My recent experience in Paris

Lori Anne, if you had asked that here you would have been told that, everyone who has travelled out of the country in the last 15 years is well aware of how useless travellers checks have become. Even Rick Steves.
What possessed you to bother taking any at all??

Lori-while it is much easier to use ATM/credit, I always carry some travelers checks in case of emergency. There is an AmEx office near the Opera. I have encountered problems with bank transactions and tc's have saved the day. They are not totally useless, just save for emergencies...take home unused and cash them there. Also, it is helpful if you can buy them at a credit union which does not charge for the service.

Further note to this exchange - when you go abroad, call your banks/credit card companies and tell them that you will be using your cards in Europe. Otherwise they may flag your cards and assume that there is illegal activity going on.
Also check with your bank to make sure that your card and PIN will work in the countries that you are visiting.
Barbara - maybe your card did not work in Italy because of your PIN. I was told by my bank manager that the number of digits in the PIN is very important. Italian banking machines only accept a 4 digit PIN.

Our last expiriance with travelers checks taught us to never use them again. I bought TC in Euro denominations and still had a difficult time using them. Credit cards and Debit cards are the way to go. We belong to a credit union and are unable to buy euros before we go. We stop at an ATM when we get off the plane and take out enough to get us started. This method has not been a problem yet.

I have to agree with the poster above. i always take a small amount of traveler's checks. When I was in Sorrento and ran out of cash, the two local ATMs did not accept my card. I did have to go to a change bureau, but I was able to get cash.

For me they are for emergency use only, but if you need the cash, it can be a lifesaver

I have to agree with the others (and Rick!) that Traveller's Cheques are somewhat a "relic of the past". These seem to be increasingly difficult to use, with fewer establishments willing to cash them (or charging a fee for doing so).

I normally carry at least two ATM cards and at least two credit cards. So far I have had few problems using the cards in any European countries. However, I have noticed that the cards won't function at certain times of the day. I was initially a bit puzzled about this, until I remembered that my financial institution does data "housekeeping" in the wee hours of the morning, so the computers are down for a short time. Trying the same ATM machine an hour or so later was successful.

JOHN, it's strange that your Credit Union is unable to provide foreign currency. I also belong to a CU, and have no trouble obtaining US dollars, Euros or Pounds Sterling. Depending on circumstances, they occasionally need a day or two to bring some currencies in.

No Sam -- what you need is a 4-digit numeric PIN.

What about bringing regular checks? Has anyone been able to cash a personal check at a bank to get cash?

On my recent trip to Paris, I saw a number of Parisians writing cheques for their purchases but they had to show some type of ID to verify the cheque. As a visitor, I doubt that they would cash our cheques. Most people paid for their meals/purchases/events with cash or credit cards. The restaurants that I went to had the portable debit machines that they bring to your table.

As for PINs, there are some banks whose debit cards work with 6 numbers. But 4 numbers is becoming the most common.

I agree that TC's are out of date and the convenience of atms, credit cards, etc are superior but I must say that if you are taking a trip later this year or next and are concerned about the plummeting dollar, then perhaps it might save you a couple bucks later if you buy euro denominated TC's now. I have never had a problem cashing TC's at La Poste (it is more than a post office it's a bank). There is one at the end of Rue Cler.
I must confess I haven't cashed one in Paris since 2003 (Used ATM last time and was more convenient). Could someone update me if exchanging TC's for cash at La Poste is a problem? Might be useful in the strange financial times ahead.

I've never seen a PIN longer than four digits either -- or one with letters instead of numbers, which some people mention on here. Ken, not all credit unions offer the same services -- mine doesn't offer foreign currencies, either. Even at a bank it's difficult and expensive to obtain foreign currencies here in central Illinois.

Most Rick Steves travelers don't use travelers' checks, but I'd like to take the contrarian view here. On a recent trip to Vienna the currency exchange place on the Kartner Strasse gave a better exchange rate on travelers' checks than the bank or American Express Office. I don't recall how much it was, but it wasn't anywhere near 10%. On a recent trip I had to pay an outrageous amount to exchange cash for Euros at a bank; at that time the European bankers were on the lookout for counterfeited money. Anyway, while ATM's are great, sometimes the machine eats your card (believe me, it happens) or the ATM is out of order. Credit cards are the best, but places don't always take them. So on my trips I take cash, credit cards, ATM card plus travelers' checks. My travelers checks cost me nothing at my bank, and I can always redeposit them when I get home.