ATM recommendations

There are two ways to approach obtaining local currency.

One is to wait and get euros (or pounds) upon arrival, and that is the least expensive way to get local currency. But remember this: if you wait until arrival, there is the inconvenience of having to find a machine, waiting to access it, the stress of hoping it works (they do occasionally malfunction and / or run out of currancy), and perhaps doing all that while somewhat jet lagged.

Some think (and we are in that group) it's better to have some Euros in hand before arrival, and get two or three hundred Euros beforehand from their local bank. It will cost a little more, but the amount it cost to have money in hand when arriving is money well spent, and the cost relative to the overall cost of the trip is next to nothing. Same thing with pounds.

No matter what you do, check with your bank and credit card companies to see if you need to put a travel alert on your account(s). They may see a foreign transaction, suspect fraud, and shut down access to your credit and ATM cards. Some banks require it, some don't, and some waiver back and forth because they are so big the left hand computers never know what the right hand computers are doing.

I agree with TC, we do the same thing. Also, we "tapped" with our CC almost exclusively on our last trip, so Euros weren't a big issue.

I agree with the above, thought I feel a starting balance of about 100 euros is plenty. I will also add that credit cards are very, very widely accepted in Europe. We've had 3-4 week trips in which we didn't even use 100 euro in cash. Also, I just don't want to have a lot of cash in my possession as there is no remedy for theft or loss.

When I develop my itinerary, I make note of inns and restaurants that want cash(very few).

In general, the least expensive way to obtain foreign currency is when you arrive to Europe from a bank affiliated ATM. You also want to make sure your bank/credit union is in the same network as the ATM bank. (Look at the symbols on the back of the card) I tend to avoid airport ATMs even if they are bank affiliated. Usually at the beginning of a trip, we have to scout ATMs a bit to find the one with the best terms. Its easier than it sounds. On a recent trip, in a town in southern France, there was an ATM on every corner of the town square. And the town square was not "square" so there were about six.

If waiting gives you anxiety, I would suggest getting a small amount of cash to get you through approximately a day. It does stress my husband a bit, and what we've landed on is that I manage the money and how we get it, and we've been withholding about 100 euro to bring home at the end of every trip. The last time, we some how ended up with 200 euro (we just don't use much cash) which was nice because we were able to gift my niece some euros to start out with in Spain. Also, I've occasionally lent my euro stash to friends heading to Europe and they pay me back when they get home.

There is a much bigger issue than just choosing the correct ATM. You need to start out with a good travel card and then the brand of the bank with the ATM isn't that important. There are debit cards (such as Charles Schwab checking) that reimburse any ATM fees that are charged worldwide. Now you are just looking for a safe location and know that whatever fees they charge with be reimbursed by the bank. It makes it so much easier!

Cash is used less and less in everyday transactions. Avoid having too much cash on you at any time.

Sideline Cash Story: My sister is a cash person at heart. Several years ago she brought home 600 British Pounds to "be ready" for her next UK trip. Those bills became outdated and out of circulation in the intervening time. Fortunately for her, she has a loving sister who is willing to make a side trip to the Bank of England next month and exchange them so she doesn't lose her money!

Bank ATMs are usually better for the fees & rate. In CDG the HSBC Bank & ATM is located in Terminal 2 directly across the Sheraton Hotel near the escalators heading to the Train Station. While in the city itself, I just look for any of the local banks and use their ATMs, plenty of them around.

Last year I was in England for two weeks and used my card everywhere. Only once I needed cash for an ice cream truck. I withdrew 300 pounds at an ATM and never used them. There are ATM everywhere just like in the states. Try to us one at a bank, they are safer and less fees. The machine will tell you how much their fee is and you can still cancel the transaction. Stay away from machines from Euronet. They are very expensive.

I think maybe the core concern of your question has not been answered.

Sure, talk to your bank, make sure they know you are going, the answers or action you get is hit or miss, so make sure they know what phone to call while you are traveling.

As for fees, start with your bank. Do they charge for an International transaction? What about an out of network transaction? Whatever you do, you will not avoid those fees, unless they have some option to use affiliated banks, then you are off searching for an ATM from that bank.

Then there is a use fee from an ATM. Many do not charge, many do. That fee will be disclosed, you can either accept, or decline, and go find another ATM. If you have a card that reimburses you those fees (Like my Schwab card) then you really do not care.

Finally, Rates. ATMs do not otherwise change the exchange rate for common transactions. That rate is charged by the clearing house/Processor handling the transaction, and is cooked into what you see in your account. That rate generally is about 1%, but with changes to the exchange rate, you likely never notice.

However, there is a process called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). That is where the ATM offers to perform the currency conversion for you. They claim they will "tell" you exactly what the conversion rate, or at least what 100 euros (or whatever you are getting out) will cost you in US Dollars. This is true, but the exchange rate will be much worse than what the clearing house/processor charges, anywhere from 5-10% vs the 1%. DCC does give you the opportu8nity to decline, usually you are asked whether you want the transaction in local currency (Euros), or in your home currency (Dollars), always choose the local currency. By declining DCC you still should be able to get your cash at no additional cost, the worst case is that they may cancel the transaction.

Unfortunately, some of this you really do not know until you try an ATM.

We always use the HSBC machine already mentioned. I like it because it asks what denomination you want. I like smaller bills, so I like being able to choose that.

Also, my husband and I have Capital One 360 cards to use for cash withdrawals abroad. No fees and I like that it’s not tied to my main bank account. The account is free and easy to set up.