the Euro

Look under Cash Passport we are having this discussion right now.

Bob, it is always best to buy Euro and stock for that matter at the low point. My biggest problem is that I never know the low point until it is has passed. If you buy Euro in the US, you will always pay a premium of 5 to 10% so the Euro would have to have a substantial and rapid increase in value before it makes financial sense to buy on this side of the water. Buy when you get there. Besides it might go down. Who knows ??

Why buy euros here? Use your ATM card in Germany as you would here in the states. It's much easier and you don't have to worry about so much money on you. I would never buy euros here and carry them to Europe.

While it's true you're going to come out on the short end of the stick buying EUROs in the U.S. it is nice to have a small bit of cash when you land for a few small things. Get $50 or $100 worth (some banks have a minimum). In the overall scene it's chump change. That said I have gone over with almost no money in EUROs and have never ever had a problem getting money from an ATM at the airport (usually located outside of Customs in Germany). I get 400 EUROS at a crack over there and therefore pay the fee only once vs. alot of small withdrawals. Keep the bulk in your money belt. Oh, and be sure you have a 4 digit pin and use your checking NOT savings account. I dump in however much I think I'll spend into my checking and notify my bank of my intended travel plans (IMPORTANT...no point in them freezing your account for possible fraud and having them call your home number when you are way way out of town). Wells Fargo set up a special ATM checking account for me just for travel. It is not linked to any of my other family/business accounts so it acts like a firewall. This last bit intended for those traveler's who are on the go frequently.

Bob,

The method I normally use is to take a small quantity of Euro's (usually about Eu$100) to get me started, and then use ATM's after that. That works well for Taxi or shuttle from the Airport, train tickets, snacks or whatever.

I like to have at least two ATM cards on different accounts (as well as at least one credit card). As a previous post mentioned, use a chequing account rather than savings with a four-digit PIN.

Be sure to notify your Bank of the dates that you'll be travelling in Europe, so they don't freeze your account. Also, be sure to review their rates concerning foreign ATM withdrawals, so that you'll have a clear idea on what these will cost. Withdrawing larger amounts is one way to minimize the service charges. You might also check with your Bank to verify or perhaps increase your daily withdrawal limit, keeping in mind that this may differ in Europe when currency conversions are a factor.

Happy travels!

Michelle, I'm not saying you should bring enough cash with you for your entire trip. Just that worrying about how much you are carrying is not logical, considering the relative consequences of losing some cash vs. losing all your cards that far from home.

I don't go over with a lot of cash, just about €200 brought back from my last trip. But I do hit the ATM as soon as I get there, which means I have over €500 on me, from the start. I usually don't let my cash get below €200, and as soon as I know I can get enough from the ATM to finish my trip, I do.

As for using a credit card in Germany, the country is still fundementally a cash society. Big, expensive chain hotels will take plastic, but the small, family run Privatzimmer (B&Bs), that I love to stay at for the cultural experience, never take credit cards, and they are so much less expensive. My total cost for accommodations (with breakfast) last month was €444 (less than $600) for 13 nights. My accommodations for at least 7 of those nights did not take credit cards.

I am debating whether or not to get Euros now for our trip in June as well. I figure I dont want to carry that much cash with me and the fees here will counteract any savings I get if the Euro goes up, so I'm just going to get a small amount now. I also am trying to pay for as much as possible by credit card now so I lock in the good exchange rate. I am looking to book my hotels and excursions now at the good rate, which are the most expensive items I would have to pay Euros for anyways.

Michelle...your idea of booking at a "good" rate may be flawed.

Let's say you book a room now for 100 euros a night. And lets say one euro is now $1.25 USD. So you'd be paying $125/night.

But let's say when you travel, the exchange rate is now $1.50. You'll still be charged 100 euro (hotels in Europe charge in Euros) but you'll be paying $150 US for the same room with the new exchange rate. Unless you can get the hotel to charge you now...which is rare....look to get the best rate in Euros and not book when the exhange rate it good.

I dont want to carry that much cash with me.

Why not? Carry it in your money belt. That's what I do; along with my credit and ATM cards. I don't dare lose my money belt, but if I did, the loss of cash would be a minor problem compared to the loss of my cards. Without the cards I would have no way to pay for the rest of my trip.

I dont want to carry enough cash with me for all my hotels for 2 weeks. I dont even carry cash in the US, just prefer cards to anything else. I am trying to book at placs that will let me pre-pay the whole thing up front, there are actually some really good deals out there that require you to pay in full, I'm going to wait a while to book these because they are not refundable, but will still try to do this in advance of actually going.