European exchanging money in the US

She should just use a bank ATM to get dollars if she doesn't want to use a credit card for purchases. She will get the best rate. I am sure she must have a debit card?

I would assume they could do the same as I do when I go to a foreign country which is to use a debit card at an ATM to obtain local currency. You may know the ATMs near you that do not charge a fee.

I have purchased foreign cash here in the USA and it wasn't a great exchange rate, so I expect buying dollars here would have the same problem.

Bank of America had the best exchange rate, but you need to have an account there.

Using credit cards would be best. I assume but can't verify that using ATM machines at banks would be best, not the official exchange desk at the airport.

Thanks for your quick responses. I’m assuming she has a debit card, but I’m not sure. I told her for most everything, a credit card is the best. She said she’ll talk to her bank on Monday. I have an account at Bank of America, so if need be, I can do the exchange for her.

What I do is use my U.S. bank ATM card in a German bank's ATM machine to withdraw cash in Euros. Maybe her bank misunderstood her question? She should be able to use her ATM card in a U.S. ATM machine to withdraw cash in U.S. dollars. She is right, exchanging money is expensive, but if she has an ATM card and a large stash of Euros she should deposit the Euros before leaving and withdraw them when she gets to the U.S.

You get cash in the US, just like you get cash on almost every other country. With an ATM/debit card at a bank owned ATM. She may or may not have a transaction fee per withdrawal, depending on the type of account she has with her bank. And she should have a credit card for most of the usual types of purchases, hotels, meals etc.

I've only had to do this a couple of times, and it was a while back, but I got a great rate at... A casino‽

My own bank told me to drive to the casino on a reservation near me. I got a great rate changing Euros to chips, which I immediately cashed in. (They could only sell for chips, at least at the time. But that was just one, extra, small step.)

Friends and family currency exchange? Does anyone in your circle have a need for €? Have her bring € notes annd eliminate the middle man. I’d do it myself for a hundred or so if you were close by.

Withdrawing cash from BANK ATMs (NOT private or store ATMs) in the local currency of the country the withdrawer is IN (i.e., US, NOT the currency of the country his bank is in, i.e., Germany) is generally the best value. Bank of America has had an agreement with Deutsche Bank in the past when I've traveled to Europe, reducing or eliminating my ATM fees withdrawing Euros. Your cousin should check with her bank in Germany to see whether they have a current agreement with a US bank.
If you trust your cousin completely, I second the idea of fronting the money yourself, but don't risk developing a bad relationship!

She could also use Apple or Google Pay, linked to her German bank account, just as she would use it at home. This wouldn't cover all expenditures, but many places in the US offer it. (I haven't looked at the FX rate with this method, but I imagine it's decent.) I know it works when linked to a Swedish bank account, so it should work with a German account as well.