Euros - where to convert from dollars?

It doesn't matter how the Euro is compared to the past, what matters is how it is compared to the future; and if I knew that I wouldn't be telling you, I would be currency trading and making lots of money.

Can you not order Euros from your bank?

Bringing foreign cash to Europe and changing it there is not the best way. The cheapest way to get Euros (and any othr currency) is from a cash machine (ATM) in the country, using your normal bank card you use in a cash machine at home.

If you want to land with some euro in hand, you can go to your bank (some banks won't do this for non-customers) and order euro. If the bank doesn't have them, they will order them and the euro will be fedexed to your bank within a couple of days, then you go and pick them up. The bank will soak you on the exchange rate, and you will have to pay a small fee for the shipping, but if you want to get a hundred or so euro to get you through the first day or two, it's not a bad idea. Best of all you can order the denominations you want (some fives, tens, twenties will be most convenient for you). Then if you want to get a coffee at the airport you won't be trying to break a 100-euro note (which may get you an interesting look from the barista), or paying for a taxi when the driver can't break that large a note.

Interesting comment about the denominations. I have never had any problem changing an €100. I once had a problem with an €500 in Italy. It was a restaurant, and not just after they had opened, so I thought they should have enough in the till to change a €500 when I was paying for a full meal for two, but the waiter moaned and went next door for change.

As Basel is a border city many cash machines (ATM) dispense Swiss Franks and Euros. When the Euro first appeared, the machines here in Basel dispensed €100 and €200, as well as CHF 100 and 200. Now they only dispense €50 (as well as Franks). I would rather have the larger denomination.

In the UK the largest denomination is £50. This is known as "tourist money". Because the cash machines dispense £10 and £20, the only people who have £50 notes are foreign tourists who have got them from a bank or Bureau de Change.

The amount of £50 notes in circulation has doubled in the last 10 years, with the rate being quickest in the last 2 years. There are nearly ten times more £20 notes though.

It is not advisable to bring €500 notes into the UK, at least if you want to exchange them.

I would want 100 in 20s. Certainly nothing bigger than a 50. 500s are pretty much unusable.

The last few times I traveled to Europe I waited and got € from ATM when I got there. Prior to these trips I was a bit apprehensive about my bank card not working and being stuck changing $ at a change bureau so I got some € before leaving home. I got mine at a Wells Fargo (I was not a customer), I bought 200€ for a $5 fee plus exchange rate. Any large location (main or large branch) of a major bank should have them on hand, if not could order for you. As long as you talk to your bank or card issuers about your plans (dates and which countries) you should have no trouble getting € from an ATM with your debit card when you arrive. If you need the peace of mind of having some € before you arrive, then go ahead and get them.

It almost always cost more to get Euros in the US than from an ATM in Europe. Many people like to get 100 or 200 Euros before they leave the US so they will have some on hand when they get there and then get additional funds from an ATM in Europe. Someone posted fairly recently that when they arrived in Europe all the ATMs were our of order. Murphy's law. Better safe than sorry.

Even the bank in my tiny town can get me foreign currency so you should not have a problem. However, my credit union does have a problem with it, so you may need to call around if you get a No at first. If you have a AAA near you they also sell prepared packs of money. The problem with them is that they sell it for whatever they paid for it so if they bought Euro when the price was higher than now that is what they sell it for. I did not ever feel they were giving a good deal.

You will find people on both sides of the question here as to having money when you land. I feel that I am not at my sharpest mentally when I land and want to give myself 24 hours to get more focused. So I make sure I have enough €/£ to cover me for transportation in from the airport, dinner and snacks for that first time frame. I travel solo as well, so I feel this helps make me feel prepared and ready to go. I also have $ on me for use at the at least 2 US airports I will have to transit thru. It all depends on your comfort level. Recently someone here posted a trip report that they landed on a Sunday and the airport ATMs were out of cash. I am sure there is a workaround to that but I don't want to have to do much problemsolving when I'm jet lagged!

I'm going to Europe for 19 days in September and plan to get €2,000 from my bank (Chase) before I leave, and in fact, given the price of the Euro right now I may do it sooner than later. I have made four trips to Europe and three of them to countries that use the Euro. In each I have taken a large amount with me because the places I've chosen to stay (many from this site and Rick's books) give a nice discount for cash payment. That is also the case on this next trip, which for the first time will be solo. I have never used the ATMs in Europe for large deductions, but since others who responded seem to think it is a better way I will certainly talk with my banker about it before purchasing my Euros this time. In the end though, if you have a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees (mine is the Chase United Mileage Plus card) and you don't plan to pay cash for your lodging, I recommend you use the card for everything possible and save your cash to pay off your balance when it comes in. That is what we did on the two week trip to the UK who uses the British Pound. Good Luck.
Jim

Jim, when you discuss using foreign ATMs with your banker, do ask if he/she has traveled to Europe before you put a lot of stock in the answer. The information will be more valuable if they have traveled a number of times and have some solid experience with using ATMs rather than depending on articles they may have read concerning pros and cons.

I, personally, would not feel comfortable carrying $2,000 cash in the US and would not feel that comfortable carrying that much cash in any currency. A couple of hundred, yes. A couple of thousand, no.

Since you can pretty well count on getting a better exchange rate from a European ATM, we don't recommend getting too many euros in advance (unless you do feel sure that rates will be worse when you're in Europe). In case of emergencies like ATMs not working at the airport, I have carried $200 cash in dollars, with the knowledge that I would not get a good exchange rate for it in Europe. However, I have not had occasion to test this option because I didn't have those emergencies.

With all your cash and valuables, remember that they will be out of your control temporarily when going through airport security. If you have to go through a backscatter body imager, you cannot wear a money belt or have anything in your pockets. People sometimes get flustered in airports and forget items. Once through security, I would go to a restroom to put your money belt on, especially if it's full of cash.

RE: At this time I feel that the euro is relatively weak against the dollar compared to the past and was thinking that I'd like to get some now.

If you would like to speculate on the Euro or hedge future Euro denominated expenditure(s) you can invest in Euro Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). An example of a Euro non-leveraged ETF is the Guggenheim Currency Shares Euro Trust (Trade Symbol: FXE). It's stated investment policy is: "CurrencyShares Euro Trust (the “trust”) is designed to track the price of the euro...." It's reported (annual) expense ratio of 0.40%.

Concept of using a currency ETF to hedge your future expense is to buy the amount you are trying to hedge and sell them when you expend your Euros. For example, if you have 10 people in your group expecting to spend 100 EUR per day per person for 10 days, and you want your group to prepay you in dollars for a trip next year, you would buy $10000 EUR worth of the ETF as you collect the prepayment. With the EUR trading at 1.067 and assuming a 2% conversion cost, you need to collect 100001.0671.02 = $10884 USD, say $11000 USD to cover the expense in Euros. With FXE trading at 105.03 as I write, you would need to buy about 105 shares of FXE to hedge your 10000EUR/$10884USD commitment. You would then sell the ETF the following year when you need to pay for the trip in EUR, collecting US dollars to covert to EUR at the then current rate.

http://currencyshares.com/products/fxe

Note that the above note regarding FXE is only an example and I make no endorsement of the particular financial product, nor recommend currency hedging.

Great information -thanks to all!

" when you discuss using foreign ATMs with your banker, do ask if he/she has traveled to Europe before you put a lot of stock in the answer. "

This is very important, and it comes up with other things, like cell phones. A lot of times, we've seen posts on this Forum indicating that the people in the customer service departments just don't know much about foreign travel, so they say what they were told to say (which may be right or wrong). Someone's bank recently recommended traveler's checks! But if they've actually traveled, they tend to know a lot more (of course, they're still not infallible).

...customer service departments just don't know much about foreign travel....

On my first trip to China were ATMs can be problematic away from the major cities, we were advised to bring $100usd denominated bills. On asking my local (small town) bank teller for clean hundred dollar bills and no explanation, her first remark was "you must be going to China". (The Chinese do not take torn or worn US bills).

Edgar's experience is interesting. I had the opposite with my credit union. For some reason I decided to stop by my credit union to do a vacation notification instead of calling. I told the teller I was going to England and Wales. She took a minute to look at a list and said OK, they are not on the list. What list? I ask? The countries that have a lot of fraud she says. We have to do an extra step if you go to one of those countries, she continued. I asked to see the list figuring it was someplace really off the beaten path and much to my surprise UK was on it. I said, well, England and Wales are in the UK. They are? she says...then continued... I'm not too good on geography. No kidding, sweetheart. Just to make it worse this is a university town with a sizeable International student population along with International professors. (And to follow up, I talked with the manager regarding the view that UK had lots of fraud and was told there was a lot of activity in the 1990's so they are on a list. Dumbest thing I ever heard.)

Fortunately I had read Europe Thru the Back Door by you-know-who and had been reading this forum so I was better informed than some. Even if everyone does not agree on the issue of taking foreign currency or not, just reading about it along with the different opinions helps you become aware of some of the issues so you at least have a starting point for asking questions.

I live in NC and use State Employee Credit Union. When I buy Euro's, they charge me the daily rate. Today, the rate is 1.07 Euro to the US Dollar. So, I would pay 1.07 for 1.00 in Euro, or 1,070.00 US for 1,000.00 Euro. That is better than last year. Euro was 1.36 to a dollar. That meant I paid 1.360.00 for the same 1000.00 Euro. If your bank charges more than the daily rate, google the rate, then just wait and get them from an ATM, as suggested. At the bank, tell them you want no bills larger than 50 Euro. I forgot a couple of years ago and they gave me a 500.00 Euro bill. Hard as heck to buy anything with it. Just remember to tell your bank you are traveling and you might want to increase your daily limit a bit.

@ Edgar...I don't put it past customer service in a bank, say B of A to be up on foreign travel, or, at least, be decently informed. On traveling in China, then you must know that Discover Card, sometimes asked here pertaining to travel in Europe, is accepted in China, esp in hotels.