Changing Euro now for a trip in June? Worth it?

Check with the apartment owners to see if they will accept bank drafts in euros. (Note: these are NOT travelers checks, which they probably will not accept even if they are in euros.)

If the answer is "yes," open an account with www.xe.com/fx. I use my account to send money to relatives in the UK and to pay deposits at B&Bs in Europe that don't accept credit cards. Money is taken from my checking account by electronic transfer, a bank draft is issued in the currency of my choice, and the draft is sent by US mail directly to the recipient I specify. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated. There are no other fees. For faster service one can choose to do a wire transfer, but that costs extra.

I think you can also choose to have the drafts sent to you if you prefer to hand them to the apartment owner yourself, but I've never done it that way.

For security reasons, setting up an account takes some time, but everything goes swiftly and smoothly after that.

It isn't the euro that is falling, it's the dollar. The euro is doing just fine. It might be worth your while, though, to go ahead and change since you won't incur extra fees from your credit union. Even if things stabilize you will have "set aside" your apartment money.

Even though your Credit Union says no fee's, try and nail down what they consider the exchange rate to be. If they can give you the current days exchange rate, compare to the interbank rate on XE.com or oanda.com. Currently the Interbank rate is about $1.58 to buy a Euro, ATM will cost you about $1.60, your credit union will probably be more like $1.68. At the rates charged in the US, you might consider a low fee credit card that allows cash advances from an ATM. Even if it wound up being a wash, it would avoid having to carry a couple thousand Euro around. As for whether it makes sense to buy now, even the best financial minds can't say, I doubt this board is better qualified to say, but my two cents would say that it is best not to buy at record highs.

Kelley,
I would keep an eye on the rate before you exchange any money. I exchanged some a few months back and got the exchange when it was in the low 1.40's so am happy about that now. Knock on wood, but it looks like the decline has stablized a little in the last few weeks after continual drops. That could obviously change in the coming weeks but I know there was a discussion about this recently on here and someone talked about exchanging on a day when the rate hit 1.59 or so and then the next day or two it dropped down a few cents. Not an exact science by any means.

I go to Europe every summer and travel all over. I use ATM exclusively and have for years. I have NEVER had a problem with any ATM in any country.

I agree Charles, but a real concern is that if you are limited to $300 US/Day, That is now just under 200 Euro, hate to think what that gets you in Pounds, but it can be tough for two to get by on that, or in the case of Kelley, needing a large lump sum. So if ATM is exhausted, a CC transaction not available, what's the options?

Cash withdrawal limits can be a problem. Just go to your bank before you leave and let them know you need a temporary increase in your daily limit. I've not had a problem getting a much higher limit when I travel.

I would not carry large sums of cash whether euro or dollars. I would simply have my bank increase the daily withdrawal limit on my ATM card, and perhaps bring another card on a different account, so that I now have twice the withdrawal capacity( or four times if I have doubled my daily limits). I would use the ATM as many times as it takes to get the large sum of cash needed to pay the apartment owner and bring it right to him.