Euro Travelers Checks?

Travelers checks are considered passé and are no longer accepted by many Italian merchants, accommodations and restaurants.

The recommended way to get cash in Italy is to use an ATM card or debit card at an ATM (ATMs are everywhere over there. Don't use a credit card as the charges are higher). Please read Rick Steves' Money 101 recommendations HERE.

Thanks Patrick -- but Steve's 101 does not address (or is not clear) about the use of Euro Travelers Checks. While I appreciate the use of ATM's, there are fees. I am asking if there are fees for Euro Traveler Checks. I travel alot, but have never heard of Euro Traveler Checks.

Money 101 says: You'll pay fees at ATMs, but you'll still get a better rate than you would for exchanging traveler's checks.

That's why the article is about ATMs and not about traveler's checks. ATMs are the cheapest way to get money in Italy. If traveler's checks where cheaper, the article would be recommending them instead of ATMs.

If you use traveler's checks over there, you'll both pay more and have a harder time getting money.

The article does not discuss the benefits of getting checks in dollars vs. euros because travelers "in the know" do not use them.

"I cashed my last traveler's check years ago. And I haven't stepped into a European bank in ages. Now, I get my cash from ATM machines. Leave the traveler's checks at home. For information about using traveler's checks...see the 1995 edition of this book. They're a waste of time (long lines at slow banks) and a waste of money (fees to get them, fees to cash them). ATM's are the way to go." Rick Steves, Europe Through the Back Door

We used Euro Travelers checks in Italy in spring 2008. We used them only for the hotels Rick recommended and would give a discount for cash -- in Venice, Florence and Rome -- all but our hotel in Orvieto accepted them the same as cash. I had emailed each hotel first to see if they would.

Pat

Thanks Patricia. I appreciate the advice about using ATMs, which I have aleas used. The advantage of TC being that they can easily be replaced. My bank has a special deal where I can get TCs cheaper than ATM fees right now. So if there are no fees to redeem them recognizing some merchants won't take them, I was trying to see if anyone had any other experiences. ATM use will be my primary funds but I have had emergencies before when another source of funds would have been nice.

I would think if you get $1000 in EURO traveler's checks at a USA bank, the exchange rate they charge you will get you a lot fewer Euros than you'd get by withdrawing $1000 worth of Euros at an Italian ATM.

On the contrary, if you get $1000 in US dollar traveler's checks at a USA bank, the bank/hotel/merchant in Italy will charge you a very high conversion rate to convert them to Euros and again your money won't go as far as if you'd used the ATM.

So, they get you one way or the other.

You can take traveler's checks and you'll have the security of getting your money back if you lose them. But that's your only advantage. Don't think they are saving you money in fees, because you'll be paying a higher exchange rate than an ATM would charge for the same amount.

You keep mentioning "lower fees than ATM." But what is the exchange rate?

With the ATM, you're going to pay the interbank rate. With travelers checks, or getting Euros beforehand, you're going to pay whatever the bank wants to charge.

As an example, my bank will get me Euros for no fee. They charge me 5% to use the ATM. I save that 5%, right? No, because the conversion rate they are charging to get Euros here, cash or TC, is 15-20 cents more per Euro than the interbank rate. So, yes, the fee is less than the ATM, but the conversion rate is about 15% higher than what I would get at an ATM. So, my choice is use the ATM and pay at most 5% more as a fee, or get Euro TC and pay 15% more for the lousy conversion rate.

It is more work for the bank to get you Euros or Euro TC's than it is for you to use the ATM. So why would they charge less for more work?

Forget the Travelers Checks and use the ATM bank cards. Cashing the checks, if you can find a cambio that will, is a time consuming event. Sometimes it can take as much as 45 minutes and there is always a commission,usually steep. Some of us travel in Italy every year and ATM bankcards are the EASIEST way to obtain money.

Buon viaggio,

RB

MaryL,

As the others have said, you'll probably pay a higher currency exchange rate if using Traveller's Cheques, rather than the "Interbank rate" that's applied to ATM withdrawals.

In addition (and perhaps more importantly), you'll likely have difficulty cashing these at merchants or restaurants (as mentioned in the examples in a preceding post).

IMHO, saving a small amount on the fees won't be worth the hassles. I'm with Rick on this one - "I've cashed my last Traveller's Cheque!"

Happy travels!

MaryL.
Don't purchase travelers checks. Use cash everywhere you go as there are many places where the travelers checks are not accepted. Also you get a better rate from the ATMs. They are everywhere.

Travelers checks are definitely out of fashion. They are hard to cash, and many merchants won't take them because they are concerned about them being fraudulent.

Others are right that, even if your bank gives you "free" Euro checks, the exchange rate will be terrible.

Example: today's interbank rate for the Euro is 1.47. You will get close to that by getting your Euros at an ATM. But, if you buy Euros (either cash or travelers checks) at Bank of America, today's rate is 1.55.

Do the math. 1,000 EUR at 1.47 costs you $1470.

1,000 EUR at 1.55 costs you $1550. That would be $80 more for the cash or travelers checks purchased in the USA.

And if you have Euro traveller checks when you get home you get hit again with bad exchange rate when you convert them back to $US.

"And if you have Euro traveller checks when you get home you get hit again with bad exchange rate when you convert them back to $US."

Can you believe this? Bank of America will buy back your Euros (the ones you bought from them at 1.55) at 1.39.

What a ripoff!

Tyler: Yep, guess the bank wants to make about 12% profit buying back the euro traveler checks (1.55 / 1.39).

Hadn't checked the exchange rate in a month or two, ouch! Hasn't been a good time the $ versus the euro, just now saw on oanda.com that it now costs ~$149 to get €100 (interbank rate + 2% markup). Not good.