Get Euros before I Go? before exchange rate gets worse.

I sympathize with your question, but the sad truth is that no one knows what the future will bring. What if you buy all those euros and then the exchange rate improves?

I believe that I am certainly in the minority here but I always purchase and bring my euros with me. I am traveling to France and Italy in 8 weeks and I purchased about 1/2 of what I'll need at the beginning of last year (when the Euro was plunging - I wish that I had bought more). I use WellsFargo.com because of the convenience- they allow you to purchase via credit card (mine incurred no cash advance charge and was treated as a regular purchase) and they FedEx the money to you. I found the exchange rate competative and there was small flat fee (I think it was 10 or 15 dollars). I still log on the website periodically to check on the exchange rate.

Depends on what it will cost to get your Euros here and how much you are willing to gamble. A month ago the euro was at about $1.39, Now about $1.44, a 4% rise. If you look at the last year, a year ago it was at about $1.35, it did get as low as $1.20, but the current rate is a high for the year. If you go back further, $1.20 is about as low as it has gotten, the peak semms to be about $1.60. From this, one can assume that $1.44 is not really a bargain, not really a peak, but oddly, past trends don't mean much. It is as good as a guess whether it will go up or down over 6 months. Added to this, to buy Euros in the US today, it will cost you from a good source, maybe 5%, or closer to $1.51. In Europe, you could probably get euros from an ATM for about $1.45, basically, to buy euros now, you have to first cover your costs, meaning the euro would need to get to $1.52 before you see a benefit. True, you might be able to get them for less, maybe it will be more, but it may be more risk than what it is worth.

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=56389 I asked the same question awhile back..It's too late for me now. If I could have done it over again, I would have at least bought half of what i needed. I would wait until Obama tryies to raise taxes, this should increase the value of the dollar. If the rate gets back to 1.35 i would buy $3000 worth. Good Luck with your decision! You will need it :)

Bad idea. The exchange rate could go down. Portugal is asking for a bail out so I wouldn't be surprised to see the exchange rate down. It is so volatile it is not worth it, plus when you add in the fees you will get taken to the cleaners.

We also are going to Italy in September and I was thinking about the same thing today and looking on line at the exchange rate trends. Wish I had a crystal ball.... but then if I did I wouldn't be worried about the Euro for our vacation.

Usually the safest bet is to wait to get your Euros over there. I usually show up in whatever airport I'm in with some Euros on hand (leftovers from my last trip), but then I head to the ATM in the Airport and withdraw $300-500 in Euros. You can buy here, and you don't know what the euro is going to do versus the dollar. What you DO know is that you will pay a commission and possible fee for that transaction. My advice is always not to think to much about it (definitely will ruin your trip) and spend your money wisely and you'll be fine. Enjoy your trip.

Euro rate at my bank yesterday was 1.5788. That did not include their $15 transaction fee. Think I'll wait until I get there and hope for the best.

Blair, I'm not trying go get into a political argument here, but I'm pretty sure that Congress determines the tax rate. As Will Rogers observed, "They say nothing in life is sure except death and taxes. But the death rate doesn't go up every time Congress meets."