How much cash will you take with you, carry and ATMs

I try to take about $500 and had my ATM limit raised to $1000. I don't think I've ever stayed where they wouldn't take a credit card.

Contact whomever it is you have your ATM card with and have the maximum daily allowance raised. Give them the beginning and ending date. It is a simple process, especially if you have a debit card linked to a checking account at a credit union.

1. Quad or two room? Four people? Sound like you need to be doing this on more than one card. 2. $400/day limit. You should talk to your bank about raising that. My bank gives me $500/day and I didn't even ask them to raise it. 3. Don't assume everyone takes credit cards. I guess some places they do, but in my experience, in Germany, most small places don't, and if you stay in a place that does, you're already paying too much.

David, I always travel with about 100.00 of the currency of the country I'll be visiting first. I usually have money left over from previous trips, so already have it on hand. Two important points to consider. First, I'd suggest contacting your financial institution to have your daily withdrawal limit increased for the duration of your trip. However, some Banks in Europe have their own limits, so that will take precedence over the limit set by your Bank. Note that your travel funds must usually be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. Second, it's a really good idea to pack along a "backup" ATM card. This is not only useful for getting more cash each day to pay for "cash only" lodgings, but also essential if there's a problem with the primary card. Also, don't forget to notify your financial institution and credit card firms that you'll be travelling in Europe, or they will likely be "frozen" the first time you try to make a purchase in Europe. Happy travels!

"I usually have money left over from previous trips" I actually plan my withdrawals and expenses to have about €100 left over for my next trip - something made easier because I keep track of my expenses as I go with an Excel file on my netbook.

Agree with the advice given. I'd think your bank would increase it at least to $500 for you. I took a private tour of Puglia on my last trip, and I owed something like 1200 euros at the end and wanted to give him a nice tip on top of it. I didn't want to start withdrawing the cash in large quantities until I got to my final destination (the tour was 6 days and I stayed in the same B&B throughout), so, yes, I went to the ATM almost every day. But I can't say it was that big of an inconvenience. I would go in the evening and bring the cash right back to my B&B room for safekeeping. To say having that much cash in one place made me nervous is an understatement but that's mostly because I'm used to always charging everything. But it worked out fine :) Since it sounds like there's more than one of you, you can always split up the cash in all the money belts to ease the nerves of having a lot on you at one time. Or, I'm sure the places you're staying would be willing to take the payment installments so that you can get rid of the cash. Don't be put off by places/tours/whatever that only take cash. I've stayed in some really lovely cash-only places and the private tour I took was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It will depend on 1) how much you can withdraw with your daily limit and, 2) how soon you need the cash. Note that even though you have a limit of $400 here in the U.S., you might not get that much from the daily ATM in Europe. A couple of options. Take two different ATM cards that do not access the same account and start withdrawing right away to amass cash if you need it right away. Option 2 is to go to your local large bank and buy some Euros in advance. Yes you will pay about 3%-4% for the conversion but you will have cash in advance. We had a cooking class scheduled for both of us on day 2 that required 500+ Euros many years ago. We chose to get some advance Euros in the U.S. before we left. It was a level of comfort thing. Now, as Lee also does, we come home with a 100Eu or so for our next trip.

Some financial institutions are flexible on their daily limits, others aren't at all. It won't hurt to ask. $400 is on the low side. $500 seems about average. USAA allows $600 daily limit but I haven't asked them to adjust it. You should also know when the limit refreshes - usually at midnight local at the bank's headquarters. Sometimes you can take two max withdrawals in one Euro day because of the time difference - or, conversely, not be able to withdrawal even though your last one was last night. I don't take any Euros (or other local currency) with me. I have yet to find an airport where I couldn't easily get cash upon arrival (although it's not as easy around sea ports). I do carry a few hundred in US currency to change in a pinch, but usually bring it home unchanged (saving me the cost of exchanging to local currency and back).

If you have a stash of cash that you need to unload, apply it to your hotel bill. We did this in several cities and were never turned down. Eastern European countries, not using Euros, is where this works best. You don't want to leave Romania with a wad of their money, ditto other countries. We have also done it when leaving our last hotel in Delft.

Ive banked with Wachovia and now Wells Fargo. When asking them if I can have my limit raised, both have denied me that privilege. Wachovia gave me a $400 limit, wells fargo gave me $500. So this past year and past trips, I have taken 2 cards: my debit ($400-500 limit) and my Capital One card ($300 limit) and take out the daily max until I have my budgeted amount for hotels and spending cash. So one my last trip of 8 days of belgium, where the B&Bs I stayed in ask for cash, I loaded up on my money daily. By the 4th day, I had enough to pay my B&Bs and to satisfy my daily cash budget for 2 people.

Maybe this is a stoopid question, but here goes anyway. If you have to pay cash for lodgings, why do you have to amass the cash and worry about it for several days? Why can't you just give them the cash as you withdraw it over the term of your stay?

Hello David. I remember reading in a travel guide book on a country in Europe, written by Rick Steves (several years ago), Rick Recommended : when you (people from the U.S.A. or Canada) are at Europe, try to always have, on your person, local currency having a total value of 300 U.S. Dollars, minimum. Now, I think that should be a value of 500 U.S. Dollars, in the countries that have Euro money. More than 500 U.S. Dollars in Switzerland and Sweden and Norway and Denmark. That money would be for unexpected expenses, emergencies.

Thanks All. I'll ask about raising the daily limit. If you have to gather cash (say like E800) where do you keep it if you don't apply daily (money belt or hotel room)? Also, Do any of the cash only places require cash up front? One the VRBO we are looking at requires a CC to hold the room but if I understand correctly we have to pay the cash when we arrive.

Its normal for a hotel to ask for a credit card number to hold your reservation. We give our's all the time with no hesitation. You can then pay with cash when you leave and your credit card will have no transaction attached to it. I put my cash in three places, either in a neck wallet, a hidden pocket, or in a wallet. My wallet is a Rogue wallet that is made to fit in the front pocket. I only ewar Royal Robbins Global Traveler pants. They have a zipper pocket inside the right front pocket. My wallet and passport are always in that pocket.

I usually have about 40 Euros left in my wallet from the previous trip. I always pick up more Euros at the airport immediately after landing at a FREE ATM. I never pay fees. I am allowed $600 withdrawal per day. So far, I've never needed more. I take that back. Once I needed 600 Euros immediately on landing to purchase a puppy and then hop on another plane to return to the US. I paid my stupid bank 8% for that cash. But it was a Saturday night and I had no choice. I could have wired the money, but the puppy wasn't a done deal. It had to meet my approval.

Thanks all. Turns out my CU and CC will both grant temporary increases in the daily limits. There's still a 3% tho.

Carole, Every ATM I've ever used in Europe, even at airports, was FREE, that is the ATM never charged a fee. Admittedly, I have only used bank owned ATMs. I understand there are ATMs not owned by banks that charge a fee. OTOH, it has never mattered what ATM I've used, my banks always charge a fee according to their schedule (my local bank charges 1%+$2, WF gives me two free withdrawal/month, then 3%). Wells Fargo sells foreign currency at many branches for 5%, average, over the Interbank rate. They set the rate sometime overnight, so if the Interbank rate goes down during the day, you might pay more than 5%.

Paul, most of us have the basic common sense not to carry all our eggs in one basket. I take two ATM cards and one Credit card,, has worked for me for last 40 years of travel so guess I am doing fine,, sounds like you just had bad luck. Can't imagine walking around with all my cash..

I think Paul's comment is valid. Total dependence on a plastic card, for use in ATM machines in Europe for being able to spend money in Europe, is not very secure. My credit card was eaten (swallowed) by an ATM (cash money machine) located at Stockholm in Sweden, in the month May, in the year 2007. Money did not go out of that ATM. My credit card did not go out of that ATM (machine). I mentioned that problem to a Swedish person working at the entrance to a major attraction for tourists, located very near that ATM machine. She knew what happened : "The machine swallowed your card". She said that problem could not be remedied at the ATM. She said I could report the loss of my card in the ATM machine, at a bank located in the business district in Stockholm. The result of that would be that the bank in the U.S.A. that issued my credit card would send (via the U.S.A. Postal service) a new credit card to me. The new card would arrive at my Postal mail box in the U.S.A., after I return to my home in the U.S.A. from Europe. I had one other credit card with me, but no other ATM (cash machine) was at or near that location in Stockholm. I used the next four hours of my time at Stockholm for travelling to a place where an ATM was located, for me to acquire Swedish money, using my credit card. I said more about this topic, in a reply that I tried to
post in this discussion thread, ten minutes ago, but it was not posted. I saw on my computer's screen a message from this website, saying to me : We are sorry, this request can not be handled at this time.

Twice in the past few years someone has tried to use my credit card info after I've returned home. In both instances my credit card company (CapitalOne) has called me to verify. The charges were not put thru and the cards were cancelled. I now do not use my credit cards when traveling in Europe. I carry the CapitalOne card as a backup to my ATM card. My ATM card has never been "eaten" at an ATM. It may be useful to carry a duplicate ATM card if you are worried about this. I start my trips with enough euros or pounds to get into town; then I hit the ATM and start getting cash. My hotel bills are paid in cash, sometimes after several days of ATM withdrawals in order to have enough for the bill. Some hotels may be ok with daily payments, but I have not tried this. I trust my moneybelt. If the exchange rate seems favorable, I may buy euros from my home bank before my trip. Like right now the exchange rate looks good and I may just go get money for my April trip.

Unfortunately in these discussions, people tend to take a negative personal experience and expand it into some type of a majority experience that will happen to everyone. I have had debit cards eaten, short changed once on cash, etc. - all in the US. But it doesn't stop me from using the card. For Europe we taken two debit cards tied to two different accounts with a his and her card on one account, and three credit cards. Always use an ATM attached to a bank during open hours. Assume that these ATMs are in better working order, less likely to have been tampered with, seldom have a cash withdraw limit, and, if a problem arises, spouse guards the machine while I go into the bank to resolve the problem - in theory. Never, in all the years of travel have we ever had a problem. Also, try to use an ATM just after someone else has used it. Again, assuming if it works for them, it will work for me. We have been totally dependent on plastic for the past ten years or so. We do mostly cash for everything. Within a day or two on the ground will hit both ATM accounts just to make sure both are working. My backup ATM account does charge both a $5 usage fee and 3%. My primary ATM is a credit union with a $1000 daily limit and no fees. It is easy to be totally dependent on plastic but you have to plan for it.

We are sorry, this request can not be handled at this time Ron, when you get that message it means that your post is too long. You can cut and paste and make it into 2 shorter posts, or cut some out. When it shows you have about 225 characters left, that's all you can put in before getting that error message.

The daily limit on ATM withdrawals in our account is more than adequate and pay for virtually all expenses in cash. Has worked flawlessly for many years. I do pack another ATM card attached to a different bank, but have never needed to use it. Like others, I also take a credit card for large or unexpected expenses such as delays to/from Europe.

There are two advantages to carrying two debit/ATM cards from different banks and/or credit unions. The first is you have one to fall back on if the first one does not work or is eaten by the machine. which has happened to me. The second is that you can use both to get cash at times when a daily limit is a problem, for instance when you are trying to come up with funds to pay a hotel bill where the proprietor demands cash. That has also happened to me. If you don't have enough funds for two accounts, use a line of credit at a credit union to borrow funds ahead of time and pay the money back after your trip. That's not a good way to do it, but I did so once and I was glad I did.

Good info. I, myself, cannot see carrying enough cash needed for the whole trip from the start. There are four of us and we'll be gone 24 days (including the 2 travel days). Even with carefull planning that's a lot of cash. Food alone will be thousands of dollars. I'm buying many tickets in advance when feasible and will pay for some hotels with the credit card but some of the places and tours accept only cash so I'll have to make daily trips to the ATM to make sure I can pay as I go. My plan is to use two ATM cards with my wife having back up cards for those accounts. I'll also take the credit card I've been using for reservations, again with my wife having the back up card to the same account. I'll also take one more emergancy credit card. I'll take a few hundred in $20's and all the preprinted tickets/confirmations. Now, I think I'll need a second money belt, LOL.

Backup cards for the same account are fine, but remember that if the account is locked for some reason (forgetting to tell your bank when and where you are traveling, etc.) the other card for that account won't work, either. And having two cards for the same account means that it's twice as possible for a card to get lost - which means the other card is useless, too, once you report the lost card.

Paul and Ron are right on this: do not put all of your eggs in one basket. But Paul is taking an ill-advised approach in response. By carrying only cash, purchased in advance, he is running a risk of theft of all his travel money. That would ruin a vacation real fast. He is also probably paying a 5-10% premium to buy euros in the US versus using an ATM in Europe. Using a credit card offers some consumer protections that cash doesn't. If the card is lost or stolen or compromised, you are only on the hook for $50 (if you report it timely). And if you use a CC with no foreign transaction fee, it can be cheaper to use a CC than paying 3-10% for getting cash. Most people like to have some cash on hand on arrival, a back-up ATM card and a credit card. Then mix how you pay for things using the best deals or protections, such as hotel discounts for cash and CC protection for gifts shipped by the merchant.

"Backup cards for the same account are fine, but remember that if the account is locked for some reason (forgetting to tell your bank when and where you are traveling, etc.) the other card for that account won't work, either." Is this true even if the cards have different account numbers? I'll have to call my CC and CU again.

Since it sounds lke you will be traveling with four people I would say take $1000 in cash and two ATM cards for different accounts as well as your credit cards and obvously be careful with everything starting with not keeping it all in one place. Remember that the chip and PIN credit card is rapidly becoming the standard in Euroope and you will find some places the cannot/will not honor your magnetic stripe credit card. In 2006 my wife and I did the full drill with our financial institutions for foreign travel and increased withdrawls. The scene shifts to the Marienplatz in Munich when my wife tried to use her Bank of America ATM card at a Deutsche Bank ATM as recommended by Bank of America and her card was denied and the account was frozen untiil she had a lengthy series of phone calls to get the card reactivated after we got home. While Bank of America had dropped the ball somewhere in their system, rather than apologize for the error, Bank of America insisted that my wife should be happy about how well the Bank of America security system had worked. This is why you want to be taveling with at least two sets of credit and ATM cards tied to different banks. Also in September of 2011 I had the new J P Morgan Chip and signature credit card and had three different situations in the span of four weeks where only a chip and PIN credit card could be used. It isn't the end of the world but it makes for very awkward moments. Have a good trip.

Everyones perspective is very interesting to me. I do not like to carry cash, never have. I have landed in Montreal with $20US in my wallet and Frankfurt with less than $100US. We use our credit card or debit card for all of our transactions. I would beg to differ with Lees' comment "if you are paying with a cc at a hotel you are overpaying". My wife and I usually are staying off the beaten path at small hotels that we decide to stop at at the end of the day wherever it is we may be. Never once in 5 trips to Europe have I been refused the use of my cc. I have been refused the use of my travelers checques at a 4 star hotel in Heidelberg. Needless to say that was the last trip using those. Only once in the five trips over did we stay somewhere for a whole week. Usually we stay 1 or 2 nights and then we are off again so that has been my experience. David, what is it you are comfortable with? Remember that no matter what happens while you are away that in this day and age communication is much easier and faster than in the past.
Good luck and happy travels!

David, if the account is locked because you didn't inform them about when and where you would be traveling, I don't think it matters if your cards have different numbers - the account they are connected to is locked. When I answered your question the first time, though, I was assuming that you meant duplicate cards. But if you lose one of your cards on the same account, you will have to freeze the account anyway, so it won't matter if the numbers are different.

We travel with multiple credit cards and multiple debit cards from multiple accounts. We rarely have more than $50 in cash when we land. We have not gotten foreign currency before departure or visited a currency exchange booth anywhere since 1994, six trips ago.

Great information. We are facing the same problem with a huge looming lodging bill (two weeks at an agriturismo near Pienza). I don't want to have all our days revolve around rushing to the cash machine to get more money. With that in mind, I plan on opening a second account here (in US) and use both banks debit cards. Here's my question: Can anyone recommend a bank that has the lowest transaction fees? Since a debit card is all I'm going to use this account for, might as well find one with the lowest fees.
Thanks!

Bob,
See http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange

Just wanted to add in my 2 cents.....this weekend in Austria we had an emergency room visit. We had to pay cash to leave, 400Euro. The next morning we checked out of our hotel intending to use our credit card, which wouldn't work (the whole credit system was suddenly down, and we wanted to leave given the emergency), so we had to pay cash, which luckily we had. So yes you can go to the ATM in the middle of the day for your hotel bill, etc., but honestly, you should keep some cash, since at 1:00 in the morning, where it's 6degreesF outside, you don't want to be looking for an ATM that is open and hope you haven't taken out your limit already.

We arrive with about $300 in the local currency. Know that we'll need money sooner rather than later so why not carry a bit on us. We also have our limits raised, carry debit cards for 3 different bank systems and 3 different credit cards. We usually pay CASH as we go and avoid any added bills arriving after our trip. We use an ATM for large amounts prior to paying our B&B/Inn bill if they prefer cash or give a cash discount.