When/where to get euros

I am leaving for Europe in 3 weeks. I went last time with no cash at all, and had a bit of difficulty getting some at first. So this time I decide to try before I go. I can not get Euros from a bank any where near where I live, but the local Triple A office does an exchange. Has anyone use this before?

I would advise you to order a couple hundred Euro before you go. Once there, just use your ATM card. Depending on how you are paying for hotels, you don't need to "withdraw as much as you can each time". I took out 300 Euro every couple of days and did just fine. I have not been to Ireland, but my stragety worked fine in Germany, Austria, and France.

It's not necessary to get euros before going. Once you get to Ireland get some from the ATM at the airport, you will get a better exchange rate. Get out enough for at least acouple of days, then more as needed. I hope you are planning to use some type of a money belt.

There seem to be two major schools of thought here. One is to order some Euros so you can hit the ground with a little money in your pocket....The other being, bring your debit card and use an ATM in the airport....I'm in the second group. I've never landed in an airport where you had to walk ten steps out of your way to use an ATM. Why take the time/spend extra to get Euros before your trip?...I will say that my recent trip in the Baltics left me in many ports where ATMs were much harder to find....Some people paid a lot to get money on the boat and probably were better off (if not financially) for it....We spent a little of our limited time looking for an ATM before we were up to speed.

....then there was the time I landed at Madrid's Barajas airport, and all the ATMs were out of service because a construction crew had cut a fibre optic cable somewhere....

To follow on to Norm's point, you have a different situation than most travellers on this board if you have only an ATM/Debit card and no second Credit Card. I would not travel with only an ATM card and no other potential back-up for cash. If you have no credit card, then I would definitely take a supply of US Dollars as back-up, and if you have easy access, get some Euros from Wells Fargo or another good bank that will not charge outrageous fees. Only exchange money at an airport as a last resort, they seem to have the worst rates. If you are concerned about carrying cash as a back-up, you may have a case for one of the few remaining reasons for Travellers Checks, as emergency stash.

Pearl, I would highly recommend obtaining at least €100 to use for "travelling funds" until you get settled. I've found over many trips that I'm usually NOT in the mood to stop and use ATM's when I'm jet lagged, tired and trying to get my luggage off the carousel and get to my Hotel. You should be able to obtain Euro's at your Bank, but they may need a day or two advance notice to order them in. I would HIGHLY recommend taking a "backup" ATM card in case there are issues with your primary card. I'd normally recommend a credit card also, but it appears that won't be possible for this trip. There are some pre-paid credit cards available, but I'll have to rely on others here to provide information on those. You MAY be able to obtain these at Wal-Mart or other large retailers. Keep in mind that your travel funds must usually be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. Be sure to notify your financial institution that you'll be travelling abroad, and it would also be a good idea to review your daily withdrawal limits with them. I WOULDN'T recommend Traveller's Cheques, as you'll have trouble cashing them and will likely pay horrific charges for the "priviledge". You will probably also get very unfavourable exchange rates for U.S. dollars, depending on where you exchange them. Which part of Ireland are you going to? Happy travels!

Lisa - check the bank-to-bank exchange rate against AAA's exchange rate before you buy euros from them. Before my most recent trip in July, I went to AAA to buy euros. The bank-to-bank rate was about 80 euros to $100, but AAA was going to give me 65 euros for $100 because that's what they paid for them (and understandably, they didn't want to lose money). But I went to my bank and got a better rate (100 euros for $137, not great but better). Does your bank not carry euros? Is there a main or central branch you can go to for them? If not, and if you want to have some cash on you when you get to Europe, I would say just bite the bullet and buy some euros from AAA.

Please check out another section of this web site: "Graffiti Wall > Money/Communication>ATM..." It explains how to use ATM cards when you get to Europe for their currencies rather than getting ripped off by buying them here. In the last 10 years I have never had a problem getting local currencies at the airport after I land in Europe. As someone else posted, if you do not have a credit card or back-up ATM DEBIT CARD, better take along some US $ just in case anything goes bad with your one card. I spend a month in Ireland and certainly learned a lot I did not know from reading books before hand. Happy travels.

A few of us have (in the recent past) researched the 'best' place to buy Euros in the USA; lucky for you it was Wells Fargo. And probably is today, as well. You can check their website for locations in your area that sell foreign currencies (probably most, if not all, locations); give them a call first so they can make sure someone is there who can handle the transaction. Many of us start with €100 or so...(and hang on to some when you return home, if you plan on returning soon). Then, let W-F know that you'll be out of the country. Otherwise, your ATM card won't work!!! Make sure you have some other source of funds just in case something happens with your ATM card - things happen.

Hey, Thanks for all your advice! My mom bought some euros and pounds (for N. Ireland) from Wells Fargo today.. exchange rate was 1.33USD and 1.49USD for 1EUR and 1pound, respectively... not too bad, right? I'm glad to hear that my bank has some of the better exchange rates though! I am planning to bring my ATM card. Actually, I do have a credit card with Citibank and I'm bringing that too, I just couldn't get a Capitol One card because I didn't have enough credit. Thanks again!

Pearl, I think you have an error. The pound rate of $1.49/£ is less than the interbank rate of $1.5514/£ for August 31st. Wells Fargo is unlikely to have made a mistake like that, but it is remotely possible that they sold your mother pounds at the rate they have for buying them. The euro rate looks good, a 4.6% markup over the interbank rate of $1.2703/€.

Any National Bank should be able to get Euros, sometimes it's a little hard to know National Banks from others because they all look alike.....Why on Earth worry about the cost of getting Euros from AAA vs. a bank? Sure it's a rip-off but if you were worried about cost, you wouldn't buy Euros ahead of time, right?....I always carry some US cash to exchange in an emergency (such as a broken fiber optic line). Most often it returns with me without being spent. Since I don't exchange it into Euros then back into Dollars, there is no cost associated with this back up, unless I use it.

I'm sure you're already planning this but just to restress. Use your credit card for purchases only. Using a credit card to get cash is probably one of the worst deals going and should only be done in emergencies when all other options have been exhausted.

Hear hear, Brad. Hopefully the OP already knows this, but credit card cash advances are a terrible idea unless you are absolutely desperate - with Citibank, you are looking at APR in the neighbourhood of 29% or more. On purchases, their foreign transaction fee is around 3%. Not too bad, but I will be leaving it at home in favour of my credit union Visa CC with only 1% fee.

On my last trip to Europe I had to make an inconvenient special trip to an out-of-my-way bank (in Los Angeles) just to get Euros. I also had to pre-order them. Now that I've found out the AAA (just walking distance from where I live) can provide Euros in $100 increments, heck, that's where I'm going this year. I'll be exhausted from my long flight to Rome in October and will be glad when I arrive at the Rome airport that I'll already have a little cash in case I need to pay for something (beverage, snack, taxi) for my comfort.

Years ago, AAA in Denver was getting their Euro (Euro is the official plural of Euro) from Wells Fargo and selling them at the same rate. It would have cost more in gas for me to go to the main WF branch in downtown Denver to get them directly. . . . ¶ The last time I was there, they were getting them from Travelex, which probably has the WORST exchange rate anywhere.

And just for the fun of it, the EU seems a lot more concerned that EVERYBODY calls the Singular unit 'euro'. Many countries (incl. European ones) use 'euros' and 'cents', per the traditional custom of such countries (dollars, centimes, céntimos). The EU uses them interchangably in their foreign-language printed materials...They aren't so concerned with what you call the coins...They pick their battles..........This, of course, has absolutely nothing to do with Pearl's questions, but more to do with my habit of researching minutiae...;-)