Getting Euros in Italy, US or both?

No, no, no. The cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency is to use a Mastercard or Visa branded debit card at a bank owned ATM. Getting a hundred or so euro from you local bank prior to departure is a good practice but some will say just use an ATM at your arriving airport. The worse exchange is at the airport currency exchange booths and best exchange rate is at any ATM regardless of location.

Good - we NEED another thread about this topic LOL!

People have different preferences. I never buy euros ahead of time - I get them at the best rate from an ATM when I arrive. I carry a few hundreds USD as a backup that I can exchange (at a high rate) in case I must have cash and the ATMs are broken or something. Or I use a credit card. I figure the chance of an ATM not working, unable to use a credit card (until I can get cash), and unable to change my USD at a currency exchange, all three at the same time, is really really low. So far, I've never had any trouble after multiple trips to Europe.

To get the best deal you get all of your Euros from a Bank operated ATM in Italy using an ATM/Debit card that does not charge you fees. Anything else is not going to give you all that great of a deal.

Exchanging actual cash at an exchange booth is about the worst idea either here in the US as you leave or in Italy after you arrive. Their exchange rate is horrible and even if they claim to not charge a fee it is baked into the rate. You could do this as a last resort if you find yourself in Europe with no Euros and your ATM card doesn't work at all. Most European banks will not do exchange anymore unless you have an account with them, so the airport exchange is about your only option if you go this route.

Check with your bank here to see if they will sell you some Euro before you leave if you feel you absolutely must have some in your pocket when you arrive. But don't get a lot because their rate will be fairly bad too. Maybe 100 - 200 so you can pay for your ride to your hotel and get a snack or meal until you can find an ATM you want to use.

It would be a good idea to open an account with one of the banks that has a no fee ATM/Debit card. The two most often mentioned are Capital One 360 (my choice) or Charles Schwab. With no fees, you get the amount of cash you need at that moment and can make as many withdrawals as you want without paying any more than absolutely necessary. Also, same for your credit card.

Have you bothered to read the "Cash and Currency Tips" page listed on the right hand side of the Travel Forum web page? Take their advice as well as the two replies you have gotten so far. Buy in Europe like I have done for 14 trips.

I wouldn’t get more euro in cash than what strictly necessary for your first day or two, so that you are not pressured to find an ATM as soon as you land.
The exchange rates you will get in the US, compared to an ATM at any Italian bank, is too awful to consider to get more than your first day’s need.

So I have read a lot about getting euros' before vs. during your trip.

You're reading "advice" that will cause you to overspend which is why I never, ever do that nor have I ever done that in all of the 35+ years I've traveled overseas.

There are so many threads about this topic as some have mentioned already. :-) As soon as you arrive at the airport in Rome, go to a bank cash machine and use your ATM card to get €s.

Charlie of HI's link: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-tips

Resist the urge to buy foreign currency before your trip.

Thank you for all of your input! I apologize for the redundancy for those of you who have seen this topic many times. Just a newbie trying not to screw this adventure up. Looking into getting Capital one 360 debit card. I appreciate your help.

Just to reiterate. You are NOT "exchanging" currency at a money booth. You are using your foreign currency to PURCHASE local money. And this comes at whatever profit the seller wishes to make on the transaction. None of this applies when you withdraw your money from your own bank account, and simply have it come out as the local currency.

That makes total sense. Signing up for a bank account now with no fees. Thank you so much!

This recent thread on this topic might be helpful...
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/budget-tips/lesson-learned-bring-cash

One last question now that I'm set up with my new shiny capital one card. Is there a bank operated ATM at Fiumicino Airport? Thanks.

Should be but read the signs on the ATM carefully. Some airport have turned all of the ATMs over to a single vendor - generally a currency exchange vendor.

The Italian word for ATM is Bancomat.

I believe all the ATMs (Bancomat) at Fiumicino airport are from UniCredit bank, Italy’s largest bank, and also one of the top 50 largest banks in the world.

Several years ago we started a checking account with Charles Schwab, which offers no ATM fees anywhere in the world, they will refund a fee if a bank charges you for a transaction, no minimum balance, and free checking. We use it in both the USA, Canada, Europe.

Our card is for ATM's only and not a debit card. We also only use ATM's attached to a bank and only when it is open. If the machine eats my card we can go inside and retrieve it.

Since we travel in Italy every year we return with a few hundred Euro to have for the following year. However, if we needed Euros prior to leaving it would not be a bother to obtain a few hundred here to have local currency upon arrival. Getting a few hundred Euros here won't be at the best rate, but when you factor in the overall cost of the trip, it's cheap.

Buon viaggio,

Re that Schwab card. It can also be used (and has been) at automated ticket machines and such, and for foreign purchases online. It may even be a point-of-sale card, but we never do that abroad.

Gangwear - how do you get around the common 5 to 10% markup charged by US banks for foreign currency? I have never seen a currency play that makes an dollar sense for a US traveler.

I was trying to also get a Charles Schwab account. I stopped when they wanted my login id and password for my home bank. I don't feel comfortable with that. Capital One 360 didn't ask for my login account info in order to transfer funds from an external account. Did anyone else encounter this? Or am I doing something wrong?

I can absolutely promise you that I will pay far less than someone
making multiple withdrawls from cash machines/atms

Not me. I pay 1% on each withdrawal with no flat fees. 1% < 2.25% + $20
I can use any ATM using the common network since I bank with a credit union, so no ATM search costs either.
I've yet to see anyone who orders Euros ahead of time beat my credit union rates.

My credit union doesn’t charge a mark up or if it does it’s so small < .005/euro that it’s well within the day’s trading range.

The 1 percent is great but check the differental in market spot --
that's where you will get hurt.

I have no idea what this means. How will I get hurt again? I don't buy Euros or engage in currency speculation. If the Euro gets more expensive, I can always shift my travel plans to other countries not on the Euro (the majority of the world) if need be.

Hey kath27_99: We just ditched our Wells account of too many years and went to a new B and M bank around us for our day-to-day. And we thus needed to now link that account to Schwab. They asked for the set-up info as part of the process so they can send two tiny transactions over to you for verification. There is no problem doing this, and they can be trusted. Not only that, they don't deduct these from your account nor recover them when you verify, so you gain a few cents in your other account!

Larry, I just went through this with Capital One 360 and they asked for routing number and account, but not my User ID and password. That seems scary to me. I don't feel comfortable with giving an institution my User Id and password. I guess I'll just stick with 360.

kath- we actually have both those accounts that we needed to update. CapOne did not ask us to let them go there, Scwab did. This really is not a problem, and it is not the only place that does this procedure. if this is really stopping you, i would recommend you call Schwab and ask for them to find a way to make this happen without your inputting this info, I believe they will do this. Their customer service is excellent. It is kind of pointless to have this great account and ATM card and not be able to use it.

i was able to call and get the transfer done without giving personal bank info. Thanks for the advice. I'm feeling better about getting cash in Italy now. So, from what I understand I can go to any ATM in Italy and Schwab will reimburse any transaction fees, right? Seems pretty awesome. Thank you all for your advice.

Great, I was certain this would work, as I remember language to that effect when we set this up a couple months ago.

That is what Schwab says. We have never had to take them up on this. Hint - it seems some Italian-owned banks (and Spanish-owned in Spain) are now charging ATM fees for transactions. Note this is Italian-owned banks. if you go to a non-Italian bank - e.g. Deutsche Bank - and use its machine, there should be no fee to worry about getting back. You should be able to find various international banks if you search, you can certainly look on websites for their locations.

I'm flying to Venice from the SF Bay Area via a 3 hour layover in London, and would actually prefer getting Euros from my local bank, even if they're going to charge me a 1-2% markup over market rates.

I prefer not having to deal with potential ATM problems on my arrival in Venice (because banks can sometimes block foreign transactions), and will need $$$ in Euros because I have to pay my B&B in cash. For those who bought Euros in the US, what rate did you get? I'm not a member of a credit union but can become one.

I agree Agnes. His 11.03am posting made absolutely no sense. I was even surprised that his credit union had foreign currency since most credit union do not have a foreign currency desk. We pay the same 1% currency fee with our credit union so I cannot see anyway he would beat my rate. And the comment about Spot Rate has no bearing on the discussion.

....not waste a single second of time searching for atms with favorable rates.... Who searches for ATMs??? If I need an ATM that day, the ATM will find me since they are everywhere even in small towns. The ATMs are there to serve the local population and not American tourists. And all ATMs on the same network will have the same exchange at the same time of day. As long as you use a bank owned ATM the exchange will be basically the same from ATM to ATM.

Thank you all again for the advice. We leave tomorrow and I'm only bringing a few hundred in cash, in hopes that I can get euro's at an atm as soon as I get off of the plane. I'm good right? Just a little nervous, can you tell??? Eeek!

Andy Scott,

If your bank only charges 1% or 2% when you buy foreign currency from them, please tell me what bank that is!

My bank charges at least 10%. Most banks around average 8%. Both are a lot more than the zero my Capital One card charges me.

Frank,

Yep, never spending any time looking for ATMs. I have literally tripped over them in many airports. And I mean real Bank owned and operated ATMs that don't charge any fees or force DCC on me. Everywhere I have been in Europe, including a small stop in Scotland which consisted of 1 gas pump and a pub, had ATMs I could use.

Kath.... I'm only bringing a few hundred in cash, What does that mean? Are suggesting a few hundred in US dollars. If you insist on bring US dollars don't bring more than $ 100 - $ 160 in new 20s. I have stopped carrying back up US cash. What I do do is to bury 200 euro as my emergency back up cash. If you need it, far more convenient than trying to find somewhere to convert your emergency US cash into local currency. Personally I would buy a 100 euro at a currency exchange in the airport so I would have it when I hit the ground. Sure, it will cost you $10,$12 but view that as an insurance policy premium.

Mark, No ATM forces DCC on you. If it is offer, you decline it - simple.

I agree with Mark - I don't get Euros ahead of time anymore and see no point in it. I carry a few hundred USD I could change at the airport currency exchange (at a poor rate) in case my ATM card fails for some reason (or I can't use one of my credit cards to get into town), but my ATM cards have never failed me.

There are dozens of things that could go wrong on a European trip, and not being able to get local currency upon arrival is very, very low on my list of worries. The odds of an ATM not working AND not being able to find a currency exchange desk at an airport AND not being able to use one of my credit cards to get to town from the airport are extremely low. (The human mind is great at imagining things that could go wrong but also good at ridiculously exaggerating the odds.) I just don't see the benefit of getting Euros ahead of time - seems like an unnecessary waste of money to me. I'd do it only if I needed say a huge deposit on an apartment right after landing or something.

My bank charges at least 10%. Most banks around average 8%. Both are a
lot more than the zero my Capital One card charges me.

10%? I would open an account at a credit union to avoid such charges when traveling internationally.

Hi, I had read through these earlier and had decided to just wait till we get to Italy to get euro's from ATAM, however I just read you should do it at a bank, well we arrive on a Sunday and need tips right away for boat driver to our hotel and then our first day in Venice. Recommendations? Thanks

From Merriam-Webster:
Definition of exchange
1 : the act of giving or taking one thing in return for another
2 : a : the act or process of substituting one thing for another
b : reciprocal giving and receiving

Using one currency to get another can correctly be called an "exchange"

Use a bank-owned ATM. It's best to do that right at a bank since once in a blue moon an ATM hiccups, but if you're arriving on a Sunday, you'll have to make do. Follow the advice of another of our posters and choose an ATM someone else has just used successfully.