Euro’s

The two best places I know of to purchase euro here are Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Both, last time I checked, were 5% over the Interbank rate¹. In at least the case of Wells Fargo, and probably B or A also, I think, you have to be an account holder to purchase currency from them, at least online.

Large banks, like Chase² (for example, others too), charge 3% over the Interbank rate for ATM withdrawals, so you are only losing 2% by getting euro in advance. My credit union passes on the Network fee of 1% for ATM withdrawal over there, so I save 4% using my credit union ATM card in Europe. Similarly, my bank, WF, charges $5 for a withdrawal of up to $500, so just about 1%. Some institutions "eat" the Network fee and charge no fees, so you are really ahead by getting euro over there.

The one thing you really don't want to do is use an exchange booth at an airport (Travelex). Their rates are really unfavorable.

1. Both banks set their rate for the day based on the Interbank conversion rate early in the morning, so, as the Interbank rate changes during the day, the discount at the time might be more or less than 5%.
2. Chase pays the Network 1% to service the transaction and convert the currency, then adds another 2% for themselves, at 200% profit!

Do you have ApplePay or GooglePay? You might find that this trip you use a lot less cash than you might have in prior trips, I know I did. My last few trips to Italy, France and UK I used almost no cash. I had some to leave for housekeeping tips but in general was able to ApplePay everything including many toilettes, lol. It may be that you will need less cash than you are imagining and what you have already will last you for your trip.

What Pam said, except that you don't need Apple Pay or Google pay, just any credit card with tap capability. Our last two trips to Europe we have used our credit card virtually everywhere and have used almost zero cash. Have a great trip!

agree with bob. credit card acceptance is so ubiquitous in western europe that I still have 170 euros of the 500 i took out in '22 while traveling every summer for 40 to 60 days since then. However, you should always have some cash (coins and paper) to pay for an espresso at a small bar or for the pay toilet at the train stations! you can use your atm card at a bank in the city you are in to get cash. select euro and not dollar if given the option to select conversion rate. same for other merchants. also, you can avoid some of the fees if you have an account with a 'global atm alliance' bank in your home country and use the atm of a local bank in the same group. here's a wikipedia entry on the subject, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_ATM_Alliance.

Just call your bank and ask them what the rate they will sell you euro is today. Note some banks, like mine also charge a flat rate fee for the service. Banks have to make money to provide this service, so it's not going to match the interbank rate you see in the news.

Minimizing cash doesn't necessarily mean minimizing your cost of travel. In fact, in Germany, minimizing your cash expenditure will actually increase your cost.. That doesn't get you anything. The objective should be to minimize your cost.

As far as the difference between cost of cash vs the cost of using cards, it's not as much as you might think. There are lots of ways to minimize the cost of cash in Europe. Not getting it here is obviously one of them.

Getting it here, as far as I have found, is going to cost you at least 5%. Getting cash from an ATM over there can be as little as 1% or 0%, depending on who you use. I think a Charles Schwab account can get you 0%. I've been reluctant to use a card that requires me to send a check in the mail, so I have been content to use my credit union account, or Wells Fargo, where I also have accounts, and can transfer money online, and pay the 1%.

If you use a credit card, there are cards that charge 0% or only 1% for POS transactions, but there are also card (e.g., Chase) that charge 3%, so in those cases you would be paying more to use your card then you potentially would using cash.

Finally, at least in German speaking countries, there are a lot of very nice accommodations that don't accept credit cards. Over the years, I have save beaucoup euro by staying in these places. On my last trip, I stayed for 5 nights in 2 places that I know didn't take credit cards, and my average night's stay was just under $80.

The other 6 night were in places that would take CC and I paid (cash) $107 per night.

For the other 9 nights, I stayed in a Ferien Wohnung (vacation apartment) run by an 80 year old woman who I know didn't take cards, and that cost me $44/night.

My point is that you can always find places that will take credit cards, but if you insist on staying in them, you will cost you more.

"Minimizing cash doesn't necessarily mean minimizing your cost of travel. In fact, in Germany, minimizing your cash expenditure will actually increase your cost.. That doesn't get you anything. The objective should be to minimize your cost."

Interesting. OP is going to Italy and possibly France not Germany. In my travel to those 2 countries over the last couple of years a 3E gelato was a 3E gelato whether you paid with cash or contactless.

My objective may be different from the OP's objective or other travelers' objectives. The OP in their post does ask if it's cheaper to buy Euro in the US vs Italy or France so minimizing cost may be her intent. Mine is usually to do things the easiest way.

The previous posters seem to have overlooked that the OP is in Canada, not the US, so presumably has Canadian bank accounts and CCs.

OP, it very much depends on your bank and the type of accounts you have. Your CCs are likely to give you the best exchange rate, and are likely the best way to pay for most things. Thus decreasing the amount of cash €s you will need. You can go online to see what today's rate for buying €s from your bank as compared to the interbank rate. But you also need to know what your bank charges for international cash withdrawals using your ATM card. Some banks (depending on the type of account) charge no fee. But many charge a flat fee of around $5 plus 2-3% on each withdrawal out of country. And some foreign banks may also charge a fee for withdrawals by other bank's cards. In the end, unless you need to withdraw a large amount of cash, you are probably only talking about a few dollars difference, compared to the total cost of your trip. Do whatever you are most comfortable with, but you likeky wont need as much cash as as in previous visits.