Euro Exchange

Of course, that is where they make their "fees" even if they charge no fees. No such thing as free money. Use a debit card at an ATM with absolutely give you the lowest exchange rate - very near the interbank exchange rate. After that your card issuer MAY tack on extra fees BUT those fees are solely determine by you card issuer so ask them. Fees will range from zero to maybe 3% plus a fee for use the ATM that could be $1 to $5. Many credit union and small banks charge nothing and big banks will charge 3% and $5/transaction. BUT even at that rate it will be much cheaper than using a currency exchange or a bank in Europe.

we got euros from wells fargo $1000.00 US purchase no shipping fees so we are bringing $2000e and using capital one for most hotels and where we can unless we can get a cash discount at the hotel and if the euro goes up we have the cash is if drops we have the card it is all a game, but lst time there fees to a big toll because most US atms only allow 300.00 day limit well that doesn't net you very many euros so you end up with many charges. Talk to your bank see what they can do to help, maybe raise your daily limit so you only get hit once.

...but don't be alarmed if an ATM declines your first attempt - even if you had your limit raised, sometimes the ATM has a limit. Just try for less money...Wells Fargo does sell foreign currency for the least amount of pain, generally speaking. It's a $5 charge for non-bank customers.

Last year when I traveled to Europe and spent time in Germany, Netherlands, Austria, and Italy, I did not have a problem at all in using the ATM's. They are easier to use and as the others have said, the rate of exchange is better. The only thing would be the fee your ATM Bank issued card charges once it goes through to your bank account and the actual exchange rate at the time it is processed through the Foreign Bank. In Italy, I have never had a problem, but be sure to use an ATM in any country where it is quite visible and used by many persons, not hidden. I used them on my trip, but what I tried to do is get an amount that I felt would carry me through the two weeks for spending money and/or hotels,(done every 2 or 3 wks depending on the total length of the trip) if you haven't already made a reservation with a credit card. Most of the time, I was able to make reservations by credit card before I left the US at the different hotels, unless they took only cash or I received a better deal using cash. When cash was used, I usually was able to make the reservation before leaving and then paid at that hotel. Take care and have a great trip.

Our experience with Wells Fargo in the Denver area is that they charge about 5% which is a reasonable figure given that Am Ex or AAA often charges nearer to 10%. But I would assume the 5% is standard across the country. That 5% is still worse than any deal with debit cards. The 2% difference on a couple thousand is one good meal in Italy.

I just exchanged dollars for euro at Chase bank with no fees! The exchange they gave me was $1400 for $1040 euro. I do have an account with them so there was no transaction fees.

Kira: $1400 / 1040E = 1.346, compared to today's interbank exchange rate of ~1.292 (per Oanda.com). Probably Chase did make a little money on the transaction, they probably bought the 1040E at the interbank rate for about $1,344 (1040 x 1.292) and, if so, charged you about $55 on the transaction. I realize they don't call it a fee.

ATM's are easy to find and use in the big cities and airports. No need to buy euros ahead of time, but if it makes you feel better get 100€. Carrying a lot of cash around isn't a good idea, so using ATM's as needed and putting hotels and meals on a card keeps the cash-on-hand lower. Tell your card issuers that you'll be out of the country so they won't block any transactions.

Hang onto some of that Euro for your NEXT trip...!

Well, I guess I have to ask this question. How does one accumulate enough cash using only ATMs to be able to pay the Hotel in Cash, and get the 5% discount? Do you set up multiple ATM accounts?

As I posted earlier, I generally take out 500E and that will generally handle most hotels for a couple of days. If I hit a machine limit then I will do it a couple of times. Never had a problem getting enough cash for the hotels. On our last trip of 33 days we only charge two items. One a hotel that would not give a discount for cash and something the last day when we were doing a little cash management and wanted to preserve a few Euro for our trip home.

Francis, there's a 'per transaction' limit of $200-500; many just perform transaction after transaction...sometimes they move from one ATM to another if that doesn't work.