Ciao Coco: The exchange rate was GREAT, the same as if I were there. There was no other charge.

I'd be interested to see what others say about you proposing this the other way. I would think that you would have to offer a bank transfer as an alternative.

Are you still freezing?

I think that once the landlord made it clear that the method can cost <u>nothing</u> in addition to whatever currency markup is charged (which can also be <u>nothing</u, a prospective tenant would jump at it. I know I would.

It might also be pointed out that the card's owner can change the PIN and use the same account for travel after the lodging deal has been completed. The landlord can use the card as an ice scraper. If you do this, be sure to scratch off the CVV before mailing the card, though.

Hi Suzette ;-) Thanks for the advice.

The weather now is the typical average weather for winter, just above 0°c (max 5 or 6°c) but it might freeze again... :-S
Merci Rob!

I have to say, there's one thing which bothers me here. It's the sending of the card to the prosepctive landlord without telling them. I think I would be seriously irritated (as the landlord) if I had not agreed to it first. It's fine if you can get them to agree to the process in advance, but to <b>presume</b> it will be ok, seems somehow not right to me.
And why bother having them send the card back? Just have them cut it up and get a new one.

In terms of the landlord proposing this process, as the tenant, I'm not sure I would want to go through the hassle of opening a special account just for this either. My question back to the landlord would be, why don't you take PayPal (as discussed above)? Honestly, as the renter, I want this to be as easy as possible for me and that means either a credit card or Paypal deposit. If not, I'll find another place. That goes for hotels too. I'm trying to book a small hotel in Vietnam and they want a deposit. The options are wire transfer, bank draft, or emailing or calling with credit card info. I will call them via Skpye and give them the credit card info.

I would explain that as a mom'n'pop B'n'B, I don't want to shell out any overhead I can avoid. That means PayPal, wire transfer, and credit/debit card are out. Each one eats 3-5% of my revenue, and I'd consider passing up the deal if the tenant doesn't want to play by my rules.

Besides, everyone should have a special travel account to prevent one's main account from being wiped out, <i>n'est-ce pas</i>? I'd push that concept, plus the idea that they can avoid currency markup when using the card - if they shop card issuers rigorously.

K: I agree that it was very presumptuous of me to not tell her what I was sending. I said that I was sending her money via snail mail. In my mind an ATM card is money. When she received it and saw it was the card she was annoyed but after she sucessfully got the deposit she was so much happier. I felt that if I mentioned the card again she would say &quot;NO&quot; and then what would I do? It was a last ditch effort and it worked. In the future I will do the same thing and hope for the same outcome.

In the past I have always found a company or person that would take a credit card or paypal, but this has limited me as to which places that I can stay. I saw this apartment last summer and absolutely fell in love with it and the property and I really wanted to stay there. I was becoming a pain and I didn't want her to stop communicating with me and get someone else.

I felt that she would also be more comfortable sending the card back as opposed to keeping it safe until I get there in 4 months or cutting it up and throwing it away, any of these ideas would have worked for me. I was just trying to make it as easy as possible.

Thank you susanna for reporting back. That was fantastic! I will definitely try your method especially when I need to make a large deposit. Don't you just love Grimaud??!! We go to that area almost every summer and we will be there again this summer. Have a nice time there!!

Joy: when will you be there? I'll be there june 20-july11. Yes, I love the area. Last year we stayed in Port Grimaud, which was pleasant but I love the real towns better. This apartment is on the road to Grimaud about 2k away. Where do you stay, do you need the link to this apartment, but you can't go when I'm there! We have good friends that live part time in Font Maurier (sp)so this is a perfect spot for us.

Hi again susanna!!

We will be in France from June 10 for about 4.5 weeks, (husband ~3 weeks, teen son &amp; me stays on) but in the middle DH &amp; I will make a side trip to Portugal. In the past we have stayed in a wonderful B&amp;B in Grimaud, and an apartment in La Croix Valmer and a gite in Cogolin. This time we are staying a bit north around Brignoles and Gorges du Verdon areas but we will be making a few trips down the coast in that area. Hmmmm...not sure but I believe Font Mourier is near St Tropez?? Then your apartment location is perfect. Yes, do give me the link and if you prefer just email it to me at ntfinder at aol dot com.

Have a stupendous time!

Joy

This thread is fascinating... I hope I've understood properly... I am in the process of renting an apt in Paris for the 1st time, and the owner wants the deposit through Paypal, which is fine except for that (4 percent?) fee for her, and then the remainder when we arrive. I was worrying about how to get or carry the remainder of the rental fee (over a month's worth) when only so much per day can be withdrawn from my debit acc't, and... doesn't Susanna's idea solve this problem too? My husband will be home in CA while I'm traveling with my daughter. Couldn't I just email him to put money in the ATM acc't and withdraw it using the ATM card, without all those pesky fees?
Also, does anyone have specifics on which banks might have a branch in Paris?

HI Sparsam7: I'm glad to hear that you like my idea but if you are going to be there with an atm card can't you just put the money in the account before you leave instead of involving you husband? Although there is a limit on my account in the US my landlord was able to pull 800euros in one day, doing the withdrawl back to back 400 euros. If you didn't want to pay the extra 4% on paypay you could also propose sending her the atm card for your deposit...have I answered you question, I'm not quite sure.

I had a problem with a B &amp; B near Rouen. I went to a grocery store nearby but couldn't justify spending $20 to wire $50.00. After phone calls and emails the owner finally decided to trust me. She was such a kind person and a lovely hostess when we finally made it to France.

I wonder if a person intended to visit Europe fairly often, would it be better to open a bank account in a country in the European Union while over there? I don't know how difficult it would be to make deposits? The other advantage might be that the cc would work at places that US cc's don't.

I think the prepaid cc might be the best bet.

Susanna,
Yes, you're right; I don't know what I was thinking. I do like the idea of a special travel account... I need to review this thread again, though, before I post!!!

Coco,
I like going through Paypal (as a renter) because at least I'm not releasing my credit card info to strangers. But I am new to renting apartments and don't know anyone. I imagine Paypal attracts new renters like me who are insecure. On the other hand, if a landlord has good word of mouth already in place, they don't need to attract new renters, so why pay the fees that Paypal charges.