Money Question

The euro at $1.50 would be an 8.7% increase. If you are confident that the price of the euro will increase that much, then buy now. In the US, euros will probably cost you about 6%, shop around for the best rate. The lowest rate I have found was a 4% markup from a Chase bank in Chicago.

You can also factor in the markup you would expect to pay in Europe if you bought euros there.

Personally, I do not gamble on currency markets and just withdraw my foreign currency as needed from an ATM.

It is hard to guess what will happen with currency.

You will likely find when you buy Euros in the U.S. that it costs a lot more than the interbank rate that is quoted. I have on occasion purchased foreign currency from my bank for convenience and the buy rate is always more than the interbank rate that is posted. Most U.S. banks will either hike up the rate or charge a fee or both.

Just to give you an example, I checked Citibank's currency exchange rates for EUR for January 30th. Their sell rate is 1.3049 and their buy rate is 1.4799. As you can see, to buy Euro, you would pay significantly more than the interbank rate. They are not the least expensive place to get currency, but I don't think their rates are that unusual.

The mark-up that you pay on this side of the pond will almost always cancel out any benefit from a short term currency fluctuation in your favour. Sure, do it if you want. Or, go to a casino and try to win some extra money there. Either way, the "house" always has the long-term advantage.

Just as an experiment for my first several trips, I always checked the currency rate at some arbitrary date before traveling. I then added the interbank mark-up from two banks. After returning from my trip, I looked at the actual conversion rate (always smaller in Europe when going from dollars to euros) I paid from an ATM and compared it to the amount I had calculated. In only one case out of 6 would I have come out ahead, and even there, the difference was less than 0.25%.

Thanks for the info! So the "interbank rate" is the cheap rate I am seeing on the currency exchange sites. That is closer to the ATM rate then the exchange rate at a bank/AAA?

Yes, Kim, that's right. ATM rates are closer to the interbank rate than anything you will find through a bank (particularly in the US) or a currency exchange.

While the ATM (must be associated with a bank) used in Europe will give you within a percentage point the interbank rate, it is your card issuer who may/will add additional fees -- using the ATM, currency conversion, withdrawal fee, etc. These fees can add 3 to 5% to the interbank rate. SO, check carefully with the card issuer to determine these fees. And you can shop around - most credit unions do not add fees especially the currency conversion fee. And bank fee can vary greatly. My primary credit card is Capital One that does not add any fees and a credit union debit card that does not add conversions fees and allows six free withdraws per 30 days and then only charges a $1 per transaction after that.

I have typically gotten Euro before going abroad, so I will have "local currency" upon my arrival (for taxis, bus tickets, food, etc). Credit cards are taken "most" places, and ATMs were plentiful, but I got a nasty suprise on my last trip-- my bank was charging both a fee for ATM withdrawl use AND also a percentage of the transaction total (on purchases and withdrawls). So, for this trip I plan on taking a few hundred Euro (pre-changed) in hand and then using my AMEX where possible (like hotels), since they dont charge any international fee for using it (not to my knowledge). The conversion rates are too up and down--dont want to be wondering if my purchase on that day is going to be made at $1.34 or $1.48...& altho it may not seem like alot, think about how many times you may use your card on vacation (hotels, dinners, tickets, souvenirs, etc). It adds up!
I'd say watch the conversion/change rates at your bank online (my bank has a page showing daily exchange rates, i just searched under 'foreign currency'). if it seems like it's on the rise, change it asap. OR, if you wanted to take say, 1000 Euro, get half now at the lower rate and then see how it looks like its heading in a couple of months. Just a thought

Ashley, the rate would have to rise an awful lot to make it worth the fees involved in buying ahead. You should always know what your bank charges for ATM use abroad - my little credit union charges nothing - so there won't be any surprises.

Look, you are pretty close to Canada--why not try Goggling " multi-currency ATM's near (name of the city across from Buffalo)." It seems to me there were posts about the introduction on these kinds of ATM's in Canada. If available, you could use a debit or credit card and take out the Euros you want directly--just like yo will be able to in the EU.
Personally,I would NEVER get Euros on this side of the Atlantic--you will be hosed by the fees you will be charged.

The nearest multi currency ATM is in Toronto. That is 4 hours away for us. I guess we will get the 100 euro tip kit from AAA so we have a bit for when we get there, and then just get our $$ from the ATMS. We have a great credit union and there is no fee and no exchange fee to use the card for euros in Ireland. Yeah! I guess I will keep doing the "euro dance" and hope for Greece to be continually difficult in resolving their debt issues. Then the euro will stay low for our trip! : )

wow....retreat! retreat!
in my defense, what i expressed was MY opinion to Kim. Hopefully she will take everyone's input and make her own decision. Next, all I can tell you is that, so far, I have made several purchases (hotels and a concert ticket) from here in the US with my AMEX for abroad, and my AMEX statement has not shown any fee for an "international purchase". Not true of my Visa card through my bank. I did know that my bank would charge me to use ATMs abroad, but not that I would get another fee based on the amount of the withdrawl or purchase I made! THAT I obviously hadnt read the fine print on....so my comment was just a warning to be informed as to what her bank's fees are.
And maybe saving potentially $80.00 in conversion rates--buying $1000 at $1.34 vs $1.50 isnt a big deal to some people...but it sure is to me!