money exchange for europe vs us dollar

Some banks have no exchange rates or fees for ATM use. Others charge as much as 3% plus a flat fee that amounts to another 1% on a $500 ATM withdrawal, so getting it over there is 1%-4%. The best rate I have found over here is Wells Fargo, which averages about 5%. So getting it over there is a better deal. The "Network" (Plus, MC, Cirrus, Visa, et al) charges all banks about ½% for currency conversion. Major banks, with foreign currency operations pay the Network in Euro and charge you 2-3% for their currency conversion. Small banks have no choice but to pay the network's charge plus an addition ½% for the transaction and pass the 1% on to you. You'll probably save by using a smaller bank or credit union. Not everyone here agrees with this, but I have been going over there for 10 years and every time I come back, I bring back €100-200 to have some money with me when I arrive the next time. I like the security of knowing I don't have to find a working ATM first thing. If I were going over for the first time, I would get some Euro as starting money. €140 would only cost $10-20 in extra exchange rate, for the security. And, BTW, notify your banks that you are going to be in Europe and making ATM withdrawals. Otherwise they might suspect fraud and put a hold on your account.

I'm flying into Germany with 1000 Euros and my Amex and Wells Fargo cards so from what I've read I'm fairly good to go in Germany and Austria. But I'm also going into the Czech Republic and Hungary and I'm wondering if there are ATM'S inside the borders or what used to be the borders because I never know when some cheap corny piece of tourist junk is going to catch my eye....I only need probably the equivalent of 10 or 20 bucks. Is it possible to exchange that much in Munich or its airport...sorry for the thread hijack...

Dutch - ATM's are everywhere in both Hungary & the Czech Republic. Sounds like you're already aware that neither of those two countries is on the euro.

Right Tom....I know those 2 countries have their own currencies, I wanted to hopefully find out if at the borderlines of these countries are there any official government facilities besides customs/passport ....are private banks and companies the only ATMs? Or is there nothing at the "border"....

Dutch - there are no longer any border controls between Germany or Austria and Czech Republic or Hungary. All are "Schengen" countries. You won't encounter any passport/customs offices at those borders.

1-Is your ATM card on the PLUS system? If so go tohttp://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/ will find you most all locations of their ATMS. You can search by bank name also, for example, Sporitelna seemed to be the biggest bank in Prague/Czech Republic, and their machines, all on PLUS, are all over the place.
2-follow some old threads here, and also material on the Graffiti Wall. CaptalOne can get you a money market account with an ATM Card that is on the PLUS system. No payment use, only ATM withdrawal. But they do not charge for the use of ATM machines, which means that if the machine you are using does not have a charge, and someone can correct this but it appears that European machines do not charge a fee for use, there is no charge for getting your money. more importantly, they give almost the published exchange rate. We lost not quite 1/2% on our withdrawals of local currency last summer, and it did not seem to matter where we took our cash (ie, Czech crowns or Euros). This is a much better deal than the fees for getting your currency here and carrying it. And you can fine tune your currency acquisition so that if you are in countries not using the euro you can easily plan your withdrawals so as to wind up with nothing left over. CapOne has a $500 per day withdrawal limit from your account.

Larry and Tom....thanks. I was getting conflicting information offline about all sorts of things including medical insurance requirements and currencies. I'm with a private group that has nailed down transportation and lodging but left a lot of things in the air and I want to know about a lot of things on my own. Muchas Gracias and Hakuna Matatta