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Ricks Cash and Currency Tips for Europe

Cash and Currency Tips for Europe

Rick always has good advice, but sometimes it’s dated. I think the fact that this is dates has something to do with the problems I have with the advice. I think its time for Rick to send a few of his people out to the airports and exchange houses and to do a little first hand research on bank exchange rates and credit card exchange rates, then update this (unless I am wrong on all counts)
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-tips

Heading: Resist the urge to buy foreign currency before your trip.
Then he goes on to say the stateside exchange rates are bad. Maybe, maybe not. Depends on your bank and your relationship with your bank. My bank, because of my relationship, waves the fees and I get within a percent or two of what Visa will give me if I charge in Forints in Hungary. But a holiday is about enjoyment and if you feel better with a few dollars in Euros, what is even a $5 fee vs the $12.000 you just paid for two on a Rick Steves tour. Then he goes on to say that every airport has an ATM. Well, most are private ATMs with fees that are possibly at least as high as your US bank. Or you can spend the time away from your holiday tracking down a local bank ATM in the airport if you want …. I guess.

Heading: Avoid (or at least minimize) cash exchange.
Generally a good philosophy, but not something to sweat if you need the comfort of the money. He says that the exchange houses will charge you 5 to 10%. Maybe closer to 5%, but again, relative to the cost of the trip? And there are destinations that are pretty much cash only so if you didn’t get the money in the States and if you don’t want to waste time tracking down a bank ATM …..

Heading: Use local cash.
Yes, no argument. Just good practice. But again, based on Ricks advice, getting that cash may require some hunting for the local bank ATM. AND, not all local bank ATMs are free of Fees. In Budapest you might want to avoid Erste Bank ATMs. For those of you afraid of loosing your passport …. Do you ever wonder what the odds are that when you put your ATM card in a machine, it isn’t coming back to you?

Heading: Use your credit card to get cash only in emergencies.
Yes, no argument. Just good practice.

Heading: Don't stress over currency conversions.
Yes, no argument. Applies to the first two pieces of advice he gave as well.

Heading: Assume you'll be shortchanged.
He says “In banks, restaurants, at ticket booths, everywhere — expect to be shortchanged if you don't do your own figuring. Some people who spend their lives sitting in booths for eight hours a day taking money from strangers have no problem stealing from clueless tourists who don't know the local currency.” ABSOLUTELY NOT. Why would you think Europeans are more dishonest than Americans. This is a horrible outlook on travel. Does it happen? Sure. About as often as it happens in the diner in your hometown … well maybe there are cities that are the exception, but its not the norm and it terrible to brand an entire continent this way. But yes, do count your change and do know that on occasion the waiter will have made a mistake … probably the case as often as he was trying to steal 72 cents from you.

Heading: Spend your coins before leaving a currency zone
Yes, common sense. I suggest looking for a charity box or a person in need.

Heading: Multicurrency accounts make sense only for frequent travelers.
These days there are some online banks that will do this. I know nothing about them, but I have a friend here in Budapest that has a US bank (on line only) and has a Euro account.

Posted by
8190 posts

Use your credit card to get cash only in emergencies.

While I agree with this in most cases, you can actually make the case that for some travelers, getting a cash advance is essentially cheaper than the cost of the fees they pay for getting their own cash out of their account.

The bottom line is that you really need to understand the costs of each method of spending for the options you have, and that sometimes, convenience has a cost that is well worth it. If need be, make a list of your options, look into them, and note the fees, be care of waived fees in lieu of a poor exchange rate, and work the cost out for $200 worth of currency.

Posted by
20780 posts

CWsocial, so you agree that telling people not to worry that there will be ATMs waiting for them when they get off the plane isnt a perfect suggestion. I just did a quick search for ATMs at the Budapest airport. There are 17 of them. Of the two photos shown in the airport website, neither were bank ATMS. So I googled OTP (largest bank in town) ATM and they didnt show one at the airport. Google maps showed one EURO ATM outside the arrivals hall, also not a bank ATM. So lets not give the impression that at airports when you get off the plane the money will be waiting ..... of course, i have no issue with using a non-bank ATM when I NEED the cash. The $3 fee isnt breaking the bank. Ive done it twice in the last year that I can think of. Both times what I was using the money for made the $3 convenience fee worth it. But, no, not a good thing for general practice. But if on holiday someone will just feel better with 20.000 in their pocket, dont fret the $3. Its nothing against that $15000 Viking boat ride

Posted by
5571 posts

My prior reply deleted.... didn't realize I went off the intended topic. Thought I was addressing one of the precise points.

Posted by
5571 posts

No worries. I am stubborn about my opinions on certain aspects of getting cash - less to do with cost and more to do with preference of who to give my money to. And I don't mind doing the research in my quest to "use local cash"....there's always a mini detour on a sightseeing route that can run me into an OTP Bank ATM!

Posted by
5571 posts

Lazy... or perhaps efficient. Those money changing airport ATMs are placed right where you need them...I can attest from personal experience at the Istanbul airport :-/

Posted by
724 posts

In Vancouver, we have a currency exchange company with a few convenient locations, that gives the best exchange rate available. Their rates are posted everyday and they offer 40+ currencies (+ 20 ‘exotic’ ones) perhaps a reflection of our multicultural population that travels regularly. I wonder if there is an equivalent in other cities. (They also sell gold and silver).

Two weeks ago I had hoped to get some additional Euros for my trip to Paris this week. I was in Amsterdam and Schiphol. I found one ATM in Schiphol in the busy train/main level that was attached to a currency exchange location; I didn’t look at the fees as I guessed they would be high. Walking around central Amsterdam for a few hours, we did not see one ATM. I suspect the ways to access cash are changing and/or getting more complicated depending on the country. It may now be more challenging for Rick to provide general guidelines on this topic.

Posted by
7952 posts

The best cash advice I can give (& Rick probably agrees) is to plan to purposely keep some leftover Euros at the end of each trip. “An excuse to return!” ; ) It does simplify that arrival day when I don’t want to make any financial transactions with a jet-lagged mind.

Posted by
1244 posts

Heading: Resist the urge to buy foreign currency before your trip.

Following up on what Claire mentioned above, in Los Angeles we have a chain of exchange desks - LA Currency Exchange. The nearest one just a couple of miles from my house. Their markup is quite reasonable, and no additional fees beyond the exchange rate. And they also carry more obscure currencies. For example, today they are selling Euro for $1.10928 - right now the published rate is $1.082 - so that's a markup of approx. 2.5% - less than withdrawing from a foreign ATM with a debit card that charges a foreign transaction fee.

Heading: Use your credit card to get cash only in emergencies.

Agree - there is an immediate cash advance charge, plus interest starts accruing from day one at 25% - 30% in many cases. Plus, does having a cash advance on your account mean that all of your purchases are now subject to interest immediately, without the grace period? The language on my Chase credit card bill suggests that it does.

Heading: Spend your coins before leaving a currency zone

If it's a common currency, i.e. Euro or GBP, and you think you will return, would it be better to hold onto them? If coins are still occasionally needed for things like public toilets, and you aren't spending much cash in general, isn't it more difficult to obtain coins in the first place? But I agree with using the donation facilities available at airports to get rid of excess cash you won't need in the future.

What about using currency exchange desks in foreign cities? I obtained a very favorable rate at an exchange desk in Warsaw, close to the Chopin B&B. Change desks are apparently still a thing in Poland - I wonder what the case is in Budapest, especially away from the tourist areas?

And Rick recommends carrying a couple hundred in USD - which I agree with - if you lose your cards and/or phone, or in other emergency situations, USD may come in handy. Or at the change desk in Warsaw.

But the ubiquitous EuroNet ATMS are concerning - not just in airports, but now commonly in tourist areas. There must be so many of them because they are being used. If they must pay a fee to a local merchant to attach one of their machines to the merchant's building, and also franchise fees at airports, the money to pay all those fees plus make a profit for EuroNet has to come from the user.

Posted by
8190 posts

If you are talking about ATMs, in Europe I have never run into one that was ever a problem, except for a fee I did not like.

That includes Euronet, Travelex, and any number of Bank ATMs, or some National Network (Multibanco, Geldemaat, Bancomat).

Keep in mind that there is no difference in exchange rate (unless you opt for DCC), only fees. If you have a card that reimburses fees, then those fees are not a problem, but even then, paying 3-4 euros for an ATM transaction is simply a convenience fee, well worth the cost.

I admit that I did balk at the 7 euro fee from Santander in Spain, even though I would have been reimbursed, but that is just me.

Posted by
20780 posts

Original
Resist the urge to buy foreign currency before your trip.
Some tourists feel like they must have euros or British pounds in their pockets when they step off the airplane, but they pay the price in bad stateside exchange rates. Wait until you arrive to withdraw money. I've yet to see a European airport that didn't have plenty of ATMs.

Revised
Buying foreign currency before your trip.
If you are comfortable with Debit Card and Credit Card only upon arrival, then as you tour the destination you will pass ATMs from which you can remove some cash for pocket money. Advance research will help with this.
If you are more comfortable having foreign currency when you arrive in Europe, limit the amount as you can often get a better exchange rate by withdrawing the money from a Banking Institution ATM [link “ATM” to the updated RS article on ATM use] in the destination country. Airports will have ATM machines; however it may be difficult to find a Banking Institution ATM at the airport. You may find yourself having to wait until you reach the city center to avoid using a private ATM.

Posted by
15107 posts

I had better buy Euro now for next summer's trip given current exchange rate so favourably situated . It may actually end up literally at parity but $1.06 to the Euro is acceptable.

So, this general advice to resist the temptation of buying currency prior to the trip is dependent on various factors. As a rule I see it as irrelevant.

Posted by
2762 posts

We used a Euronet once, and never again. We knew the fees would be higher, but knew we needed cash so just did it at the airport. That night we were at a cash only restaurant and when I paid, the owner told me some of it was not Danish currency. Apparently the ATM gave me Swedish and Norwegian money as well as Danish. That was quite the shock. So we headed to another ATM to pay for dinner. We were tired and did not look at each of the bills to notice the difference. I guess most of us wouldn't look to make sure, we just count the bills and call it good. So that was a lesson for us, although I know not a normal instance.