Money

You should not bring any US dollars at all.
Get your euro from an ATM. At the German airports, there are Deutsche Bank ATM's everywhere. Do not use the other ATM's there as they will give you a bad exchange rate similar to the money exchanges.

"bank ATMs are available" is a bit like saying "There is snow in Canada in winter", they are in every bank, and elsewhere.

• Do not bring any non-German money (US dollars), you cannot use it.
• Get cash from an ATM, using the same debit card as you use at an ATM at home. This is a lot cheaper than exchanging paper money, either at home or in Germany.
• Some people like to bring a small float of Euros (€50-€100), to cover them for transport from the airport and a first meal. Some people don't, and stop at an ATM at the airport.
• For spending, use cash (Euros) or credit card, your choice. Always check first credit cards are accepted, some places only take cash.
• Make sure you tell your bank / credit card company you will be using your cards in Germany. Otherwise they may block the transaction as suspicious.

Finally - THIS IS IMPORTANT - Avoid DCC.
If for any card transaction (ATM or credit card) you are offered the option to pay in "your currency" (USD), the answer is NO. Always pay in the local currency (Euros in Germany), the exact same amount as shown on the bill. This way the card company does the exchange, which is cheaper than letting the vendor's bank do it.

There are many who do just what Ms. Jo suggest. There are also those who think it's a good idea to have some local currency in hand when you land. Getting a hundred or so Euros from your local bank will cost you a little more. But it eliminates the hassle and stress of finding a machine, hoping it works (they do malfunction on occasion) and doing it all while jet lagged. Many feel the small amount it cost to have money in hand when arriving is money well spent since the extra cost relative to the overall cost of the trip is not that much. No absolute right or wrong answer, just personal preference.

I actually like bringing a stash of US$100-US$200 on trips as emergency money, in case my bank card doesn't work or ATMs are nowhere to be found at the airport.

Obviously, those US dollars can't be spent directly, but my reasoning is that in case I run into bank card and/or ATM problems, I can always exchange the USD for euros at the airport. Yes, the rate is generally not great, but I don't think it is that much worse (if at all) than purchasing euros abroad in the United States, and I have never been in an international airport that did not have a foreign exchange facility.

And if -- as usually happens these days -- there is no problem with ATMs, then I haven't incurred any foreign exchange costs and I just bring my US cash home with me. This is not to mention the fact that increasingly I just use credit cards to pay for as much as possible, though in some places (like Germany) a lot more places are cash only than in other places (like France).

All that being said, I also now just stash away some euro and Canadian dollar cash at home to take on the next trip (I'm hopeful there will always be a next trip!) so that I can arrive with local currency in hand and bypass this whole issue entirely.

I actually like bringing a stash of US$100-US$200 on trips as emergency money

Forget the US dollars. Bring your stash in euro, then you know it will be accepted. Maintain your stash in euro the whole trip. Don't let it get below €200 or so.

My partner got a real lesson about using US dollars in Europe on our last trip. For some reason (password, I think, although my card from the same CU didn't work at FRA, but worked everywhere after that) her credit union debit card wouldn't work in ATMs. She had several hundred US dollars with her. We could not find anyone who would exchange them. We were in small towns, and the banks didn't want to exchange her money. Maybe there has been some counterfeit US money being passed over there? So she used her credit cards in the few places that did take them; the rest of the time we got money at ATMs using my cards, which worked.

So my advice is don't expect to be able to use US dollars in Europe.

I always figure I will return, so I bring back several hundred euro to have to start my next trip.

Some folks are missing the point of the Rick Steves advice of bringing $100 or $200 USD cash. The USD cash is a last resort fall back in the event of an ATM local cash withdraw failure on arrival. Yes, it may be hard to find a place to exchange USD for EUR in a rural former East Germany village, but I see currency exchange kiosks at international airport terminals, and major tourist destinations like Prague.

And I usually like to have some USD cash in American airports coming and going. The wonderful thing is that if you don't need to use your USD as an emergency currency exchange in Europe, you can spend them in America at no mark-up.

This Rick Steves website has some great Money Travel Tips.

In advance of my own trip to Germany, I've received this helpful advice from people on this forum, specifically for Germany:

Ask/look for a Geldautomat

When possible withdraw cash from a bank-run ATM located just outside that bank, ideally during that bank's hours; if card is eaten you can go inside for help.

Using Google Maps, search near your train station or hotel for "ATM" or "Bank ATM" or "Geldautomat"

Examples of reputable German banks to use: Deutsche Bank, Sparda, Landesparkasse [these should give close to Intrabank rate - best exchange rate - for that day]

If you happen to be flying into Frankfurt, this URL shows the Deutsche Bank ATMs:

https://shop.frankfurt-airport.com/en/service/deutsche-bank-geldautomat?___from_store=de&_ga=2.160499517.1641860945.1567476311-1608333152.1567476311

You may find a similar ATM resource for your arrival airport.

I carry ca $100-200 as a reserve as well as having the reserve in Euro on a trip, plus the plastic. No worries about losing them or getting it stolen....does not happen.

Avoid USD, our currency is Euro. You cannot even visit a public toilet with any amount of USD. Your currency is more known for being unsafe - do not want to judge if it is true or not. Even organized crime in Europe does not accept USD from what I could read.

Use ATMs of banks, e.g. Deutsche Bank, Sparkasse, Commerzbank, Volksbank, Targobank which are most common.

Avoid USD, our currency is Euro.

I think Rick Steves only advises to bring it in case someone has to hit the currency exchange bureau as a (dead) last option (it costs nothing to keep some USD in one's wallet since it's the local currency in the US).

And if you don't carry USDs, don't try to pay for you taxi or bus/metro ride home after flying back to North America with only your left over Euros.

Yes, I carry USD -- enough to get me home from the airport. Usually I carry € back from one trip to use on the first days of the next one.

I only used credit cards for point of sale purchased (usually just hotels). I use Debit card ATM withdrawals for everything else. I NEVER use credit card cash advances and I NEVER use dynamic currency exchange either at an ATM or point of sale.

It's not uncommon to have a credit or debit card frozen by the issuer due to suspected fraudulent activity. This can be a REAL pain but it is not the end of the world. If your credit card has been frozen and you need it to pay for services (hotel, car, etc.) call the card issuer and they will open the card for a single transaction at a time. They may ask for the vendor's name or other information. It's a pain but I've survived it... BTW - this is reason enough to have some sort of cellular phone service, either a local pay as you go phone/SIM or a travel plan on your home service, while traveling.

We have checking accounts dedicated for travel. In this age of internet banking, this is really easy to set up... When the wife and I travel overseas, we each take different credit and debit cards. This way, if our primary accounts get frozen or compromised, we have a back-ups. It also isolates our travel budget from our household accounts so that if the travel account gets compromised, our home account doesn't get drained. Just remember, NEVER do any banking transactions over an unsecured internet connection (open WIFI). That "https://" in front of your banks URL is not much protection on an unsecured WIFI connection. Use a VPN or use a cellular (cell phone) data connection.

the banks didn't want to exchange her money

That is very common in Europe. Most banks do not want to help you unless you have an account with them. Several don't even keep cash for transactions, insisting you use an ATM if you need cash or want to deposit to your account with them.

These days the only place you can exchange USD for Euro is at an exchange desk at the airport. You will not be likely to find any exchanges in smaller off the beaten track towns and villages because they simply don't have enough need. If you are very very lucky, your hotel might exchange $100 for you but it will be at a rate of their making and will not be favorable to you.

Hi Fre- all of the above replies have good information. I would like to focus on one other area that Lee mentioned briefly.

I once arrived in Amsterdam and my ATM card issued by a credit union in the US would not work in ANY ATM. It turns out that some ATM/debit cards that are provided by US banks and Credit Unions will not work outside of the US. This is especially true for debit cards issued for savings accounts in Credit Unions. Before leaving the US I specifically asked the Credit Union that issued the debit card in question if it could be used in ATMs in a foreign country. Their response was "Of course!". And "Of course" this was the card that did not work. Fortunately I always travel with multiple debit cards issued by different banks so this was a minor inconvenience.

Have a great trip!!!

Germany has a larger number of establishments that are cash only than most Western European countries, so, as already mentioned, ensure you always have some cash with you during the 2 weeks. Personally, I get Euros or Pounds at the end of one trip, so I have some for the next. Have a great trip.

Like two other posters, I always bring a couple of hundred dollars in US cash. Purchasing foreign cash at US banks the exchange rate is terrible. I always use credit cards and it necessary ATMs for foreign cash, but just in case you lose your ATM card or it doesn't work, take some cash. I had this problem in Copenhagen and thank goodness, I had some US cash to purchase Danish currency.

Purchasing foreign cash at US banks the exchange rate is terrible.

Wells Fargo sells euro to clients at 5% over the Interbank rate. That's only $5 over no discount and $1 over what some US banks charge at ATMs in Europe. And, you can use it up at the end of the trip (or bring it back to start the next trip). Considering the difficulty we had finding any place to exchange US$, I would not rely on taking them as a backup.

Thank you to all who replied to my Money e-mail.
Your comments were most helpful and we will be following many of suggestions. Safe journeys to all.

Lee,
Yes, we once used Bank of America to purchase foreign cash, but the bank changed their policy some years ago and you must have an account there to do that now.

And Wells Fargo also requires you to be an account holder in order to buy euro from them.

So open an account at one of those banks. If you don't have, or don't want to have, an account at BofA or WF, you can always use Travelex at 15% over the Interbank rate!

I have heard that in some countries now (I haven't seen it in Germany, yet), travelex has taken over the airport ATMs, so 15% is what you will have to pay to get local currency at those airport's ATMs when you arrive.