Best Way To Purchase Euros for Rome/Italy

Use and ATM to get your cash. Avoid paying 5% back to your bank by dumping your bank and becoming a member of your local credit union. Why normal people (not the Bill Gates of the world) still use banks is beyond me. Credit Unions give you a myriad of services for free. If you feel you need Euros before you go then buy some before you leave. Otherwise use an ATM when you arrive.

Sign up with a credit union (I pay only 1% for each ATM withdrawal - 5% is too high). Use an ATM once on the ground. Stay away from exchange places and Travelex. Use a credit card with 0 foreign exchange fees. Make sure you notify your banks of your travel dates beforehand.

Read this: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money

I always like to arrive with about 100 euros. That is my security blanket. I just don't like the hassle of finding an airport ATM when I'm tired, wanting instead to get go the hotel, eat. First day I'll hit an ATM. My bank charges $5 plus 3%. I could do better I suppose with a credit union but I have a relationship with the bank that has saved me a fortune in mortgage rates, points, and other charges over the years which more than make up for these fees. I do make large withdrawals however to try and minimize the frequency of ATM transactions.

Google says that $1.12 buys 1 Euro today. $1.18 per Euro isn't bad; yesterday i was At Chase and they said $1.19. But I've bought them when they were a lot pricier because i have to have Euro on me when i land in Europe. I have to hit The ground running, I cannot stand standing in Line At airport ATMs! Those Lines Are long and I could never stand still and wait in Line or fool around with an ATM! I'm FREE to make my way thru The Airport and get on with my trip. I buy enough Euro here for 3 to 5 days there!

Number 1. ALL banks are not bad. My bank charges 1% on ATM withdrawals and on all credit card purchases but then I get 1 1/2 % back on all purchases so I am still ahead.

Number 2. I use airport ATMs and have never had to stand in a line. However, the $1.18 is a decent rate and landing with 100 euro would lessen the stress of arrival.

Using the right credit union or bank, withdrawing foreign currency from local ATMs is almost invariably the cheapest option (for a brief couple years our credit union was essentially the same). There are two good reasons to get local cash before you go. The first is to ease travel to your hotel by having money for a meal and local transport when you arrive. It isn't necessarily, you are paying to avoid hassle. The second is because you are staying at an apartment that only accepts cash and the cash is more than your daily withdrawal limit. This second is becoming rare as more apartments and private rooms accept credit cards or PayPal. You will pay a fee for this convenience. But since at most credit unions is is a flat fee regardless of the amount of foriegn currency purchased, it makes sense to purchase a week's worth and spend less time dealing with ATMs.

At this point we save a little local cash each trip to ease arrival on the next trip. Not an option for a first trip but easy if you know you will be back soon.

Capital One 360 debit card. Zero fees. (only use it for travel and only keep under $2-3K in there) + Capital One Spark credit card. Zero fees, zero foreign currency conversion fees. That has worked for us, although I suppose it might not be enough time for the OP to open the debit account....

The advice to change banks or open another account may be good for the traveler planning months out, but for you, leaving in now 9 days, it does not help. If you can get euros for $1.18 with no other fees, then that is about as cheap as you can get them (just under 5%) anywhere, including in Europe. It also is about the same as if you used your ATM card.

If I were in this situation, I would go ahead and get maybe a 1000 euro, see if they can give you some smaller bills than 100's, then use your ATM card if needed. You could even drop that to 500 euro if you might be worried about losing it, the ATM card will not be more expensive. You do not mention what your credit card terms are, but many still charge a 3% Foreign Transaction fee, so if that is your case, even the CC will not be much less.

But the best advice is that we are talking pennies on a euro that is way down from most of the trips I have taken, so do not fret about it too much, just have a great time. (and maybe consider opening a Charles Schwab or Capital One checking for the next trip)

I'm so glad this post opened up. I was just talking with my husband about this very subject. I will definitely look into opening a Capital One check/debit card for our Italy trip next June 2017. I already have a Capital One CC, do you think the no fees/free conversion will work with a CC? I will call Capital One. Great post and happy travels.

we use Capitol 1 credit card no foreign transaction fees. signed up fo a BECU account -credit union best rates as everyone else says it took the time to go in and have them process our papers we walked out with a chip and pin debit card the same day (you will need chip and pin in Europe) we also bank at Bank of America and for the convenience of arriving with some Euros and not having to find a working ATM- worrying about their additional fees or the dynamic currency conversion stuff. it was a flat rate of $7.50 for overnight shipping to get as much as we wanted to in Euros- we chose getting a mix of small and large euros. after the long travel to Europe jet lag etc. it was a 2day proceed because most banks don't have Euros sitting the the back room. make sure you know your bank's process. I'm so happy we could walk off the plane get a quick bite and walk out to hop in a cab. Traveling in Europe we have found they prefer cash over cards and honesty. we filled the Rick Steves advice (someone shared the link) on ATMs there were some that would just not accept our card and some that were just not in service. be prepared with multiple options to pay. while in Italy, I heard a young couple say they ate at a restaurant thought they would use their card- it didn't work so the young woman had to wait while her husband hunted down an ATM. it is not like the states.

I recently opened a CapitalOne 360 debit card account and the card arrived in 3 days. It is online only and takes 2 days for transferred funds to be available but with no fees it is great for Europe.

Enjoy the trip!

(you will need chip and pin in Europe)

Just to be clear, no, you will not. All ATMs in Europe still accept Mag Strip type ATM cards. A chip on a credit card will make purchases smoother, though most in the US are still Chip and signature, but except for some Kiosks, Gas Pumps, and Toll roads, a Mag Strip card will still work.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful recommendations. They have helped my husband and I so much. We really appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences and knowledge. We have a plan now and feel very good with our decision. We will definitely get a Capital One 360 card the next time we travel to Europe. We look forward to being able to share things we have learned after our trip to Italy.

We always use our Capital One CC and when we arrive in any European country take out cash at an ATM. 2 weeks ago I found a atm at the airport in rome and just took out a few hundred euros. One more time later in the trip all in all we only had 500 euros for 11 days. Used our card and came back with euros which we will be using in December when we go to Germany.

Linda..., looking forward to your trip report!