Free Traveler's Cheques

The local ATM in Greece could very well charge you nothing. Banks in the US may charge you a transaction fee for each ATM withdrawal, a currency conversion fee, or both. Credit unions often offer ATM cards that have no fees whatsoever. If you have time, shop around. If you find either a bank or a credit union that gives a better rate than your current bank, open an account. It's a good idea anyway to have more than one account. If the card from one account fails to work for some reason, you'll have a backup.

There are some important things to do BEFORE leaving home to be sure your credit cards and ATM cards will work in Europe. Read this helpful article: www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm.

Thanks all, I do plan to use my ATM card from my credit union for my personal use. Did see the postings on that topic.

We were just trying to solve the nightly dinner challenge of dividing the check 6 ways. Guess a pot of traveler's checks are not the way to go.

Oh Paula, having worked at nice hotel restuarant in my own hometown for years,( many years ago) trust me on this , a group of six women wanting to pay a bill six ways by tc would have been hated, even then when tcs were the norm.. LOL

A couple of questions -- are the TCs in Euro or dollars? You may be able to convert for free BUT at what exchange rate? ATM cash is, on average, 1 to 3% over the interbank rate.

I can get in euros or dollars. Today for example, the interbank rate is 1.577 and I would get the Euros at 1.6631 (yes... a bit more expensive)

Yes.

One of the reason we wanted to do this is that 6 of us are going on the trip. Instead of each of us carrying around a wad of euros, or giving waitresses 6 ATM or credit cards, we could have bought a bunch of euros in advance and have one safe pot of TC's to use.

The ATM rate is interbank correct? And then you pay the transaction cost of the local ATM plus the fee your bank charges (mine is 2%).

Was going to only for dinners so we didn't have to split things up 6 ways.... Again, six gals traveling, wanted to have one "pot" of currency for the big stuff but didn't want to carry around lost of cash.

Now finding out local businesses don't like the Euro Traveler's checks because they can't tack on fees.

Paula, I don't know where you are getting your information but it appears to be a little flawed. Paying 1.66 for 1.57 Euro is a 5.5% markup. So if you bank is only 2% on your debit card (mostly likely a total of 3%) you are still paying nearly 3% for the "convenience" of TCs. In all of my travels I have never seen a ATM usage fee in Europe similar to the usage fee charged in the US when you use an ATM not owned by your bank.

Finally, merchants do not like TCs because of a huge problem with fraud or fake TCs. Has nothing to do with adding extra fees. A credit card gives some protection against fraud. NEVER use a debit to pay for anything. With a debit card you lost protection. I don't see a problem with six people paying. Each night a different person pays, and you divide it up at the end of the trip.

Good luck

Yes, I did the math. It is 5.5%, that was why I was trying to understand fees beyond what my bank charges for the debit/visa card (2%).

If it is negligible, fine, I just didn't know what the range of fees were for using the ATM in Europe from the European bank/ATM.

The TC's were an idea that would have made it easier to have a group pot. Reconciling over a week's worth of dinners with different cards, fees, and costs was looking like a pain, but at the end of the day, you are right, the TC's aren't cost effective.

Thanks...

Pat, trust me, 6-ways to pay was what we were trying to avoid. We were going to have one pot of check's not 6!

No matter, looks like ATMs rule.

The thing is, Paula, it's not just that merchants don't "like" Traveller's Cheques, they simply do not accept them. When I travel with friends, we all put money in a "pot" (well, actually, it's a little change purse, a pot takes up too much room in one's money belt !) to cover coffee breaks, lunches, museum entrance fees, etc., and when it is gone we put some more in. Dinner we pay for individually. Also, if I may say so, don't sweat the small stuff. How many actual dollars do you think you are saving or not saving in relation to the cost of your trip? It doesn't bear contemplating.

Hi Norma,

Yes, we have agreed that the TC's don't look economical. Please, I am so over that!!!

For all of you wondering why I posted this silly item, picture this:
- 6 women of different socio-economic and international travel backgrounds
- a desire not to carry a lot of euro cash
- a desire to pay for large items such as tours and dinners with one "pot" that we equally contribute to
- a desire to NOT switch between one person's credit card/atm/debit from meal to meal, leaving us with a month of reconciliation while we all compile fees, conversions, etc.

Would it not be nice to buy a "debit card" which we all deposited let's say $500 to and then we used it for our daily group items? When we got home, any balance would be split nice and even.

Nice, but not achievable unless we convert and put euros into the pot.....

Or buy a debit card for $3K with 3% fees....

Why not pool your money first and open a trip account with a credit union or somewhere that won't charge fees? Then you could pay for your group activities with that card (or withdraw sufficient cash at ATMs to cover them). There are various "travel" debit cards that do the same thing, but they have fees attached. My local credit union charges no fees -- perhaps you could find something local to you that would do likewise.

Nancy's idea is a good one but don't check out just one credit union and give up. Some credit unions are very small and have very limited service (including which ATMs you can use). Other credit unions such as Pentagon Federal Credit Union (I am not a member there but was when I lived overseas) are used to customers who travel a lot around the globe.

Personally, I like the idea of having 6 different debit and credit cards because if someone loses one or their bank puts a hold on it (because the purchases don't fit your normal pattern), you have a built in back up.

Yes, we have decided to use my credit union, which is quite large. When I spoke to them, they said they will put a note in my file with the travel dates and where I am going so that they don't freeze my account when the European activity hits.

And of course we are all bringing our own debit and credit cards for personal use, but again were just trying to simplify the process of paying for the group stuff. So, I will be using a debit/visa from the credit union and my friends will all send me money to deposit and we can reconcile when we get home with the one account.

Yes, quite glad I proposed we pay for our lodging in advance... 6 months ago! The exchange rate is killer now!

It sounds like the TC would work in your situation (since you get free checks and free cash in Greece, but the exchange still looks high to me). Generally ATMs are still a much better rate (we do have free use Credit Union ATM cards and generally are not charged a fee in Europe, either). One thing to watch for, however. Our bank (Visa debit cards) will no longer allow point of sale use of debit cards due to fraud - they do allow cash machine withdrawls with a pin number.

I was in Greece last summer and had a difficult time getting rid of some old TCs from years past. We could only manage to get rid of them at a bank (I believe it was Alpha Bank, or possibly the equally ubiquitous Piraeus Bank). Banks have bad hours (closing for lunch, not reopening on Wednesdays, etc) so make sure to get rid of them as soon as you can before you're stuck with no cash.

Make sure to exchange them all and just use an ATM card from now on. Save some extra Euros (€100 or so at least) from the end of your trip for your next trip so you can have some cash in hand when you land.

Paula,

My group opened up a temporary checking account with a debit card to cover all of our group costs (hotels, car rental, group activities--anything where we would be equally charged). We each deposited $1250 before the trip and then one person (me) kept the cash we got from the ATM's for things where a debit card wouldn't be accepted as a credit card. It worked out beautifully and we have money left over that we will divide up once we are sure all of the charges have come through to the bank. At restaurants, we just did all of the figuring and most of us paid cash for our meals. One time we DID hand over 4 credit cards, but the waiter had no trouble handling the transaction as long as we did the math for him. :-)

That was exactly my suggestion, above.

Nancy,

We Nancy's are just smart. :-)