of their change of policy.) My bank offers a
combination VISA/ATM card (which acts like a debit card, with
transactions being immediately charged against your bank account).
However, when I said that was NOT what I wanted, they were perfectly
willing to provide an "ordinary" ATM card. I make it a practice to have
credit cards only with independent credit-card companies, not my bank.
That way, I have control over whether or not I pay a given charge.
(It's much easier to get an erroneous charge reversed if the vendor
doesn't already have your money!)