What's the best place to get Euros in the US?

I got a handful from my own bank. Ask and they may give you a decent exchange rate and a low fee (if any). If you use your credit card to get them from Wells Fargo (for example), you'll be charged a fee from your credit card.

I've seen the details of 2 transactions in the last couple of weeks where people got euros from their bank before leaving. The bank "sells" you €100 at an exchange rate that is 4% to 5.5% higher than the interbank rate that the bank "buys" the euros at. The banks often call this a "no fee" transaction. What's actually happening is the bank buys let's say €100 at the interbank rate, which today is about $1.57 and sells the €100 to you for $164 or $165. You could have gotten the interbank rate + 2% to 3% at an ATM machine once in Europe (if the exchange rate stays the same, but who knows?) or by using your credit card to pay for a hotel (not for a credit card cash advance) once in Europe. You could look at it this way: What the traveler gets in exchange for paying the $1.64 instead of $1.61 is arriving at the first airport with €100 in their pocket and not being a little concerned about what if their ATM card doesn't work at the airport, for some unknown reason (which has been regularly reported here).The traveler should not be focused on whether the bank is making a profit (they will) but rather on what bottom-line exchange rate they are actually paying: that is, to buy €100 euros from the bank, it's costing me how much in dollars and how does that exchange rate (e.g., $165 / €100) compare to the interbank rate that day + 2% to 3%, which you could get from an ATM machine in Europe.And Eric (see below) is correct: It's not widely known, but European ATMs are programmed to photographically scan you and if you're a man and are wearing shorts, forget it, you're not getting any money and the machine eats your card.)

I think if you wear shorts at the ATM, its guaranteed to not give you cash. ; )

Fernando, there's an American Express Travel store that I got my Euros. The exchange rate was "so-so" and they charged me a flat fee to get currency. You can give them a call.

Someone posted here to try the Auto Club. That place is the biggest rip. They make the bank look like angels.

There's really no way out of a 4%-5% transaction fee of some type to get Euros from your bank. AAA seems a bit higher. It's all about peace of mind of having a few Euros in your pocket when you arrive. We needed that peace of mind for our earlier trip. We paid a #39 fee/charge/whatever to the bank to get 500 Euros (exchange rate was much lower). $39 is a nit compared to the thousands and thousands of dollars that you will spend on your trip. Don't think twice about getting Euros before your departure. Just bring some home for your next trip.

I know that it is a rip-off, but starting out with a least 100 GBP or 100 Euros makes sense (it allows you to grab a cab if you want from the airport). I always get enough foreign currency at the Airport before departure to tide me over until I get to a Bank ATM in the first city I land in.

Try to use ATM machines attached to banks (these usually charge the least and give you the greatest withdrawal options)...many of the convenience ATMs have very strict limits on how much you can withdraw...much less than your bank allows, while hitting you with high fees.

I always seem to travel to LHR, so once I get by passport control and customs, I head to one of the dozen ATMs. For Euros I have never experienced any problem getting money at the train station or at the airport either.

Now, being said that I probably jinxed myself for next month :(

Thanks so much for your suggestions.
I have one question, when I get to London LHR the ATM machines give both pounds and euros ?

Noooooo !! Pounds only.

Thank you Frank. I'll get pounds for my stay in London, but since I'll be going to Paris and Venice I need to get the euros as well.

You can purchase Euros at your local AAA ( Triple A ) Office. They have small Travel Packs ( 10 Euros )on hand, and you can purchase up to 1.000 Euros from them.
You have to PreOrder and Pay for the larger amounts. It will take a few days for them to arrive. The Fee is $ 12.95

We have gotten foreign currency through AAA several times including just today. If you buy a thousand dollars worth there is no service charge or shipping charge. As far as I can tell the exchange rate we paid was very fair and was the official exchange rate listed tody. The delivery was over night and that's from Louisville, KY to Lewiston, Idaho. I believe this purchase was less expensive than if we would have used an ATM to get this much foreign currency in the country we are going to. The company AAA uses is Travelex, and I'm aware of the bad-mouthing here of that company. I can't complain.

Monte, as far as you can tell the exchange rate you paid was very fair from AAA. We can do the math. Tell how much you paid, how much you received, what shipping cost, and we can figure the markup.

We use our credit union. Their exchange rate is as good as ATMs abroad. The catch is the $15.00 transaction fee. We solved this by taking out a lot of euros- enough to make it cheaper than using the ATMs. In a month of traveling we made our first ATM withdrawal two weeks out. If you have a largish credit union, it's worth checking their rates. In my experience banks rarely have a good rate, to the extent that I'd rather use the overpriced exchanges in the airports, than U.S. banks. You'll pay through the nose, but less than you would at home. We have also used a simpler homier solution. We always come back with about five to ten Euros. Ask your friends who have gone recently. Take their left overs. Promise to return it.

Monte, you should complain. Today, the international exchange rate from Oanda is $1.23/€ (1.23134). The rate from Wells Fargo is $1.30/€. You can get that rate at a Wells Fargo bank. I just checked the Travelex website, and their rate is $1.37/€. If I were in Europe today, using my local bank's ATM card would cost me less than $1.25/€ (plus $2.50 per transaction). So getting 1000€ over there in 3 withdrawals would cost me $1251. Travelex deserves the "bad-mouthing" they get. BTW, I always bring back a hundred or more Euro to have with me the next time I go over.

I thought for a second that Kent had returned as a regular poster... then I noticed, this thread began 5 years ago!

Thanks all for your replies.. I'm surprised that I posted the original question 4 years ago and now is coming back.not sure why.... This is what I did 4 years ago: I got a few pounds and Euros from my bank just to have peace of mind and once I arrived there I used the ATM machines. Using the ATM machines is the best way even with the small fee they charge. Then when I came back I saved a few pounds and Euros and it just happens that after 4 years I'm going back in September 2012.. so I'll be using my leftover money and I plan to use my ATM again. Last month when the Euro dropped I calculated if it would be better to buy in the bank at a low price.. but again even if the Euro went back to the normal rate of 1.35 to 1.40 I still do much better using the ATM since the banks always sell higher and assess a fee.. By the way this also work for countries in asia.. i've gone to China and Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and the system works similar.. Only in Thailand they pay good for american cash and they pay more for bills of 100 dollars than smaller denominations.. but thats a topic for another thread.

We live in Podunk, USA, and our bank people did not have a clue how to get European $$ (Euros and pounds) for us for our upcoming trip, so Husband went up to AAA, got what we needed, no problems.

I work at Wells Fargo Bank and I got my foreign currency there (not just euros but also Swedish money and Czech as well) for a discount. If you know anyone in your life who works at a bank; ask them to help you! They probably get a discount where they work. I definitely recommend getting euros before you go. ATMs can be hard to use and understand and you will feel better not having the added stress of having to get money as well as buy your bus/tram/metro ticket once you get to the airport in Europe.
Have fun on your trip!!

I went to Austria and Italy this summer. I brought NO euros nor dollars. When I arrived at the Vienna airport, I used one of the many ATMs. The ATMs have english language buttons. They are extremely easy to use. I paid NO penalty. I paid NO fees. It all depends on your own bank.

I went to the Czech Republic in May. Before I went, I bought 400 Czech Koruna, enough to cover my rail fare from Germany to Prague at Wells Fargo. I spent the previous three nights in Zwiesel, Bayerischer Wald, on the Czech border. According to my host in Zwiesel, none of the ATMs in Zwiesel gave Koruna. I used the transit pass I got with my room to get to the border at Bayerisch Eisenstein and bought a ticket to Prague at the Czech Rail counter there, using the Koruna I brought from home. I might have been able to pay in Euro at the Czech Rail counter, but I don't know that. So having Czech money with me was the only safe way. Once I got to Prague, I used the ATM in the train station to get enough Koruna for the rest of my trip. BTW, Wells Fargo charged me 14% discount for the Czech Koruna here, the same as Travelex charges (but Wells only discounts Euro by 5% vs 10% from Travelex). At the ATM, I got Koruna for 1% over the Interbank rate plus $2.50, which my bank charges to use any "foreign" ATM, even the one in the grocery store 2 miles from home.