travelers checks

Travelers checks are not useful. Period. Doesn't matter what currency they are issued in you'd have a VERY hard time finding any merchant, hotel or even bank who'd accept them. Getting your cash from an ATM is still one of the easiest, safest and most efficient way to deal with currency in Europe.

The big issue is fraud or counterfeit. Anyone with some good paper and colored printer can make one. There is no standard travelers check. There is enough problems with counterfeit fifty dollars bills which is why 20s are preferred.

As Beatrix said, it is very difficult to find a place to cash them or use them. Not worth it!! Use your credit or debit card instead.

Besides the fees for trying to cash them at banks,,, the reality is most places simply do not take them. I wouldn't bother with them,, I have used my ATM for the last 15 years or so and swore off travellers checks since then.

Question - Why would you want to use something in your own words "isn't useful and expensive"? Where is the logic in that? If you are coming to Germany, you can't use travelers checks at all and the only place that will cash them are expensive and rare money exchnges, usually only located in large train stations and the airport. Even banks won't take them.

My worst travel experience yet involved the ENTIRE DAY that it took my cousin to find an open American Express office to change his travelers checks. This was two years ago, in Paris. While my mother and her sister (his mom) cooled their heels in a cafe, he stumped endlessly around Paris, not finding an open office, and making them WAIT and waste an entire day! Their planned trip to Versailles? Never happened. All because of those stupid travelers checks. These days, your cards work just fine.

No. Travelers. Checks. Any. Currency. They're. Dead. RIP.

No. Travelers. Checks. Any. Currency. They're. Dead. RIP.

Thank you all for your valuable input. The travelers check question is answered for me. RIP.