What is the best way to get Euros prior to your trip?
The exchange rate online is 1.26, but the banks charge 1.34. The reason why I need it before I leave is that I have to pay for the apartment (655 Euros) we rented upon arrival in Paris. I would prefer to get it there, but I am unsure if I can take that much out at an ATM machine at any one time. They accept cash or travellers checks.
Your advise is welcomed. Thank you in advance.
Paul,
Check with your bank, most have daily limits per card not per account so you can take out the daily limit and your partner using a different card on the same account can take out the daily limit. If the bankomat you use has a lower transaction limit than your bank's daily limit just let the machine reset then do another transaction.
If your bank won't raise the limit call around to other banks in your town. Find one with low out of network ATM fees, no conversion fees, and no monthly fees on checking (fees levied by the check) and free ATM cards. Deposit half your vacation money in the new checking account and now you have doubled the amount you can withdraw
Do not take travelers checks. Getting money from an ATM is best. Second best is changing dollars over at a French bank, though changing money in the states is about equal to that. Changing money at a "money exchange" will leave you worse off then getting euros in the states, but is still an option in case your bank charges you a fee for doing this. You are in Seattle, shop around. That 1.34 rate will change every day anyway, maybe up, maybe down. None of us knows for sure.
Read some of the myriad posts on this forum about changing money.
Thank you for all of your advice and help. The second part of the equation, which I failed to mention was that we arrive in France after banks are closed (7:00 pm) and therefore only have the the option of bringing the Euros or using the ATM immediately upon arrival.
Is France your first stop? 1900 seems a strange time to be landing in France. Flights from the states usually land in the morning in Europe with a few straying into early afternoon. If this isn't a direct flight, perhaps you can change money at one of the other stops.
Jo-
I know, I wish we were landing in the morning, but we have a 2 hour layover in London.
I suggest that you set up an account with www.xe.com/fx and send a bank draft in euros to the landlord in Paris. I use my account to send money to relatives in the UK and to pay deposits at B&Bs that don't accept credit cards. XE takes money from my checking account by electronic transfer, issues a bank draft in the currency of my choice, and mails it directly to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international exchange rate for the day on which the transaction is processed. There are no other fees. For security purposes it takes some time and effort to set up an account, but everything goes smoothly and swiftly after that. If you don't want to pay in advance, you probably can have the draft issued in the landlord's name and mailed to your home so you can deliver it in person. (However, I've never done that myself.)
XE also does wire transfers, but they cost more. Having XE send drafts to Europe by regular mail has worked fine for me.
Hey Paul you can go downtown to Travellex at Westlake Center Mall, there's also one in Bellevue and at SeaTac. The rates seemed decent. Maybe you can get some here and then withdraw the rest, but I would take it with me due to the intervention of Murphy's law.
Paul - We always go to Europe with 2-3 ATM cards from different bank accounts. We have never lost or not been able to use one (big bank, internet bank and credit union) but we have used more than one on occasion to get larger amounts of currecy to pay for lodging.
