Dollars to CHF

What you are missing is what fees USBank will charge you to use the ATM there. At one time, it was something like a $5 out of network fee and a 3% foreign transaction fee, though I have seen $2,50 and a 3% fee.

But lets say you take out the equivalent $100 at todays rate of $1.26 (will vary a bit) and the worst of the two options above, you will pay $126 + $5 + $3 or $134, you are still ahead of the $146 from them here in the US.

In the big picture, you are worrying about a few Dollars on what is likely an expensive trip. Do not worry too much about the exchange rate, go, enjoy yourself. Believe me, when you see what a beer or a meal costs, just in Swiss Francs, you will hardly think just of the exchange rate. Steel yourself and not break it down to cost, just how much enjoyment you are getting.

Good advice. It's not like I am taking out $1000's. It's going to be challenging enough just getting around I don't need to stress over a few CHF's. I've already likened this to NYC pricing at higher end restaurants.

Whether you pay cash or credit, the exchange rate will be approximately the same. Having a CC with no foreign transaction fee will save you a lot of money. Take out one big cash withdraw. You can always spend the remaining cash at the end of your trip pretty easily.

Do not use a credit card at an ATM, that is considered a cash advance with a breathtaking interest rate. And for a debit card there are going to be several entities along the processing chain that will take a bite.

Open an online savings/checking account with Charles Schwab and you'll get a debit/credit card that refunds all the fees that you will encounter. I've tried it in several countries and it's great.

Don't get hung up on exchange rates and currency conversion charges, it's all a part of travel. Why should someone run a business providing a service for free?

Unless you have pre-paid your hotels, the old (better) exchange rate isn't locked in; your credit card payments when you get to Switzerland will be converted to dollars at the then-current
exchange rate, plus any fees charged by your credit card.

From my last trip to Switzerland this past January, I had a no fee credit card (Capital One) and an ATM card from my credit union with no foreign ATM fees and only 0,9% foreign transaction fees. My analysis when I got home was that items I used cash ended up costing almost exactly 0.9% more than if I had used a credit card.

So my advice is to use a no fee credit card for everything you can. You can get 100 CHF from an ATM for small incidentals. UBS ATM's are pretty ubiquitous. Raiffeisenbank is another good one. Just make sure to opt, in all cases, to be charged in CHF, NOT USD.

My wife and I have a Citibank M/C, a different Citibank M/C, a credit union debit card, and another local bank debit card. In Switzerland earlier this year, it was kind of a game. I'd give the server a M/C, it wouldn't work, I give them different one, and it would work. Same with swiping the cards. Usually swiping would not work, but inserting the card would. Had a similar problem trying to buy a Swiss Travel Pass online. I wound up buying the STP from Eurail because the SBB website's transaction service wouldn't accept any of my cards. I believe Swiss banking has become more restrictive about verifying credit card purchases.

when you see what a beer or a meal costs, just in Swiss Francs, you
will hardly think just of the exchange rate.

Paul beat me to it. Costs in Switzerland were jaw dropping. Take it from a Canadian where the currency exchange to francs is 1.72; you'll make yourself miserable if you think about it.

Sadly, I just expect to blow a hole in the finances at this point regardless. Our next trip will be to Nice France. Looks like the exchange rate for the Euro is slightly better currently than to CFH. Not the 1.03 I have a few years ago. I mistakenly always thought the flights were the expensive part of going to Europe. What I am finding it really isn't. It's the accomdations, food and extracurricular activities that make it expensive.

What I am finding it really isn't. It's the accommodations, food and extracurricular activities that make it expensive.

I agree with accommodations, but with food there is quite a bit to choose from and extracurricular I don't find too expensive for major museums and such. One of the keys to accommodations is to give up staying right in the city centers. As long as you are on a public transportation metro line, there isn't much of a need to be right in the center during sleep time IMO. Prices are actually a lot lower. Items such as better AC, reduced noise and elevator access is increased.

No doubt your bank wants you to get CHF from them because they’ll make a nice profit off you.

Find out which bank(s) in Zürich have the least expensive international transaction fees using your bank debit card. In addition, the fewer times you go to a Swiss cash machine, the less expensive it will be for you.

...AND...when you use your credit card, if you are asked if you want to pay in US dollars or the local currency, ALWAYS choose the local currency. Otherwise, you will pay a fairly high percentage fee for the priviledge of the conversion to USD.

Your credit card will give you the best bank currency exchange rate.

Don't forget to go online and provide your bank with the dates and countries you will be traveling too. Unlike credit cards, if you do not notify them, it may not work. Ask me how I know this :-)

Solid advice on using credit cards and having a Charles Schwab account which refunds the atm fee charged by the local bank. Just make sure you do the ATM withdrawl in CH amount; not in USD as if you do it in USD value, the atm fee is not refunded because you now used a currency conversion feature within the ATM.