Us to euro in airports or banks? Which is best?
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
15084 posts
Neither. Do not take cash to change. Use your US debit card to get money out of an ATM machine in the Netherlands.
You may not need cash at all. The last 3 or 4 years I've used ApplePay for EVERYthing including the charge to get in to the toilettes at the Centraal Station in Amsterdam, lol.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8309 posts
Agree. Credit card is also used to tap in and out of public transport and trains, and even for the food at Febo.
We did find that some market vendors either preferred cash, or did not take credit card, same with some small doner shops and other places off the tourist path. The Dutch mostly use the equivalent of a debit card, and some merchants take those, but not credit card.
Just use your ATM card to withdraw cash, there will be a small fee (3 euro?) from the Geldemaat. If asked, do the transaction in euros, not Dollars.
Posted by
PA
2923 posts
To add--there is no such thing as "money exchange." When you go to an '"exchange", you are not "exchanging", You are buying local currency as a commodity with your dollars, and you will be charged upwards of 10% for this purchase, as the local currency is being sold to you.. Withdrawing your cash from your account from an ATM should cost no more than 1% for the transaction, and depending on your bank, likely well less.
At an ATM that is operated by a bank, there should be almost no fee at their end. You can usually find bank-operated ATMs at the airport and train stations. If not, just do a Googlemaps search for ATMs where you will be.
Posted by
102 posts
Geldmaat, as mentioned by Paul, provides most of the ATMs in the Netherlands and is owned by the 4 main Dutch banks. More info on Geldmaat can be found here: https://www.geldmaat.nl/en/ and costs associated https://www.geldmaat.nl/en/services/withdrawal/withdrawal-notes/.
You can also find GWK Travelex ATMs at Schiphol and train stations: https://www.gwktravelex.nl/en/stores/.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12192 posts
US to euro in airports or banks? Which is best?
Between those 2 choices, a bank in the US is the better choice.
As noted above an ATM at your destination is the best of the 3 choices.
Exchange- the act of giving or taking one thing in return for another
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exchange
It appears OP used the term correctly.