Hi - We leave for Italy in a few weeks. We land at the Marco Polo Int'l Airport. Should we get Euros before we leave? Get them at the airport in San Francisco before we leave? Get them at the Airport in Marco Polo? Get them at a bank in Venice? Also, during our travels in Italy, is it best to use our credit cards or get Euros? If Euros, is it best to get them inside a bank or the ATM?
Thanks,
Robert
The worst thing you can do would be to bring US dollars and convert via bank or currency exchange in Europe. I usually rent apartments and must pay the rent in full upon arrival, and I get the best rate through an American Express office in my town. HOWEVER, if you do not need 1000 eu, you are better off just using your debit card at the airport on arrival.
Make sure you call your credit card company and the bank that issued your debit card ASAP to let them know you will be using the cards in Italy. You may also want to increase the amount of cash you can withdraw at one time from your debit card, because the EU is currently trading @ 1.37 -- so 200 euros is not 200 dollars.
I try to use my credit union charge card as much as possible or my Visa as much as possible to avoid getting a lot of cash. Be aware, however, that you will need the cash eus for many small restaurants, taxis, etc in Europe because many of them do not accept credit cards.
You'll almost always get the best exchange rate at an ATM in the country for which you need the currency. Wait until you get to the airport.
Hi Robert, I myself and many others on this forum like to arrive In Italy with a modest amount of euros in pocket, say about 100 euros, for initial expenses in case you are delayed in using an ATM when you arrive. Get these euros from your bank, a major branch usually will have some on hand, or can easily get them. Try to get bills of a modest size, like 10, 20 or 50, easier to spend. Your exchange rate on these will be a little worse than in Italy, but you are paying that little bit extra for the peace of mind knowing you are landing with some spendable cash for an initial snack, drink, etc. Use a bank, not an currency exchange at the airport, where the fee will be higher. You can get more euros at a bank-affiliated ATM in Italy (not a currency exchange company), or perhaps at an airport in another Euro country like France or Germany, if you make a connection there. These ATMs offer a choice of languages including English. You should use a bank DEBIT card to access your own money, not a credit card which involves borrowing the bank's money with more fees involved. It is good to travel with 2 different debit cards, in case you have some problem with one. Call your banks to advise them of your travel dates and countries, and ask about withdrawal limits or any fees to withdraw money. Wonderful if there are no fees, but usually there are, and you need to know if the fee is a small percentage, or perhaps a fixed small amount per withdrawal, meaning it is more economical to withdrawal more money each time, rather than make multiple small withdraws. You should also call about your credit cards, to use for purchases, to advise them about your travel plans, and to understand any fees. Most but not all US credit cards may have small foreign transaction fees, and most US credit cards may not work in many automated payment machines in Italy, like at train station or gas stations. In those cases, use cash or a ticket/payment counter. Our US credit card system lags behind Europe in introducing chip-and-PIN cards often required by those machines.
Read/study:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money
My recollection from a couple of years past is that there are ATM/cash machines in the VCE baggage pick up area. The machine limit appeared to go only 200€.
While exchanging USD to EUR at the airport or any where is not favorable, it is my back up plan that I have not had to use.
I ordered about 700 Euro (about $1000 worth) from my bank before we left. The reason was that I had to pay our apartment in cash upon arrival and I didn't want to have to deal with it when we got there. That let me pay the 500 euro or so for that, plus have a couple hundred in case we encountered any ATM problems when we got there. Mostly for my peace of mind, but I wanted to have the first day all set.
Have fun!
Make sure that when you are getting Euros from an atm in Italy that you are using a debit card and not your credit card. The credit card will start charging interest on the transaction immediately! And don't forget to call the credit card company and bank that has issued the debit card to notify them of dates and locations of your travels.
Then have a good trip!
My local bank will exchange dollars for any currency free of charge. Check with yours; I was able to get Euros on the spot, and when I needed Czech crowns, it took a couple of weeks, but it was all free.
Get $100 worth in Euro before you leave (at a bank, or at the SFO airport, although the rate is worse). You may not need it at all, but just in case you can't (or you don't have time to) locate an ATM at the airport on arrival. Then to get the best exchange rate I suggest you pay your bigger expenses (hotels, restaurants, bigger purchases, etc) using your credit card. For small purchases (like coffee or pastries,etc.) use cash withdrawn from ATM's in Italy. ATM's in Italy work exactly like in the US and your ATM card will work there. Make sure you notify your bank (and your credit cards) you will be using your cards in Italy and memorize your ATM card PIN in numbers, not words, because European ATMs have no letters in the key pad.
If you fly from SFO to VCE you will be stopping somewhere first, since there are no direct flights from California to Venice. If the layover is in a Euro zone airport (Frankfurt? Paris?) maybe you can get some cash at an ATM there while you wait for the connection to VCE.
I wait to get my euros until I am in Europe. When I go overseas I exchange a small amount of USD at the Travelers Express booth in the airport. After that I use ATMs outside banks to get my money.
The euros are not necessary for me until I am in Europe.
My 2-Cents Worth
As you can imagine, this is such a frequently asked question that Rick Steves' take on it is found in the FAQ for this website.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/faq-39-s-answers-to-frequently-asked-questions
Some banks in Italy will direct you to the ATM outside uless you are having a problem with it. Many banks have an enclosed area with ATMs between the street entrance and the lobby. For some of these, you will need to swipe your debit card to gain entrance.
Frank noted that: My local bank will exchange dollars for any currency free of charge.
In keeping with the concept of "No free lunch", there are typically two or three charges for exchanging currency. The first and most obvious is an exchange service fee, usually a flat amount if any. The second is the exchange rate bid/ask spread. The last would be a shipping/handling fee if you are not buying in person.
While Frank's exchange was " free of charge", I am wondering at what exchange rate.
I use: http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
to get an idea of fair exchange rates. Looking at the Oanda rates for September 06:
Sell $1 USD for Euro = 0.77198€ ask or 0.77233€ at Interbank rate (no mark up)
Sell $1 USD for Czech CZK = 21.2615czk ask or 21.3312czk bid at Interbank no markup.
The Oanda website let's you check historic Interbank rates.
Banks and credit card companies may identify the bid/ask spread up front as a foreign transaction fee. For example Bank of America ATM withdrawals from partner bank ATMs are without fee but with a 3% conversion charge.
Would love to to know the details of frank's transaction. However, the probability of his transaction being no cost to him is very close to zero unless he is an officer of the bank or a very big depositor. I am guessing he paid closer to 10 % in an inflated exchange rate. The best bank rate that I have seen is 5% at Wells Fargo.
Just googled "currency exchange at SFO" -- looks like B of A no longer does this, just Travlex. (At higher fee, no doubt. )
Just googled "currency exchange at SFO"
Travelex is pretty up front
http://www.travelex.com/US/For-Individuals/Rates/Online-Rates/Exchange-Rates-Explained/
Exchange Rates Explained
As the world’s foreign-exchange specialist, we are helping consumers to make things as simple as possible by developing this guide to exchange rates.
Travelex Best Rate
The Travelex Best Rate is our exclusive online exchange rate and only available when buying online from the Travelex website. These online rates are exclusive to our website and are not available in-store.
*Why is this different to the rate I see on the news?
The rate you see on the news is the rate that banks or large financial institutions charge each other when trading significant amounts of foreign currency. It is not the tourist rate and you will not be able to buy currency at this rate, as you are buying relatively small amounts of foreign currency in comparison. In everyday life it is the same as the difference between wholesale and retail prices.*
Travelex USD to EUR as of 9-07-2014:
Pay $100 USD. Get 69.47 €
http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/
Oanda Interbank + 10%:
Pay $100 USD get 69.48€.
What do you think your retail bank charging?
It is called marketing spin. Tourist rate ?? - no such thing. They are just making it up. When you use a debit card at an bank owned ATM the exchange rate will be the interbank rate with a markup of about .75 to 1 %. From there any additional fees are solely determined by the card issuer. For some, there are no additional fees.
