AAA vs ATM

“(I figure $1,000 for the 10 weeks is fine, since so, so much of Madrid is cashless.”

I have not been to Spain in this century, lol, but $1,000 or €1000 sounds like a lot. I just spent 3 weeks in Paris. I had about 250€ leftover from last Oct. I came home with about 200€. Some cash I used when dining with friends to split the bill, otherwise it would probably have been much less cash needed.

You are experienced with Spain so perhaps you don’t use ApplePay as much as I do!

Well, how many withdrawals do you think you'd make in 10 weeks?

If you make 1 withdrawal, then you pay the fee once, not a big deal. And even if you
make a few withdrawals, how much is that in the bigger picture of how much you're
spending overall?

But, if you want to avoid it, open a checking account and get an ATM/bank card from
an online bank. Schwab, for example, refunds ATM fees on any ATM worldwide.
Put $1500 in it and you'll have some buffer if you need more cash.

Like always, it depends so much on how you make the withdrawal, the fee the ATM charges, and what your bank charges.

First, always make an ATM withdrawal, decline DCC, do the transaction in euros, and decline any conversion offer.

Spanish ATMs can have some high fees. I have found the rare no-fee ATM, but fees have ranged from 3 euro to 7 euros.

If you do the above, then any conversion cost will be 1% or less through the network.

Then there is what your bank may charge, only you know that. The bank fee may be both an out-of-network flat fee plus a foreign transaction fee of some percent.

For me, my bank charges nothing in fees for the transaction, and actually reimburses me the ATM machine fee. So getting euros from an ATM cost about 1% or less.

AAA's rate today is $1.2527, the Interbank rate is 1.17, so you are paying just over 7%, not including any shipping, or heading to an office.

However, for 200 euro from an ATM, if you incur a fee of 3 euro, plus maybe a $5 out of network fee, and a 3% FTF, that will run you about $248.50, or about the same. Taking out a larger amount would reduce the percentage cost. If your bank fees are less, then better yet.

Honestly, I would be surprised if you needed that much cash. I do use some in Spain, but rarely more than 50 euro/week, and much by choice.

You mentioned having a credit card, but do you also have a debit card (perhaps tied to your checking or savings account) for making ATM withdrawals? If the debit card has zero, or at least minimal foreign transaction fees, that would be the ideal situation. Withdrawing from an ATM with a credit card is just giving the banks (yours and the one with the ATM) an unreasonable commission.

As mentioned above, the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) scheme is a sly attempt by the ATM’s bank to weasel more money from you, so be alert if the machine asks for you to make a decision about how you want your funds.

Oh, of course I have a checking account! Citibank - which I used to love, because it had so many of its own ATMs in Europe (very useful during the 5 years I lived there... and there was one very helpfully right at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris..).
So, no, it's not a question of using the credit card at an ATM. I meant that I know I can do almost everything with my no-foreign-transaction fee credit card. But I will need some cash, and I feel like we were hit with a percentage fee from the local bank, plus a flat fee for them, plus a flat fee from my bank here.
So I'm still divided on whether to get cash here first or just suck it up and pay the myriad ATM fees.
But yeah - maybe if I made a single withdrawal for the duration, the flat fees would not matter so much. It does seem like the best thing to do is to take out a limited amount of Euros with my debit card when we arrive and pay for everything by credit card. Thanks, all!

I've done AAA, and I've done ATMs. I have a Charles Schwab debit card (mentioned above). It is glorious... foreign ATM fees reimbursed globally, no bank charge for using foreign ATMs, and when I was in the Czech Republic last fall, currency conversion for ATM withdrawals was right at the official conversion rate.

I will add that I was amazed at how little cash I used on a recent trip to the Netherlands. Maybe 20 or 30 euro primarily for tips over a week. Even the 1 euro restroom fees could be put on a card! So... the no transaction fee credit card will take care of the vast majority of purchases you make.

What about getting something like 200 euro from AAA before the trip so you have some in your pocket on arrival and then hitting an ATM (if necessary) while in Spain?

Oh, of course I have a checking account! Citibank

If you are going to get cash in advance, I’d compare the rate from Citibank’s World Wallet service to AAA.
https://www.citi.com/online-services/foreign-currency-exchange

I’ve used the Citi World Wallet exchange service . The exchange rate is not as good as what you get from an ATM but it is extremely convenient if you want cash before you travel. You can order the currency at your CITI bank branch and get it there or pay extra to gave it delivered to your home.

You are unlikely to need anywhere near that much cash

Perhaps if you were to post in the forum for SPAIN you would get responses from people with recent experience there.

We've always gone to AAA for euros, but we've always paid cash for the apartments that we rent. Anything left over is put in the kitty for the next trip. However, since we've been traveling more out of the euro zone and cashless commerce has expanded since COVID we are relying more on ATMs. Didn't AAA used to sell packets of mixed currencies from non-euro zone countries?

We found in South America that even though ATMs were difficult to find at times the dollar was widely accepted.

But I will need some cash, and I feel like we were hit with a percentage fee from the local bank, plus a flat fee for them, plus a flat fee from my bank here.
So I'm still divided on whether to get cash here first or just suck it up and pay the myriad ATM fees.

If you were hit with a percentage fee from the ATM, or they told you what the withdrawal will cost in US Dollars, then you opted for DCC.

But it comes down to knowing your fees. An ATM will usually charge a small flat fee for use, that is disclosed (by law) and you either accept it or not. In Spain, there might be no fee from some ATMS (A few smaller banks) but it is normally 3-5 euros, though Santander Bank hit me for 7 euros once.

Then there are the fees your bank charges. Looking at Citibank, it depends on the type of account, but it looks like you get hit with a $2.50 out of network charge, plus a 3% Foreign Transaction fee. So on 200 euro, at todays rates, 200 euro will coat $234 (200 x $1.17), plus say 3 euro use fee at $3.51, then your fees, so $2.50 and the 3% at ~$7.12. For a total of $247.13 or about a 5.6% premium, still less than the 7% premium from AAA, and using an ATM there is easier than getting from AAA

If you can find a Citibank ATM there, that would eliminate the bank fees, but it appears Citibank does not have any ATMs or partner banks in Spain.

Lately, we are using very little cash when we travel. There is no way I'd carry $1000 in cash, if it is lost or stolen you have nothing. We rarely spend more than $100 euro in cash in a month long trip, sometimes we have used $10 or less. With all due respect, you need to shop the ATMs a bit more, you can find them in Spain with far better terms. You should be withdrawing in Euro, not USD.

You also should be looking at where you bank. There is a small fee with my credit union, but not a fee on top of another fee. Additionally, a few years ago we set up a Charles Schwab account to use mostly for travel. They don't charge fees for withdrawal and they reimburse the other bank's fees. Their customer service is impeccable. When we had difficulty getting the Schwab card to work, and used our credit union debit card instead, Schwab reimbursed the credit union's fees.

Usually, I have about a $100 euro stash when I end a trip that I save for the next trip. When we don't travel to countries that use the euro, we have stopped getting currency in advance. In Switzerland, England, New Zealand, Australia and maybe I'm forgetting some, we just picked up cash at an ATM during our travel if we needed it. We never withdrew cash in England and Australia.

Over the years, we've stayed at a number of inns/BnBs that prefer cash payments. Even then, we don't get the cash until we are in Europe. It has never been an issue to find reasonable ATMs and we just don't want to spend more to get the currency before our travels and don't want to be carrying around a bunch of cash.

If it makes you feel more comfortable, by all means get about 100 euro from AAA to start your trip. It won't cost you much more than getting it in Europe, but just know that it usually is less expensive to use a bank affiliated ATM in your bank's network during your travels.

I use AAA for Euros (or Brit Pounds, etc.) when I have run low on cash before my trip. Low meaning 10 Euros or such. I very willingly and prefer to get $100.00 worth of foreign currency before a trip from AAA. Frankly, the cost is so little compared to my trip, I don't care about the comparison cost between AAA vs ATMs. As a solo traveler, I just don't like to go to ATMs. For my last few trips, I seldom need the cash, but I feel better having it. I will use it up the last day or so as to not bring too much money home...just one of my quirks.

I walked Sarria to Santiago de Compostela in Spain in 2023 and spent 4 or 5 days in Madrid. Including all the little cafe's on the Camino, I needed cash once or twice for a coffee or such. So even those locales use Apple Pay and/or credit cards. Apple Pay is the most secure and easiest.

I like having a little cash for emergencies.However, unless you need that much cash for a specific reason; ie, a cash hotel, I'm not sure what you will use it on.

Something else to consider - that’s a lot of cash to be carrying with you - are you prepared to lose that much however careful you are? I prefer the €100 (maybe even just €50) to begin with and then use atms as needed.

Thanks, all! I am now convinced I should just make a single, modest withdrawal from a well-chosen ATM when I arrive, and use my no-foreign-transaction fee credit card for everything I can.
For people asking about having $1,000 that could be stolen - we'll be staying in an apartment for 10 weeks, so it's not like I'll be carrying it around.
I've heard good things about Charles Schwab, though, and will look into it.
We actually went into a Santander branch when we were in NYC visiting, thinking we might even open an account (we are going to try to get our residence permits, but this trip is just 10 weeks). Unfortunately, the US-based Santander is not connected to the Spain-based one - at least, not in the way we had hoped, where we could deposit or transfer dollars here and draw on it in Euros with no fees in Spain,
When we went to Spain in April to look for a place, we actually brought cash to open a local account. But now we will wait until we get our residence permits.
I typically don't bring tons of cash - one exception being Argentina, where it's best to bring crisp $50 and $100 bills and exchange them on the (very open, very safe, very reliable) black market. It means things cost a third of what they would have, had we taken out money from the ATM
Thanks to all! Much appreciate the advice and guidance!

Opening a bank account in Europe can be problematic due to US banking regulation that impose many restrictions and reporting requirements for US citizens. It can be done, but is a process by all reports, and some banks may not agree to open an account.

Since you are looking to move to Spain, not sure if you are aware, but for years I followed James Blick of Spain Revealed for his food recommendations (He was a co-founder of Devour tours and immigrated from New Zealand himself). He has switched gears a bit and is focusing on helping people relocate to Spain. He has a number of videos discussing it, as well as a free webinar, and also offers a paid course covering all aspect of moving to Spain (Banking, Visas, Finding a place, the moving process, etc.) If you are not aware of it, it may be well worth a look. Here is link to the website https://www.spainrevealed.com/ You can also find videos on Youtube.

I can't vouch for his information personally, but it looks good, and I always found his food reqs top notch.

milliganglobe, at what rate did AAA offer to sell you euro? Local or online?

Thank you, Paul! I will check that out.

And Stan - I was looking at the online offer from AAA. I hadn't gotten to the point of checking if our AAA office could provide us with Euros (this avoiding any secure mailing fee). I don't think they keep the cash hanging around; I believe they have it sent to them. But I don't think I will use AAA for this task now (I used to love their "trip-tics!").

Thanks to all.