Euros and dollars

The cash advance option you’re showing is absolutely the worst option. Do not even look at that again. you’re going be charged 22% interest from the second you withdraw the money.

Your best option is to take your debit card and go to a bank in France and put it in the ATM machine and withdraw €200. The ATM will not charge you anything. And if your bank is greedy and charges too much before you go back to Europe look for a better bank. Also, when you’re withdrawing, make sure you withdraw in euros. If it gives you the option to withdraw in dollars, take euros. (Never pay in dollars. You’re going to be ripped off twice. )

read the TRAVEL TIPS section here about money. Best to get Euros out with your ATM card at a BANK in Europe. Most airports will have a bank or a bank teller. Just be sure it's a bank and NOT an exchange kiosk. All this is explained very well in the TRAVEL TIPS section and in the Rick Steves book, EUROPE THROUGH THE BACK DOOR - which everyone should read for great travel info.

1) You can drive yourself crazy looking at the differences between exchange rates. As an individual, you aren't going to have access to the google interbank rates: https://www.thinmargin.com/blogs/why-comparing-against-exchange-rates-from-google-is-wrong

2) An ATM exchange rate is likely to be better than your home bank. However, both a home bank supplying money-in-advance or a foreign ATM may have fess attached that are independent of the exchange rate. If you are interested in full cost of the exchange, you need to factor those fees in also. (which may mean a lot of research as to the different ATMS available to you at your destination)

3) Don't do a cash advance!

When I don't have foreign currency from a previous trip, my choice is generally to arrive at a location with some local money that I obtained from my home bank. I'm sure this has cost me a few hundred dollars over the years of travel in exchange rates. However, when I arrive at my destination I don't need to search out an ATM in addition to all the immigration, customs, transportation, and other arrival tasks. My preference.

Others find that using an ATM at an airport is a great way to go. They probably save a bit on exchange rates. I have traveled with companions who have needed ATMs and helped search those out - not always easy to find if you don't know or haven't researched your destination.

The Interbank rate this morning according to XE was 1.0649291 $/€. Right now, according to their website, you can buy euro from Wells Fargo for 1.1207 $/€, which is a markup of about 5¼%. I would expect BofA to have a similar rate as WF. Of course, you have to be a customer of WF or BofA to get those rates

Who is your bank that is charging 1.1494 $/€ (1/.87)?

Still, it will only cost less than $3 more to get 100€ at his bank vs WF/BofA, a small price to have some cash in hand when you arrive. I always bring home ~200€ from any trip in order to have cash in hand when I arrive next time.

Most of the time I will be using a CC for purchases

I'm not sure if/how this applies to France, but in Germany, where I do most of my travel, I find that paying cash for accommodations opens up a whole world of places that don't take credit cards and charge half or less than what the bigger places that accept credit cards charge. I save big time by not using a credit card.

...a small price to have some cash in hand when you arrive...

Agree with Lee completely. It is indeed a very small price to pay to have money in hand upon arrival. It eliminates have to find an ATM while jet lagged and hoping it works as they do malfunction and / or run out of funds from time to time. And having 200 or so euros with you when you land provides a peace of mind that is worth way more that what it cost to get the funds before leaving. Regardless, be sure to check with your bank to see if they need to put a travel alert on the account. Some do and some don't. You don't want the bank to see a foreign transaction, think it is fraud, and freeze the account/

What countries are you traveling to?

What made you come up with the 200E amount?

I'm asking because that USED to be my amount of Euro I would withdraw from an ATM on arrival OR what I would withdraw toward the end of my visit as seed money for next time. HOWEVER since the advent of ApplePay I've not used that amount of cash during a month long visit!

In Netherlands and France last Spring I used perhaps 20E at most and a good deal of that was leaving a daily 1 E tip for housekeeping. I had to buy a bottle of water every few days to get change. I literally used ApplePay for everything else including for the bathroom at the Amsterdam Centraal Train station (.70 Euro cents/.77 US cents on my applepay).

Ditto being in the UK. In May I used perhaps 15GBP mostly to buy ice cream treats from the small seaside vans which did not accept ApplePay. In August I spent no cash over a 2.5 week period on Orkney and Shetland.

So...it may depend on where you are traveling to as to whether you would actually need 200E to start with. (from an ATM with a debit card, lol!)

"Who is your bank that is charging 1.1494 $/€ (1/.87)?" US Bank

I tried to find out if US Bank had some association with a European bank to avoid fees but with no success. I'm guessing an airport ATM will probably do. Something with a big name I recognize perhaps.

Thanks all.

The best way to spend is with your 0% foreign transaction fee credit card. Then add points with each purchase.

Next best is a 0% foreign transaction fee debit card with someone like Swab.

After than, your bank ATM/debit card withdrawing from a French bank. There are no fees at bank ATMs but the entity making the foreign exchange usually takes 1%. Anything else comes from your home bank and some take a lot.

Why do you think you need 200€ upon arrival in France? I have traveled to countless countries and have never obtained local currency in advance of my arrival. The only cash I spend in France is at the boulangerie and 200€ buys a lot of croissants.

"What countries are you traveling to?" France and Italy

What made you come up with the 200E amount?" The place I am staying at has a bar/restaurant but doesn't take CC. I could pay in Euros for the room with a discount but I don't feel good about holding onto lots of cash for the discount given. Also, some cafes in Paris don't like CC for small purchases. I had that problem once. He got kind of ticked at me. Like a espresso but nothing else. I suspect Italy will be the same way. Also, coins for bathrooms in a pinch. Maybe tips here and there in Italy mostly. Guide tips maybe. A few coins for the fountains. Ha!

"Also, some cafes in Paris don't like CC for small purchases. I had that problem once. He got kind of ticked at me. Like a espresso but nothing else. I suspect Italy will be the same way."

Was that experience before or after Covid? I am not the most technically ept person, lol, but since returning to travel after Covid to me more places in France and Italy are taking ApplePay. Even small gelato shops in Italy didn't blink an eye whey I held up my phone and said "Applepay?". I was in Italy last October for 3 weeks. Really, I never used cash there either except for housekeeping tips.

If you have to pay for a room then that is different on getting Euro either ahead or early on in your stay. If I have a big amount of money I just use my money belt and stash it in there. It's deep storage so I'm not getting in to it out in public.

Do you use ApplePay or GooglePay on your phone? If not, I'd suggest you try it out at home at a familiar store a few times before you travel so you can get used to how it works.

Sometime in this century I arrived at FRA with three debit cards.

1. A Wells Fargo card that I had already used multiple times, with a $500 per day limit
2. A Chase card that I had already used multiple times, with a $500 per day limit
3. A new card from my local bank that I had never used in Europe, also with a $500 per day limit.

I had used my new card at an ATM at home the morning I left, for $50, just to make sure it worked.

I arrived at FRA and went immediately to a Deutsche Bank ATM. I tried the local bank card for just under $500 in euro; the machine said "call you bank". OK, I used the Chase card. Same thing, "call your bank".

Now I'm beginning to sweat. I did have several hundred euro left over from my last trip, but that would not be enough to get me through a two week trip.

I tried my Wells Fargo card; it worked.

I later found out that my local bank used for a day, not midnight to midnight, but 4 AM to 4 AM. I had used my card after 4 AM on the day I left Denver. It was now 8 AM in Frankfurt, midnight in Denver. It was not yet 4 AM in Denver, so the $50 I had taken out earlier in the 4 to 4 day was counted against my daily limit.

I had not used the Chase card in a year, and Chase had reset my daily limit to $300, their normal daily limit.

So, you never know what will happen at the ATM in Europe. It's a good thing to have some cash in hand when you arrive - enough for a few day's expenses, just in case your ATM card doesn't work. You might need time to contact your bank in the US.

This most likely is far fetched, super unlikely: What if you run across a hotel charging you one price per night if you pay cash and another price 20-30 Euro more if paying by credit card. Two of the hotels (2 star) in terms of planning next summer's trip in France have told me that my rate will be cheaper for a multi-day stay, say 4-7 days, if paid up front in cash at check-in. The last I checked is: $1.06 to 1 Euro. In France I've come across restaurants saying a credit card is accepted after the purchase is a min of 10 or 15 Euro.

I'd like to suggest that experiences with cash vs credit card from before the end of the pandemic are likely out of date. A world of change has happened in many countries and in most countries the trend is only one way - cashless.

I still have used virtually no cash in England, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg or Belgium in the last 18 months.

Germany, from whence Lee's stories mostly come is still the outlier where a larger proportion of sales are cash, but with an ever increasing proportion of contactless card transactions.

Reports say that due to the cost of living crisis in the UK some more hand-to-mouth transactions are reverting to cash but outside those people in such strained circumstances the contactless card is prevalent.

For a tourist trip to France and Italy a contactless card will get much more exercise than the cash wallet.

Update: ATMs in France used to not charge fees. Now some do. Credit Agricole bank is 5€ per withdrawal.

Second, nowadays many shop people and waiters prefer a simple tap of your credit card over fiddling with cash. But you might need a € to use a toilet in a train station. I walk around for weeks before spending 200€ in cash.

"I'd like to suggest that experiences with cash vs credit card from before the end of the pandemic are likely out of date. A world of change has happened in many countries and in most countries the trend is only one way - cashless."

100% vote with Nigel on this! I'll add ApplePay/GooglePay to mix as well.

I am really not much of a tech person. One of the gals at our local RS meet up badgered me in to putting a CC into my AppleWallet and using it before I traveled. I have NOT advanced to the point of using Facial ID but I'll get there. For now I just put in my numeric PIN on my phone. This is SO much easier and I'd never have believed it.

I just got back from a trip to Bamberg, Berlin, Brugge and Paris. I was shocked at how many places did not take credit cards or Google Pay (I don't have Apple Pay). I ended up using much more cash than I had planned to.

When I went to Norway on a cruise and in London this past June, I used a credit card for every purchase and never needed to use cash once.

“ Was that experience before or after Covid? ” referring to the upset waiter.

Yes, my experience in Paris was the year before Notre Dame burned. I do have Apple Pay and I can do that. I used it in London for the tube this year. Likely I will either tap and go or Apple Pay. Next year I’ll be going to Spain/Portugal. I assume everyone is doing touch less these days. Except here in the U.S. Go figure.

...you never know what will happen at the ATM in Europe. ...good thing to have some cash in hand when you arrive....just in case your ATM card doesn't work...might need time to contact your bank in the US.

How very true. Well worth the extra $5 or $10 to get currency before you go to avoid a situation such as Lee encountered.

We were in France for a month this past May/June. As usual we took some euros with us, and found we did need to use the cash from time to time....
At the Sarlat Wednesday market some merchants only took cash; the restrooms at 2 of the train stations we used had problems with their entry machines accepting debit or credit cards (not just ours) and we needed coins for them; we had to pay cash for the cleaning cost of our gite (100 euros for the caretakers to clean the four bedroom, three bath, LARGE house sleeping eight people, a bargain), which wasn't prepayable through Gites de France.
And, as always, we can use leftover cash for our next trip. Thank goodness the euro is the currency in so many countries! In years past we had to deal with 5, 6 or 7 currencies leftover from long trips!
We still opt for using a CC instead of Apple or Google pay. We don't find it comfortable using our phones for everything. A CC is just smaller and handier for us for now. Maybe someday!

I forgot to add. We are BofA customers, and there is usually a bank with a BofA affiliation that doesn't have any fees associated with an ATM withdrawal. In France it is BNP Paribas, which has many locations throughout the country.

I did not run into such establishments in Paris or in France on this 9 week trip where credit cards were not accepted but did come across restaurants where the cc would be accepted as long as the purchase amount exceeds 10 or 15 Euro.

In Berlin, Munich and Vienna , obviously, I saw cash only restaurants, even in Munich's well-known beer garden area, Viktualienmarkt. In Berlin , so far the sole city in Germany, not yet in Munich, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Cologne, Hamburg, etc there are after hour stores, most likely not going to be frequented by international tourists anyway, (a moot point), where payment is only in cash. Out front , to drive home the point, the sign "Cash Only" in English is posted.

At the WC in Paris I used the tap option on the credit card as a way of saving my Euro coins. If that option happened not to work with one credit card, (that happened at least twice), I pulled out another one.

This discussion reminds me of the carry on versus checked baggage debate. We all have our preference, in part based on personal experiences. There is no right or wrong answer. Take some local currency ‘just in case’ and a couple of credit cards. The few dollars one pays to get the currency prior to departure, is a small price to pay for the convenience not to mention it is a small % of the total being spent on the trip

Just this past week, my cousin visiting from Norway encountered a couple of instances when his credit card did not work, for whatever reason. Credit cards can be used here most everywhere. Luckily his Canadian cousin had her Canadian credit cards (and cash) to assist.

I rent apts and there is generally some sort of tax to pay--and can only be paid in cash.

I just called Chase today and yes my daily limit is $300. They graciously raised it to $600 and I have 3 days to withdraw it. ($600 is my limit because they will only allow a withdrawal up to the amount in the account,)

Let's stick to information on France and Italy since that is where you are going. (Germany does not accept credit cards the way most other European countries do so let's not even worry about that..)

You'll find that credit card or tap and pay is the main way you will purchase things. But having some money in your pocket is a good idea upon arrival because many of the ATMs in airports are commercial machines not associated with a bank. So go to your local bank or the AAA and get yourself 100 or
200 Euros. Should you need more cash, there are ATMs all over the place that are associated with a bank.

One last thing...when you use an ATM, in some areas, you will be asked if you want the machine to do the foreign transaction for you. Always say no. Let your debit card issuer or ATM card issuer do the exchange. It will always be better in your favor.

Update: ATMs in France used to not charge fees. Now some do. Credit Agricole bank is 5€ per withdrawal.

Whenever I mention no fee ATMs in France, I always state Bank ATMs. Crédit Agricole is not a traditionally chartered bank, nor is Caisse d´Epargne, nor is Société Générale, nor are the ATMs of Travelex. These likely will have ATM fees.

Bank ATMs, those without fees, would include, but not necessarily be limited to: LCL, BNP, HSBC, or la Poste.

We are BofA customers, and there is usually a bank with a BofA affiliation that doesn't have any fees associated with an ATM withdrawal.

Bank of America customers pay some of the highest ATM fees in the US, typically 3% plus a $5 fixed fee per withdrawal. The fixed fee is waived when using BNP ATMs, but B of A is one of the few US banks charging its customers a fixed withdrawal fee, in addition to the 3% transaction fee. Wells Fargo and Citibank are likely others. US banking laws require that ATM charges be listed line item on monthly checking statements (not on credit card statements). Some high deposit customers avoid fees, but other customers of these banks should take a close look at their monthly banking statements for an explanation of charges they may not know they are paying.

US Savings Banks and credit unions typically charge only the 1% foreign transaction fees on foreign ATM withdrawals. Some institutions, such as Charles Swab, absorb all ATM transaction costs and fees.

my cousin visiting from Norway encountered a couple of instances when his credit card did not work, for whatever reason.

I would advise against traveling with only one credit card. Two credit cards offer better protection from the unknown. They should also be carried separately.

If I, with accounts and cards at both La Banque Postale and Crédit Agricole, have never read their charters, I don't think the tourist looking for an ATM is going to inquire about their status. They just need to know that they may run into some traditional financial institutions with ATMs in their lobby that will show a charge and ask if they want to continue. If it happens, they can press no and go find one that doesn't charge.

This will teach me for not reading the charters. I've got homework.

No need to read the charters. Just use the banks mentioned if you want to avoid ATM fees.

I got 200 Euros out of the HSBC ATM when I arrived at CDG in April. My USD cost was $223.70; exchan ge rate at that time was 1.09 Euro/USD, so I didn't get a horrible conversion rate at all.

I wouldn't worry too much about the rate for a 200€ conversion. You will pay maybe $12 to $14 more if you do the least economic conversion but if it is convenient or easy to do, then in the scheme of the cost of a trip to Europe go for it. There is some value in convenience.

Tocard, my cousin was travelling with more than 1 credit card:) But he actually had trouble using 2 of them. His wife also had credit cards with her. My point was that anywhere in the world, one can experience glitches. Just a couple of weeks ago in North America, Square, the system used by many small businesses went down for several hours. But you could still shop with cash. The ‘Be prepared’ motto for travel includes managing options for payment.

I have never purchased foreign currencies in the US, nor do I travel with cash other than $200 I used to keep in my luggage when I was traveling a great deal. Last month, a friend of mine lost the 900€ she was carrying in her purse that she had brought from the USA. Later that same day, she lost her iPhone. Admittedly, an unusual amount of concentrated bad luck, but I never have more than 50€ in cash, usually much less. As I posted earlier, I only carry sufficient cash to purchase a baguette, maybe a few chouquettes.

There is just no compelling need for cash.

“This discussion reminds me of the carry on versus checked baggage debate. We all have our preference, in part based on personal experiences. There is no right or wrong answer.”

I agree with you Claire. But also as Nigel says, things have changed drastically on the CC/ApplePay/GooglePay front since Covid. When people relate experiences it’s important to know if it’s pre-Covid or after. People who haven’t traveled since will find the ground has shifted in many areas.

Pam, I agree context matters. And I have needed cash my three post Covid trips in both Italy and France:)

While things are different now, one can likely manage with only credit cards, until the instance you can’t.

"one can likely manage with only credit cards, until the instance you can’t."

True!! It's just that for myself I need a lot less cash now than I did before Covid.

I bring enough cash to pay for the small mom & pop B&Bs I typically stay at in rural France. The hosts are nice people and prefer it. Its no skin off my a$$ to pay them the way they prefer. For larger city hotels I pay with a credit card.

You might want to consider a WISE card. It is a debit card which converts to the currency of your choice for a very small fee. We used in in Italy all the time to get cash and were able to use it at stores, etc. The only problem is that we were limited in our daily cash withdrawals-- something like 150$ a day. This must have been fine print that I missed somewhere.