Currency Exchange and best money use methods

See RS travel tips: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-tips

The $1.12627 usd/eur that you see is the Interbank rate that changes with market conditions. Credit cards mark up the Interbank rate anywhere from 0% to 3% plus. Same with ATM withdrawals in FX, anywhere from 0 % to 3%+ depending on your financial institution. https://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

If a bank tells you that they don't charge a FX fee, find out what it cost to buy FX and what they would pay you if you sell it back into USD. The difference is the spread.

Use your current ATM card and withdraw medium amount of cash at a time. Medium because you don't want to carry your entire trip budget in cash at once - what if it's lost? But you don't want to get only 20 euros at a time because there may be ATM fees. Fewer ATM trips means lower fees. I do 300 or so at a time, but that's my budget.

Use a credit card with no international fees for any big expense you can. Hotels, car rentals, fancy meals, plane tickets. Use it for smaller things where accepted as needed, too. This will get you a good rate and no fees. But you will still need cash for many things.

Large exchange in the US will cost more plus you will have to carry all that cash around. Not appealing.

Visa gift cards have high fees and may not be accepted. Many places prefer cash, and I've had trouble with visa gift cards in the US. Never tried in Europe but can't imagine its better.

I do like to buy about 100euros or so before I go. It costs a bit more but I find it worth it to not have to worry about an ATM immediately upon landing.

Yes, use the ATM if you can, but find out what your credit union or bank charges per ATM withdrawal. My credit union charges no fee, and most ATMs in Italy charge no fee, either. I've never been charged a fee to use an ATM in Europe, over many trips, though I have heard of it happening. So, I do tend to take out 20 euros or 30 euros at a time.

Find out what your credit cards charge for a foreign transaction fee, if any. Some cards have no foreign transaction fee; others charge as high as 3%. If you have a few weeks, you might consider getting a card that charges no foreign transaction fees. I have one, and try to charge just about everything on a credit card - except small purchases at say a small restaurant, where I try to pay cash.

Everyone has a little different approach but most agree: use a bank affiliated ATM in Europe. Try to use one attached to a bank during business hours in case the machine eats the card (has not happened to us). We take two ATM's linked to different checking accounts in case one is lost or hacked. We bank with Wells Fargo and yes, there is a charge. We might do better with an ATM linked to a credit union or such, but our banking relationship saves us more in the long run than the ATM fees. We always take some currency, anywhere from 100-200 Euros. We don't like arriving jet lagged and having no money with the first order of business finding an ATM. Did that once, never again. Yes, you pay a bit extra for that cash here, but in the big scheme of things, it's a small amount of money. We tend to withdraw larger amounts from the ATM's in Europe which minimizes our total fees, frees us up from having to hit an ATM every day. (Be sure and let your bank know you are traveling and up your withdrawal limit.) ATM's are in public places so be alert to your surroundings- the next gal in line could be a pickpocket. We don't worry about losing the cash, it's in a money belt divided between us. We use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees, Capital One. We use it only for hotels and pricey meals, otherwise we use cash. When the bill comes I sneak off to the WC, get cash from the money belt, pay and we are done. When using credit cards beware of dynamic currency conversion. Sometimes you'll be asked, would you like to charge that in dollars? Answer is no, that way your credit card company determines the exchange rate (best) not the vendor (worst).

Actually, Alan, the reason I dropped my big bank years ago in favor of a credit union had nothing to do with travel - it had to do with service and fees. I get amazing service from my credit union and better rates, fewer fees than the big bank I had been with for years. I most certainly save money doing my banking with them vs. my old big bank. Being able to use an ATM card with no per-use fee in Europe is just another perk.

You will not get the current Google rate here in the US no matter where you get your currency exchanged, no matter what your bank or currency exchange company will tell you. They will either charge a fee to get you Euros here in the US or their rate will be higher (meaning you get fewer Euro per dollar). The rate changes at least daily if not more often so the rate you posted here probably will not be what you pay. For example, as I write this the rate is $1.11. You will get that rate if you get cash out of an ATM in Europe (plus whatever fees your bank charges for foreign withdrawals which can be up to $5 and 5%).

While there is nothing wrong with getting €100 or so here before you leave so you have cash ready to spend for a taxi or whatever you might need right away, get the majority of your cash after you get to Europe from ATMs. Check with your bank letting them know what countries you will be visiting and also to see what their foreign ATM usage fees are.