Travelers Checks or Wells Fargo ATM for Euros

If you do find anyone to cash your travelers checks, the exchange rate probably won't be very good (that was my experience in 2000, the last time I used TCs). ATMs (at least ones attached to banks) will usually give you a better rate. Unless you have a "privileged" (i.e. high balance) account, Wells Fargo will charge you 3% exchange rate plus $5 (about 4% total). Better, look around for a local bank or credit union that only passes on the 1% charged by the Network.

Take them to your local bank and cash them in. There are close to worthless in Europe. Not even good for back up. The big issue is fraud. Anyone with a good color printer can make TCs. A debit card at a bank owned ATM is the most convenient and cheapest way to obtain foreign currency.

Ditto Lee and Frank. Amex has closed many of its offices in Europe, and it's very hard to find a place that will cash traveler's checks. The ones that do often have a fee per check and/or a poor exchange rate, and it can take time (the last time I used them, in a bank in a small town in Italy in the late 1990's, it took almost an hour). Do look around for a credit union or bank with better rates for ATM withdrawals. I use TD Bank, where my account type has no surcharges for foreign ATM withdrawals; my Chase account charges $5 plus 3% for every withdrawal. But, even with fees, ATM's are the way to go - much better rates, much more convenient (they're everywhere), and much faster.

Yep - blow the dust off those old TC and turn them back into the bank here in the USA. Nobody wants your TC in Europe, for sure. Why would you use Wells Fargo??? I used my local credit union's ATM card and got a very good exchange rate with 0 fees or foreign atm charges. Dump and travelers checks and dump the big banks atm cards.

What Tim said. Wells Fargo charges $5 plus 3% on every transaction. You can find lots of options that charge only 1% with no flat fee. There are also some brokerages that offer free ATM withdrawals, if the account restrictions work for you. Travelers Checks don't work any more. Banks don't even want to take them.

What do you mean by "supply"? If you have already spent the money and transformed that into a traveler check, then you appear to have made your decision. Personally, I prefer just using ATMs as I go along.

My assumption was a "supply" left over from another trip and the question was to use on the next trip. I think the question has been very well answered.

2 years ago I had 2 Travelers Checks I got stuck with and it was a pain to get rid of them in France. And they were in Euros. Hotels didn't want them, banks wouldn't cash them (unless I had an account with them!); I managed to get them cashed at a post office for a high fee.