money

Travelers' checks seem rarely to be used anymore. You can order a couple hundred euro from your bank to get you started, but once there, use your ATM card to withdraw money from Bancomat (ATM), found outside most banks. Your pin number has to be numerals, and definitely notify your bank that you will be using your card in Europe so the bank doesn't decline your withdrawal as suspicious activity (do the same for credit cards). Take an extra card in case one gets demagnetized or chewed up by the ATM. I usually try to use Bancomat during the bank's business hours in case something goes wrong.

Without question, the cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency as needed is a debit card at an ATM machine. Take two different tied to two different account. I have use a debit card for close to 20 years and have never need the back up but I was take it. Travelers Checks are absolutely worthless and very expensive to use.

We like to take enough cash to get through the first few days without having to look for an ATM and not wait until the last minute to get more cash. You really want to have two ATM cards from two different banks just in case one card doesn't work. Bank of America dropped the ball on my wife's card a few years ago but we had mine from another bank that did not drop the ball. You don't want traveler's checks, they are about as useful as a pocket knife at a gun fight.

Every airport has a bank ATM in it. That's where we get our initial spending money. You should never exchange money at any facility where you have to talk to an individual. You'll pay dearly (out the nose) for the personal attention. This includes airport exchanges AND banks. And you wouldn't think very highly of your home town bank if you knew what they were charging you for delivery of Euros. Not only will they charge you a service charge, but they'll also rip you off on the exchange rate. Be sure to tell your bank that you'll be traveling internationally, and which countries you'll be traveling in. Otherwise, bank security may lock up your checking account/ATM card.

First off do not take travellers checks, no one will accept them , and when you find a bank that will cash them you will pay some nice fees. My bank does not sell travellers checks anymore as they are dinosaurs.. I haven't used any in about 15-20 years now. I bring about 100 euros to start off any trip, sometimes I am lucky and have left over euros from previous trip, sometimes I have to go buy some, I just like to have a few on hand for first day . I use my ATM card for cash the rest of the time. I take out my limit every three to five days, keep bulk of cash in my hotel safe, or if in transit in my moneybelt and I only keep a days worth of cash on me normally. I have an account here that does not charge me foriegn ATM withdrawal fees, and the banks there do not charge for using ATMs .

Every airport has a bank ATM Not hardly.

David, I exchange money at banks here in Frankfurt all the time. My bank doesn't carry foreign currency, so I have to go to one of the other banks, usually the Sparkasse. What does it cost to exchange money? 5 euro. This is not an outrageous sum of money. Exchange rate is going to be the same as at an ATM. Also did this in Scotland. What kind of experience were you basing your comments on? Oh, and the airport comment, as Ed has noted. There are certainly small airports that will not have an ATM. You can't generalize like that.

What popped into my mind was a pretty big airport, huge as a matter of fact, okay maybe third largest in the world - - that ain't got no bank atm.

An increasing number of airports these days are signing exclusive agreements with Travelex to be sole provider of ATMs inside the terminal. I've experienced it at one of the terminals at Heathrow, and the main terminal at Toronto Airport. Last week I was passing through Gatwick, and only spotted Travelex in the terminal, at the airport train station section there were better options.

I get foreign cash at the Currency Exchange, a kind of money store in the local shopping mall. It has better exchange rates than my bank and waives further fees if you have their frequent customer card (which is free). Does such a place not exist in the US? Nobody ever mentions it when these questions come up.

All the airports accepting international flights have bank-affiliated ATMs in my experience, so Ed, which airport are you referring to in your post?

Heathrow. But it's also true in Manchester. Edinburgh (unless you snoop around in a back corner upstairs in the departer section), Manchester, Singapore, all the Australia and New Zealand aoe's, the list goes on. You just can't count on getting a big wad at an airport anymore. A little out of Travelex, ect, won't break the bank, it just means you have to go through the same drill twice in that first day. Not a big deal, once you get into the ville there's no line and one in every block.

I'm with Bruce. There may be some small airports that don't have ATMs (I've had trouble finding ATMs around Ferry Terminals), but I've never arrived on an international flight and failed to find more than a few ATM choices before I reached the exit. Normally, I just stop at an ATM when I land. My emergency fund is some US currency in my moneybelt. If I have to, I can change it. Normally it makes it home never exchanged.

Heathrow has ATM's in every terminal. http://www.heathrow-airport-guide.co.uk/cash-facilities.html My experience matches Brad's.

It's not that Heathrow doesn't have atms, it's that they're not bank atms. Travelex has the lock on them. Sometimes the internet is broken and you have to go look around and see what's really there.

I get foreign cash at the Currency Exchange, a kind of money store in the local shopping mall. It has better exchange rates than my bank and waives further fees if you have their frequent customer card (which is free). Does such a place not exist in the US? Nobody ever mentions it when these questions come up. The reason we don't mention places like currency exchanges is that they tend to have the highest rates and fees. Perhaps the place you mention has better exchange rates than buying cash at your bank, but that will still be higher than just using an ATM in Europe. The business has to make their profit somehow or they would be out of business. It may be fine to buying some currency to have on hand on arrival, but is unwise financially for buying all of your expected currency. The exchange rate using an ATM is within 1% of that day's interbank rate. Bank fees range between 0-4% of the amount you withdraw. The lowest amount anyone here has ever been able to show by buying currency in N. America is 5% and most banks charge about 10%.

I know that one major downside of Travelex ATM's is that they push dynamic currency conversion (DCC). When you put your debit card into a Travelex ATM, the screen will say something like "This ATM offers conversion to your home currency." If you say yes to that innocent-sounding option, you get the always-terrible Travelex exchange rate. But if you decline that option, you'll get the same interbank rate as at any other ATM. And I could be wrong, but I don't remember being charged a usage fee by Travelex ATM's. Ed - is this correct?

Beats me. Heathrow and Turnhoues where in the last few months and it was grab and go since they were the only game in town and I was rushed. Brisbane and Christchurch were a few months before that. I'd time to study the situation and as best as I remember there was an early announcement of a fee involved. Singapore was way early last year and that was a hundred airports ago. I couldn't undejumble an exchange rate after the fact if I tried. At the two Britis airports, however, the machines were next to Travelex booths with posted rates which sucked.

I don't think anyone addressed how much money to keep in your checking account during your trip. Where are you going and for how long? Everyone's budget is different but I can tell you that it's best to overbudget. You don't want to run out of money in your checking account. I keep $1,000 per week of my trip in my account. This budget has worked in the eurozone and in England. I tend to travel on the cheap, preferring to buy food in grocery stores and eat in cafes or cheaper restaurants. I buy some souvenirs, including too many books, and prefer to pay cash. I like museums and historic sites but try to save money with museum passes or other options. Many museums in London are free, with VERY reasonable suggested donations. I paid the full suggested amount in each museum (no more than 5 pounds) because even that is such a deal, and I wanted to help support these amazing institutions. But you don't have to pay anything if you don't want to. I spent a week in Paris and one in London last September and put $2,000 in my checking account before I left. I brought 100 euros with me from my last trip, and made one withdrawal of 300 euros in Paris and one of 300 pounds in London. I still had some euros and pounds left over at the end of my trip. It's also important to keep the exchange rate in mind. 300 euros is about $391 right now, so you want to overbudget for the exchange rate as well as what you may buy while you're traveling. Hope this helps.

We are flying into Israel first then to Petra Jordan than onto Egypt anyone know the currency there then to Greece where they use eurp

In Israel it is the Shekel, Jordon - Dinar, Egypt - Pound. It is the Egyptian pound and not the English or Irish pound. And the Euro is Euro. There is no plural for the Euro.

Stay away from anything with the Travelex logo. Bad rates. If no other bank ATMs are available, then try to pay for transportation out of the airport with a credit card. Or have a cab driver stop at a real bank ATM on the way to the hotel. I am not kidding. They will do it.

Hi Brent, I always carry $200 emergency cash, enough for getting me to the embassy from wherever I am. As for how much money to take, just take out as much money as you feel comfortable carrying on you. For me, it really depends how much I want to pay in ATM fees vs how much cash to have on me. I try to pay for as much as I can with credit cards (lodging and trains) and pay for museums, food, souvenirs, etc with cash. I usually carry at least a weeks' worth of cash with me. Also, a fabulous discovery: AAA has Travel cards that are like traveler's checks but they are a debit card. So if you lose the money you can retrieve it (not sure how!). You do have to pay for the card, though, but I think it's a brilliant idea for peace of mind. Places don't take traveler's checks anymore.