Withdrawing cash in the USA

Emmar01 · Postby **Emmar01** » March 10th, 2017, 12:02 am

Would it make a difference if the withdrawal was made using a credit card though?

Kevin_45 · Postby **Kevin_45** » March 10th, 2017, 12:18 am

I used my credit card from RBC while in Miami about 3 weeks ago and it worked fine with no issues just make sure whenever you are making the payment pay in USD that way the local exchange rate would apply...... Not sure about service fees for withdrawal and if I'm not mistaken I believe there was some form of foreign service charges but I'll have to double check on that

desifemlove · Postby **desifemlove** » March 10th, 2017, 1:10 am

Emmar01 wrote:Would it make a difference if the withdrawal was made using a credit card though?

well the ATM in the US would be in USD.

So you'll be taking USD in your wallet or what have you back to Piarco customs. I don't see why they will confiscate it, but then if it's over a certain value, you'll have to declare it.

Captain Awesome · Postby **Captain Awesome** » March 10th, 2017, 5:33 am

I've seen service charges per transaction range from 3 to 5 usd.

pj15 · Postby **pj15** » March 10th, 2017, 7:01 am

Emmar01 wrote:Sure, but only if its over us$10k I believe. That's the declaration limit for customs.

10,000 USD is the declaration limit for the USA.

In Trinidad & Tobago, cash currency or monetary instruments in excess of five thousand (5,000) USD or its equivalent in any currency or twenty thousand ($20,000) TTD must be declared on entry (and exit).

Emmar01 · Postby **Emmar01** » March 10th, 2017, 9:06 am

Well my thoughts are this: I'll credit my CC account with some TT$ funds before I travel, and then when I get to the US I'll withdraw the equivalent in US$ (either daily or in one tranche). That way I can get away from the cash advance fees and hopefully just end up paying the transaction and withdrawal fees. Just wanted to know what the daily limit is, but I called my CC provider and I believe it's linked to your CC limit. There is a 30-day limit of TT$120k though.

pj15 · Postby **pj15** » March 10th, 2017, 9:26 am

Emmar01 wrote:Well my thoughts are this: I'll credit my CC account with some TT$ funds before I travel, and then when I get to the US I'll withdraw the equivalent in US$ (either daily or in one tranche). That way I can get away from the cash advance fees and hopefully just end up paying the transaction and withdrawal fees. Just wanted to know what the daily limit is, but I called my CC provider and I believe it's linked to your CC limit. There is a 30-day limit of TT$120k though.

As said before, you will still be charged a cash advance fee when withdrawing money from your CC even though you're withdrawing excess credit! Consider it this way: any money on your credit card belongs to the bank....and they will charge you to access it.

You can withdraw as much cash as your credit limit will allow , but this must be done in the bank over the counter. If you use an ATM you will be subject to the daily maximum limit set by the ATM or by your bank....this is independent of your credit limit.

Emmar01 · Postby **Emmar01** » March 22nd, 2017, 11:57 am

Okay so I got some specific info from RBC wrt their MasterCard.

When travelling to the States, you're allowed to withdraw up to TT$120,000 within any 30-day period. The actual amount you can withdraw on a daily basis is your credit limit. So if your CC limit is $40k, then in theory you can make three withdrawals of $40k each over any continuous 30-day period. If your limit is TT$120k (hands up anyone?), then you can, in theory, withdraw all that in one day, or ten withdrawals of TT$12k each (the US$ equivalent of course). Assuming the ATM has that kinda moola in the first place natch.

Any withdrawals made at an ATM using your credit card will incur a fixed 3% charge (or a minimum of TT$50), PLUS you will be charged interest on the amount withdrawn at 0.7% daily (this works out to be about 23.2% monthly). This is charged despite having money on your credit card account, so my crafty plan of seeding my CC before I travel fails completely.

Chimera · Postby **Chimera** » March 22nd, 2017, 12:07 pm

you can go to a casino and swipe your card and they give you cash

it comes like you doing a transaction so no cash advance fees

thats at the cashier eh, not the atms in the casino

Emmar01 · Postby **Emmar01** » March 22nd, 2017, 12:43 pm

Hmm. Good strategy Surgeon.

hong kong phooey · Postby **hong kong phooey** » March 23rd, 2017, 1:13 am

Emmar01 wrote:Okay so I got some specific info from RBC wrt their MasterCard.

When travelling to the States, you're allowed to withdraw up to TT$120,000 within any 30-day period. The actual amount you can withdraw on a daily basis is your credit limit. So if your CC limit is $40k, then in theory you can make three withdrawals of $40k each over any continuous 30-day period. If your limit is TT$120k (hands up anyone?), then you can, in theory, withdraw all that in one day, or ten withdrawals of TT$12k each (the US$ equivalent of course). Assuming the ATM has that kinda moola in the first place natch.

Any withdrawals made at an ATM using your credit card will incur a fixed 3% charge (or a minimum of TT$50), PLUS you will be charged interest on the amount withdrawn at 0.7% daily (this works out to be about 23.2% monthly). This is charged despite having money on your credit card account, so my crafty plan of seeding my CC before I travel fails completely.

You should have done this in the first place, go in and speak to the bank.
They should have told you also even at your limit 120k you can call in and they will give you an exemption for a higher amount.
You should go in and speak to the bank they will most likely help you out with US if you dealing with medium size transactions.
Just remember declare it to the US customs. they might ask you a few questions but thats it.
A few banks in the US also allow Foreigners to open up accounts so this way you dont have to walk with cash through the Customs.
I dont know about RBC, but Republic is linked to BOA and it is no issue to wire transfer

adnj · Postby **adnj** » March 24th, 2017, 10:13 am

Agreed. There is no import limit if declare at customs.

desifemlove wrote:nothing.

I'm not sure of the customs laws, but then I doubt it's illegal to bring in any foreign currency per se. You would just have to declare it at customs.

You will wind up paying more than the current "buy" exchange rate.

Emmar01 · Postby **Emmar01** » April 4th, 2017, 6:02 pm

adnj wrote:Agreed. There is no import limit if declare at customs.
desifemlove wrote:nothing.

I'm not sure of the customs laws, but then I doubt it's illegal to bring in any foreign currency per se. You would just have to declare it at customs.

You will wind up paying more than the current "buy" exchange rate.

But at least I can actually get the forex which is more than one can say about the current situation. I dont mind paying a premium to physically obtain the stuff.