Wired Refund: in Euros or US Dollars?

If you have the choice, I would ask how many dollars vs how many euros would be sent.

What fee would your bank charge to accept and convert euros, vs just receiving dollars.

What loss ( or gain) may also be influenced by the change in the exchange rate since you sent the money.

I suspect there is no 'one size fits all ' ( rule of thumb) answer for your question. There are too many variables

Good to hear you are getting the refund.

Like the answers to so many of life's important questions, "it depends." Mostly in depends on the costs (if any) you will have to pay, and the rates of exchange used. It also depends on what agreement you have.

If you want to be made whole, that is not lose a single penny (or eurocent) on the round-tripping of money....that may be too much to expect.

Remember that there are costs (which somebody will be paying, whether they realize it or not) to convert one currency to another (the exchange rate) and there may be separate fees for converting and fees for sending/receiving.

All other things being equal (or negotiable), what you probably want is to receive the same number of dollars that you sent, or as close to that as possible. To produce that result, somebody is going to have to do some math. Figure the conversion rates (the rate that was used when you sent your dollars to them, and the rate that will be used when they send Euros back to you) - those rates have changed (maybe significantly) since you sent the money. Also factor in what you were charged to send/convert the money, and what they will be charged to send/convert it back.

If it were me, I probably wouldn't sweat the small stuff. Everyone is going to lose money in this worldwide disaster. The fact that you're getting back most of your money is probably as good as I would expect. Good luck.

Your reservation was in Euros.
You paid in Euros.
Get your refund NOW in Euros.
The Italian bank is not going to enter into a discussion with you of their conversion rate while you mull over the situation. Either way you are going to pay fees.
Have you actually been told your getting a refund?
Are you just assuming your getting a refund?

You know, there are other ways of sending money internationally...and doing it via a bank is usually the most expensive (you may be about to find out exactly how expensive). If you have no flexibility, then it is what it is, but if their bank is going to charge you an arm and a leg, and you can get the sender to consider options (might save them money, too), you might investigate other ways. FWIW, I've had very good experiences with TransferWise (you might want to give them a look just so you know what the costs are, so you can compare them to what the banks will want...you may find it's worth the trouble to ask the sender about it - just a suggestion). Good luck.

No brainer, take dollars. You paid an exchange rate (likely) differential, probably a fee as well. That’s history. If you want to take Euro’s you’ll pay another fee to convert them and, your bank may not accept a transfer in Euros. Cash is king and so far the dollar is holding up.

If it were me, I probably wouldn't sweat the small stuff.

That concisely sums up my opinion.

Alan- if, a big if, this refund is coming from an Italian bank. That Italian bank is going to charge a host of fees to convert Euros to dollars. OP’s bank wired Euros, they can handle incoming Euros. The OP has a better shot at getting his/her US bank to charge reasonable fees vs letting a foreign bank charge whatever they want.

Robert- dead on correct.

Well Bob, I’ve been on both sides of stuff like this and I can tell you banks are banks. Foreign or domestic. They are making money on these types of exchanges. Are US banks the kinder gentler species? Do you think you can negotiate this with a US based bank, or even get them to tell you in advance what the exchange rate will be?

Thank you all for such prompt and thought-provoking commentary and perspective. I appreciate the time each of you took to respond. Grazie!

Paypal ?? You could keep the Euros in a Paypal account for your next trip.