Getting euros beforehand

AH- i found that bank of america has partner with BNP which had freaking atms all over the place including close to my hostel, so if they don't have an atm in the airport, then I can stop at one of the 8 bazillion and just get enough euros to get some rer and metro tix when I land.

I'm planning to bring some cash in US dollars as an emergency backup. Won't need it most likely, but if I have to, I can exchange it in a bank. That way when I get home it just gets deposited again.

Alayna, this is a topic that is repeated over and over, month after month.

My tip is, if you're going to any big city like Paris (especially an airport like CDG!) you will find plenty of ATM's.

To get the money in advance here may be "peace of mind" but its a rip!

I've never had any problems finding an ATM to get Euros, Kronors and Kronas from. But I have had problems getting certain cards to work in certain countries/machines. My last trip (in February) to Sweden/Denmark was a nightmare with credit cards, bank cards and ATM's. Sometimes they would work, sometimes they wouldn't. Finally on my last day, a store clerk told me that "they" (I guess they being the bank gods) had changed something and that a lot of people were randomly having problems with their foreign cards not working, so it wasn't just me being stooooooopid. :) Just make sure you know the PIN's of all of your cards, they kinda prefer that over signing for things and you definitely need the PIN for an ATM. I read someplace that your PIN can't start with 0, but I don't know if that's true or not.

PIN for a credit card? I have one if I want to take out cash, but not for normal purchases. I suspect if one uses a PIN for a transaction, it would be considered a cash withdrawal which would get hammered with fees in Europe. Merchants are required to accept credit cards with the magnetic stripe and process the purchase via the signed receipt.

Many European countries have moved to a chip and pin credit card system that is supposed to be more secure. There is some discussion of it on this helpline and I found some information on the Visa website as well. Generally, it sounds like the magnetic strip cards should still work just about everywhere, but it would be good to have some backup cash just in case.

Do make a call to your bank/atm issuer to check what your daily withdrawal limit is. If it is low you could be stranded especially if you need to pay the hotel upfront.

If need be you can up the limit before you go - that way there are no surprises.

There are ATM machines everywhere, don't worry about finding one. There are probably more places to find atm machines in europe than there are here in the good ol USA. Have fun!!!

just get a few 100 worth before you go. ATM at big banks after that, simple and easy.