money and europe

In my oopinion, ATM.

I got a few Euros (50) stateside, just to have some upon arrival. Since then and for the past month I have been using exclusively ATMs. Haven't had a problem, it works great, it is so easy and the rates you get are so much better. just make sure you tell your bank you're going away to Europe right before you go so they don't put a hold on your card. Can't imagine traveling any other way!

Use a credit card for major purchases and get cash from ATMs for everything else. There are some important things to do BEFORE leaving home to be sure your cards will work in Europe. It's all here in Rick's article: www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm.

It is impossible to avoid all fees when using debit and credit cards. However, debit and credit will give the best exchange rate approaching the international bank exchange rate. All cards will be charged a 1% network fee (Plus, Cirrus) which is buried in the basic exchange rate that you receive. After that all fees have to be identified on your monthly statement. Most credit cards will add 2 to 4% as a currrency exchange fee. And it will be added even if the credit card charge is in dollars so don't let them put dollars on your credit card. The only credit card that I am aware of that does not add the currency conversion fee is Capitol One -- could be others but you need to carefully with your card issuers.

Debit cards are another issue. Their fees can be all over the place from a one time transaction fee to a percentage, a combination of fees, and no fees beyond the network fee. Call and ask lots of questions.

You can't avoid fee for credit cards, bt the best rate you will get it from a bank, inside or using their ATM.the bottom line is that with all the fees you'd pay on a credit card, you'd better off getting cash from your credit card.
I know this for sure because a few years ago i checked both ways, and it was cheaper to withdraw money fram a CC.
Airports will give you the worst rate.
Have fun!

Withdrawing money on a credit card usually means that you lose the grace period before finance charges accrue and start owing interest immediately on withdrawal. You have to factor that in to the fees, too.

Frank,

I think it's a typo, but wanted to make sure. I believe Capitol One is the only card that does NOT charge conversion fees. Am I mistaken?

From my research Capital One (& Discover - which is only accepted in North America and parts of Central America) are the only credit cards with zero foreign transaction fees.

Check with a credit union if you can. My credit union only passes along the 1% fee from Visa and does not add any additional charges on the debit or credit cards. However I do get a $1.50 fee if I do more than 4 ATM transactions in a monthly period.

as an addendum to this question...I have not been abroad in ten years and things have changed obviously. Is it better to forgo the old school travellers checks and just do what everyone else here is suggesting..go with some Euros in hand and use the ATM as you go along?? Heading to Ireland in October and need some refreshers on travelling.

thanks from a first time poster!

LisaVee....yes, dump the travellers' cheques. Get some Euro before you leave if you can, and use ATMs throughout. Travellers' cheques are hardly accepted by anyone anymore, and they usually charge a substantial fee to cash them. Take ATM cards on two different accounts if you can, in case one gets lost/stolen. Make sure your bank knows you'll be overseas. And make sure your PIN number is 4 digits long (no letters). Most ATMs are affiliated with a bank...avoid the private ones that have no bank connection (like the ones you find in some convenience stores) since they'll tack on another fee. As others have mentioned just below in the "Classical view" category, B of A is affiliated with several European banks, so that will save you some transaction fees.

Try to withdraw from ATMs in 20E notes. Many places dislike having to break a 50 E note.

I don't mean to be trite here, and I know we all want to save monet, BUT...it seems to be this mind set that nobody wants to pay for convenience!

Yes, it pays to shop around for a bank with minimum fees, but you reach a certain point where you also need to factor in convenience and security. Gettng cash as you go through ATM's is the most convenient, most secure (not having to carry around large sums of money), and these things cost. It almost seems that people don't think they should have to pay anything for this!

LisaVee, take a look at Rick's book "Europe Thru the Back Door". A great overview of how to travel, stay safe, etc. Rick notes that he ditched travelers checks a few years ago.

Some ATMs give you large notes - only - others - divi up cash into various notes... never noticed any ATM that asked how you wanted your cash! if you get all 50/100s - walk into the branch and get change.

re: Cards - get a Capitol One card with NO fees - not even the MC/Visa 1% fee. ATM fees range from $5 or more if there is no special partner ship with the US-Euro banks (some have them).

Also remeber that CC-companys trade on the better bank-rates for exchange so usually you get the best rate with them - as they wait until the best day/rate of the month (at least they used to - today it may be more instant - but still at "bank-rates"). But otherwise stick to big-name national or international ATM banks for best exchange (and avoid the money-changer offices if you can).

I just returned from Europe & I took $100 US with me - didn't take any Euros. Then in Amsterdam's airport, I took out my max Euros from a checking account I opened for the trip. I personally never get Euros stateside. I just take the $100 in case of atm breakdowns...That way, no extra fees unless I am forced to exchange my $$ into Euros.

The checking account is from UFB Direct (www.ufbdirect.com) - it's totally online, no fees WHATSOEVER & they even reimburse u for other atm fees, up to $6/statement I believe! For CCs, I took a Capital One Visa card (as mentioned, NO fees) & another Visa card as a backup. No problems at all!! It was definitely the way to go!! :)

I agree with Mende.I take several hundred US dollars and tuck them in my Money Belt.I usually bring them home as I use ATMs.In an emergency US money is good anywhere.

Wow, how arrogant. American money is not good in a lot of places and in a lot of emergencies.
Next time you discover your CC doesn't work at the gas station ,, try paying them with your American money. Like to see that happen.
I can't believe some people would be so disrespectful to think they could use their foreign ( and not doing too well,) currency in any country, at any time. Sure a bank will exchange it, but if you are able to get to a bank you are most likely not in an actual emergency.
My bank does not charge me a transaction fee for foreign withdrawels, of course I pay a yearly fee, but that covers many other services and accounts we have. .
I always arrive with at least 100 euros ( or pounds for UK) , or for that matter, when we go to Hawaii, we make sure we arrive with some American money,, just in case Atm at airport is broken, or long line, or we are tired and just want to go to hotel right away .

With regard to ATM withdrawl fees, you can look online at your bank's website and see if there are some "Fee-free" banks you can withdraw at. Bank of America offers free ATM withdraws at certain places in UK, France, Germany, China, etc.

Pat, there isn't any need to call anyone arrogant. If you feel you need to call names, maybe best not to post.

I agree it's not a good idea to "name call," and in my experience, depending on the country and where you are in it, they WILL take American$ and even some places (like much of China) actually prefer it and will offer you a better deal if you use it! In Shanghai you could get 1 pack of postcards (10 cards) for 10 RMB (about $1.25), or 3 packs (30 cards) for one American dollar. This is especially true of vendors and "street sellers."
Many places we've been they give the prices in local currency,Euros AND American $ and/or GBP. Turkey, for example, only required Turkish lira for certain attractions, but always asked us if we had American $ to spend at other places. It WAS fun however to pull 100 million lira out of our bank account . . . my husband saved a million Turkish lira for all his coworkers (13 million=about 13 dollars) so they could be "millionaires."
For me, a mix of local currency, use my credit card for some things, my ATM for others and have some American dollars too

I am used to my countrys money not being worth much in other places, and I would never dream of assuming it should be my emergency back up anywhere, not even when I go to the States which is just over the border.

Sherry is right, there are many places where American money is accepted (I had the same experience in China -- wasn't it fun?).

The focus of this board is to help those who have legitimate questions and desire honest answers to enhance their travel experience. It is not a sounding board for personal bias or prejudice, nor an opportunity to slam the comments of others and doing so violates the spirit of the blogs on this Traveller's Helpline. You may wish to review your remarks before you hit the "post" button -- some comments have come off as confrontational, aggressive and unpleasant. Sticking to the topic at hand is much more appropriate.

On my trip, I took Euros, but also Canadian dollars AND American dollars in case of emergency because I felt that USD would be a more widely accepted currency than CAD. It has zero to do with how I feel about "my" country's currency vs. "your" country's currency and everything to do with smart travel. Of course, I didn't try to spend USD randomly and expect businesses to accept them. My USD were solely to buy my way out of a problem, should have arisen.

I just purchased euros and pounds in the USA. Circumstances "made" me do it!! Now that you've stopped shaking your heads. I "over purchased" the pounds. Rate: 2.1583. I bought 100 pounds rather than 100 dollars worth. :-(
Is there anyone in the Portland, Oregon area that would like to purchase 50 pounds for the rate I paid (107.91).It is now up from two days ago. Would you be willing to pay $3.00 for part of the fee? Either way, I am interested in selling you some pounds. Our layover is long but not that long to spend $215.00 in food or souvenirs.
Look forward to hearing from you. Grazie. B

At the airport, use the ATM and not the currency exchange booth if you want to save money. I carry USD only to have cash for what I need in the USA. When I return from Europe, I bring euros and GBP back with me to have as a starter fund for my next trip. I use a Bank Of America debit card for caah at certain bank ATMs, and the CapitolOne credit card for credit payments, not for cash advances. Of course the cash advance feature can be used in emergencies or as a backup plan.

I use credit card for large purchases; hotels, train tickets. I never use it for cash advance (ATM is the cheaper way to go). I do bring US cash (connecting in the US to get overseas - you may get stuck in Chicago, NY, etc.) for emergencies. I also get some Euros (or other currency) in advance so I don't have to worry about it when I'm exhausted from long flights. Since I usually take a shuttle or taxi from the airport back to my home, I always leave what ever that is going to cost, at home.

As for buying too many Pounds - why don't you convert them to whatever currency you are going to need at the airport when you arrive?

P.S. I have friends who travel, and I have been able to buy back Euros/Swiss Francs, etc. from them saves me a trip before I go. :-)

This is a good discussion (aside from some comments). I like the idea of getting that special (and separate) account that Mende mentioned. I will do that for my trip in December.

I too, took several hundred dollars for emergency's sake with me to Italy this past May. I did NOT expect to use the US currency somewhere, but rather, I went to the bank and exchanged it for Euro's towards the end of my trip.
Back to the Thom's questions. I think a combination of US cash, a few Euros before you go and then ATM and CC. It depends on the comfort level of each traveler. (I determined long ago that Traverers checks were no longer a good option).

Now, if only the dollar to Euro was better. :-)

Question, those of you who say you are going to , or a have used a CC, do you mean you do a Cash Advance on it? I have always used my CC for big ticket items, train ticket and hotel, but have always thought that using it as a cash card was really wasteful as you start to pay interest the minute the money is advanced, regardless if one pays monthly balance on time and in full.

I have left my own country with 20 dollars of my own currency, just enough to buy an airport coffee so to speak, it just seems so strange to carry large amounts of cash, and not actually intend to use it( emergency cash) I mean,, carrying travellers checks was the " safe " thing to do years ago, now ATM cards are the " safe" thing to do, the theory being carrying large amounts of cash which if lost or stolen are unreplaceable.
It does still strike me as "unsafe" to carry around hundreds of dollars,, and I assume most emergencies involve losing or having something stolen, usaully ones purse or wallet.

In my experience I have found that in Europe US money is good many places.The rate may not be good however.In Ireland after leaving the Dublin Airport we had no euros and got on a toll roaad by mistake.Guess what they took a 5.00 US bill.No problem.

We returned 3 weeks ago and used ATM debits (at banks exclusively) This worked well except for now someone evidently got ahold of our number and is charging all over Europe. It pays to keep your receipts and double check your on-line balance and statements when you get home-unfortunately there are thieves about!

Has anyone done the prepaid debit card thing? I know AAA and of course Visa, etc. have the prepaid debit cards with pin #. I was thinking of taking the credit card for hotel and big payments and using 1 or 2 of the debit cards like an ATM and withdrawing cash that way so that I'm not taking my personal ATM card.

The only drawback I can see to the prepaid cards is the fee to start it up. My credit union has a VISA version, but there is a fee for buying it. The advantage of it is that it's not tied to your "real" money at home, but sometimes that connection can be handy, too. I get paid by direct deposit, so if I'm traveling with my regular ATM card, I can access this week's check from Ireland or wherever. With the prepaid card you are limited to what you load it with.