GailArt

I'm going to be in Paris in May, arriving at CDG airport. I need to exchange a large amount of US dollars for euros right away to pay the owner of the apartment we're renting. Should we use the ATM machines (assuming there are some) at the airport or take a taxi into the city and find a bank? Is the exchange rate the same at ATMs and banks?

nytraveler

If you use an ATM - either in the airport or at the bank - you will get the same rates - the Interbank rate plus 1 or 2% - depending on your bank.

If you try to go into the bank and change actual cash - US $ for euros) you will lose about 7 or 8% on the transaction.

The problem is - will your bank let you withdraw as much as you need in one day? Don;t know how many euros you will need - perhaps you can get the bank to give you a higher ATM limit for the trip. Or, if y ou have checking accounts at more than one bank you can draw from both of them at ATMs.

USNR

Use an ATM and a debit card to save yourself a ton of money. We used our Wells Fargo VISA after telling WF before we left that we would be making substantial withdrawals. No problems at all.

Exchanging U.S. currency at banks is asking to take a big beating.

bob_brown

The advice given above agrees with everything I have experienced with money exchanging. Go ATM is you can.

I carry a few American Express checks as a doomsday defense, but I have only had to use one in a semi-forced situation. TCs are NOT the way to do it!~!

I also have more than one source of money via plastic while I am in Europe.

janisj

Go to your bank and have them raise your daily withdrawal limit. Also - if you and your spouse both have cards on the same checking account - you each get up to the daily limit. So say your daily limit is $1000 - you can get almost €1300 on one day if necessary. Though you would have to do multiple ATM transactions to get that much.

ira

Hi G,

Ditto J.

An ATM usually has a 350E limit for each transaction, but you can make multiple transactions.

elyang

Hi Gail,

I am in the same situation as you are in. To be on the safer side, I think it is better to get some euros from your bank, and then withdraw some cash from an ATM upon arrival. Is the maximum daily limit of $1000 (~600 euros) enough to pay your rent? And as ira has said, you can only withdraw 350 euro per ATM. And there are chances that the ATMs are out of cash or are broken.Do you really want to look for ATMs when you arrive with luggages?

janisj

re bringing € w/ you. If you need €1000 - depending on the bank, it will cost between $70 and $100 more to get your € in the State than from ATMs in Paris.

Now in your scheme of things, $80-ish may not be that much. But I'd personally much rather spend that on a nice dinner in Paris.

Christina

YOu don't have to do it at the airport, but if you can and it's convenient, might as well (as long as you take care of that money during transit, etc.). There are also, obviously, hundreds of ATMs in Paris, not just at the airport.

Michel_Paris

Does all the money have to be paid the day of arrival? There are alternatives such as bank drafts and wire transfers if you need options.

Underhill

A wire transfer by our bank cost us a $35 charg, but it was the est option for paying a deposit months in advance. We then arranged with our bank to increase our daily withdrawal amount to what we would need to pay the balance on site.

tyedye33

If you do go the ATM route and you can wait...use an ATM in the City the fee for ATM's in CDG was roughly $9 dollars compared to about $2.50 in the city.

janisj

tyedye33: What do you mean?? Whether at the airport or in the city, banks in France do not charge for using their ATMs. There is no difference in the cost of using a bank ATM from location to location.

StCirq

Nonsense. There's no fee at an ATM anywhere in France, ever....unless it's one YOUR bank imposed.

janisj

There can be fees at a non-bank ATM. But I don't think there are any of those at CDG.

yk

Perhaps it's one of those cash machines (not bank ATMS) next to the Travelex booth? I have seen those at airports before and always wondered about them.

Christina

Regular bank-affiliated ATMs do not charge a fee in France, at airports or anywhere. I have not seen a "private" ATM at CDG, but I haven't really looked that much.

Travelex does have some conversion machine at some airports in the US, I've noticed, and they do charge about 10 percent, I think. I think the ones I've noticed actually just convert money (you put in USD and out come euro), so it's just like a exchange bureau, only no real people (Travelex obviously makes a ton of money on those, they've even done away with labor costs).

I don't know if they have one of those at CDG, I never noticed. I suspect the above poster is simply referring to his own bank's fee, whatever they did (maybe they have different fees depending on the owner of the ATM). It's kind of a clue that the comparison was to a $2.50 fee at ATMs in Paris, and they absolutely do not charge fees (if regular banks), so that was obviously the US bank's fee where tyedye has an account attached to the ATM card.

Travelex has what they call cash-dispensing machines, but I think they also do run some private ATMs (they do in the UK, not sure about France). They are not a bank.

Michel_Paris

I'm assuming this is for 100 euro or less?

Since this is for a small amount, why not just bring some $US and change it at either your departing airport or arrival airport...or, have the cash and if you don't find an ATM at arriving ariport, cash some US$.

janisj

Michael_paris: The OP mentioned a "large amount" of cash to pay for their apartment - so I sorta doubt she is talking about €100 or less.

Michel_Paris

Big oops....I was trying to post on the thread about XE.com

I stand by my earlier response on thread