Had a great time (hot, sunny, lovely beaches, good wine, etc.) in Portugal, but did have a terrible time getting cash. My Washington Mutual card did not work in any ATMs and it was a real challenge (took several days of searching) to find a bank that would do a cash advance. Met several other people with the same problem. For those who had been in Spain, their cards did not work there either. Also heard from a friend that Boeing Credit union cards also don't work in either county. Wells Fargo and Bank of America cards were working.

I did put a travel advisory on my account and WAMU did not tell me this would be a problem. They must know, because many of their customers are calling customer service for help (there isn't any).

I did not have pin #'s for any of the credit cards I brought with me, which may have solved the problem, assuming that the ATM would have read one of them.

If you are already stranded in Portugal -- here are bank names and locations in 3 cities that will do a cash advance/cash on your ATM card inside the bank.

Lagos
Montepio Bank
I don't have an address, but it is the ONLY bank in Lagos to do cash advance. I know because I visited ALL of them. It´s outside the town wall on the westside of town. Should not be hard to get directions.

Coimbro
Caixa Genal de Depositos
Rua Ferreira Borges near the Largo da Portagem

Lisbon
Montepio (The first one I went to didn't do it, but sent me here.)
Rua Aurea, 219-241
Baxia neighborhood

Montepio banks seemed to be the most likely to be able to help. And if they couldn't they were at least able to point me in the right direction.

Please pass on this important travel info. Have never had this problem before. My card works in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and Guatemala.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: seattlekate,