When can you change US Dollars to Euros in the states ?

Your local AAA office or the Travelex at the airport. I think AAA has slightly better rates, but for both you will pay a bit of a fee for the exchange.

Travelex has a guarantee program that allows you to exchange for US$ on your return at the most favorable rate without a fee as long as you change enough money initally to meet their threshold.

Check with your bank also. Most full-service banks allow you to order foreign currency. Before you do this, check to see if they have a fee and what the exchange rate is.

It's about a 5% fee for most U.S. banks. It cost us $39 (3%) for 500Euros last summer but our daughter works for Wells Fargo and we were able to use her employee discount of 2%.

AAA sells Euros in $100 bundles with a service fee of $7 a bundle.

I checked my local AAA yesterday, they wee charging $144 for 78 euros, an exchange rate of $1.85 per euro. AAA even said these "convenience" packs are pretty much to worst exchange rate you can get. My bank (BB&T) quoated me a rate of $1.68 and can have the euros the next day. Check your bank. Using an ATM card in Europe usually gives you a good rate. Anther poster suggests opening a money market account with ATM previledges (Capital One and Schwab have these). That way THEY are paying you interest while you are on vacation!

I wouldn't assume that a 5% fee is standard at a bank. You really need to check your bank. For example, Citibank has no additional fee if you pick up at a branch. Their sell rate for the Euro today is 1.6655. I'm sure that like many exchange places with no fee they cover their costs in the exchange rate. When you shop around, make sure that you compare both fees and exchange rates.

With Citibank, like you mentioned, no fee, but they are selling to you at 6 to 7% over the interbank rate. When you campare this to 1% at an ATM in Europe, I would only buy enough Euros in the US to get you going or as a cushion, not to fund my trip.

I exchanged it at my bank and there was no charge because I am a member.

Paul, how much do you think I will need to get before I leave...."as a cushion"? I'm leaving April 30. When do you think I should purchase them? Thanks!

Are you aware that the rate you see in the paper etc is not the rate you are charged? That rate is the rate for Banks buying $5,000,000.00 Euro or more. I just found this out the hard way. Got back about 500.00 less than I planned on. And I work at a Bank.

Why don't you just purchase at the airport in Italy? Save you some money and will get a better exchange rate.

We always bring about $200 in foreign currency to start us off when we travel to Europe. I have always found that after a long transatlantic flight usually with little sleep, being in an "foreign" airport, locating our luggage and looking for ground transportation to our destination, the last thing I want to worry about at that point is checking all over the airport for an ATM. With the little bit of local currency we can pay for our transportation and any other miscellaneous expense that might come up, get to the hotel and then get more currency. I know that many people have found that getting the currency at an airport ATM works for them. However, for us, handling it this way gives us some peace of mind. It works for us. I usually use my American Express Membership Rewards card to purchase the currency here in the US. There is no charge for shipping the $$ if you have the card. When we have currency left when we leave Europe, I just save it for the next time.

I just exchanged $500 and it was a $10 flat fee through my bank. There was not any extra costs. I also received it the next business day. I would check with your bank before going elsewhere.

We usually exchange at the airport upon arrival but this time we need a large amount for the rent on the apartment and they want it in cash. Before we have always paid before we went but this is a differant rental company. Hope all is ok.

While I normally wait and use the ATM in whatever country I land in, I am concerned about how the rates are dropping. My trip is in the fall and I intend to purchase a bundle of euros before I go over, just in case the rates continue to drop. Wells Fargo is quoting 1.645 today.