Best way to exchange dollars for Euro's?
 

Hi all, we're leaving in 2 days for Ireland and need your comments on the best way to exchange US for Euro's. We've been told that ATM's are a good way but they only recognize certain cards. We have KeyBank and we're not sure if that's a recognized card. I'm off soon for traveler's checks so if you have an alternative in mind, please let me know quickly. Thanks

Kat6688-For a $7 FEDEX shipping fee, you can order EUROS (or any other currencies) through TRAVELEX at any AAA travel office or directly through TRAVELEX (online) (for $8 ship fee). But they take about 2 days to be delivered. Most banks also require a couple of days to order foreign currencies here in the US and charge a hefty fee. Why don't you just get EURO travelers checks? Not sure if you are a AAA member, but they also offer these.

Hi Kat,

Look at the back of your bank card. Does it say Cirrus, Plus, MC? These all work.

Have you asked your bank? Find out what their fees are for using other ATMs.

Have a good trip.

While having a few traveler's checks for emergencies, using ATMs is definitely the best way to go. Make sure you have a 4-digit PIN. Ask your bank if your card is good in Europe and ask what number to call from Europe if your card is lost or stolen. Take two cards in case one is "eaten" by a machine or the magnetic strip goes bad.

Better late than never, huh?
With two days, go to a full service bank and get a 1000 euros. you'll pay a nice exchange fee, but thats the deal so late.
Also, buy a money belt and you'll be fine.
In Europe, your credit card should work assuming you have a 4-digit pin. I'm hoping you are taking at least 2 or 3 different one's in case you lose one or it gets swallowed by an atm machine. other than that, put most purchases-restaurants, hotels, larger purchases on credit card and don't worry about cash.
Mark

I'll try to be diplomatic, and say that any advice to use anything other than your existing ATM card is tantamount to sending you to throw away lots and lots of money.

Chances are you already have not only your KeyBank card, but other VISA or MasterCard cards in your wallet which work in any of these big bank networks (Cirrus, etc) as already mentioned.

Go see your Key Bank retail outlet and they will make sure you have what you need to access your own bank account, and get euro currency at the best possible rate. Ask for a second card and make sure you know the PIN number(s) - - preferably four digit and without a leading zero.

Going through their foreign currency desk or Travelex or bothering with traveler's checks will cost you substantially in money (or frustration). Having a modest amount of currency in your pocket when you arrive CAN give you some peace of mind, but keep in mind that that secure feeling will cost you at least 5-10$ for every hundred.

Last of all, it's worth repeating that the less cash you use the better, unless your credit cards operate under the (few, rare, but increasingly common) high-commission terms for foreign purchases. Avoid the temptation to get more cash than you really need.

Best wishes,

Rex

Kat

If you do decide to go the Travel Cheque Way (and I think it's ok as late in the game as it is for you) then to get the best exchange rate you will need to take these TCs and change them over at the main banks in Ireland. The Bank of Ireland or Allied Irish Bank are the two biggies and you will get the best rates. Do not use the airport's or other Bureau de Change or small shops to exchange cash or TCs. Banks are the best way to go and have the best rates.

Also, exchange several larger bills at once rather than one here and there all over. If you bring cash make sure you have no denominations larger than a $50. Many banks have been burned by counterfeit $100 bills so won't accept them unless you have an account at that bank.

Hope this helps and enjoy your trip!

Wendy

You can purchase Euro travelers checks through AAA and they have an ATM card called Travel Cash. I'm trying both this trip. I'm told they will work well.

Can you tell me if the AAA card works as well as say a "Visa debit card"? I have never used my debit card to withdraw cash from a machine but I'm assuming that is the process,correct? We will be in Germany /Austria in 3 weeks and the travel card sounds like a good idea.Are there charges related to using either of these cards? Is there less of a chage than a bank would hit you with?
On another note...does anyone have any suggestions or warnings regarding city cards that can be purchased for use in Salzburg and Vienna? Are they worth it or should we just "pay as we go"?

It simply makes no sense to look for special cards if your own ATM cards most likely will work with no problems, as well as your Visa or Mastercard. People seem to be looking for difficulties where there are none. The only outstanding issue is whether or not your own bank charges outrageous fees (I consider BofA fees to be outrageous, others are more forgiving of its practices).

BIOya,
It works as well just costs a bunch more. See http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35059683

Henry

I would not depend on Travelers Checks -but if you do, I would not get them in US dollars as you are at the behest of the merchant and he can charge a higher exchange rate. So make sure they are in Euros.
DO NOT use your MC or Visa card in the ATM machine to get money! If you do it becomes a loan (not just a withdrawal for money) at anywhere from 12-25% depending on the bank and you are paying this as a loan from the date you take the money out until your bill comes and you pay if off.
The best in my opinion is to use your BANK ATM card.

Bank of America ATM card is actually not a bad card to use when traveling overseas. We have one (and we only use it for that reason). Bank of American does not charge any fees to take money out of the ATM machine if you use their partner banks (Barclays in England, BNP in France, etc). Their conversion fees are very competitive with other banks.
I have heard that Capital One has the least fees of all bank cards.

BOIYA: this question is asked at least twice a day - yet you found a <b>2003</b> thread to top. Not a complaint - just an observation - the search function on here is sooooo lame, how on Earth did you find a 2003 thread???

Anyway - avoid a &quot;travel card&quot;. Way too many fees, a lousy exchange rate, and they even charge you to withdraw the last of your money.

janisj
i think what happens is when searching the general interest catagory often old dates pop up and people like me - who are not being careful to check dates, post a reply. thanks for pointing this out.

IMO, the &quot;best&quot; way to exchange Dollars for Euros in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, etc., is don't.

&quot;DO NOT use your MC or Visa card in the ATM machine to get money! If you do it becomes a loan (not just a withdrawal for money) at anywhere from 12-25% depending on the bank and you are paying this as a loan from the date you take the money out until your bill comes and you pay if off.&quot;

Wouldn't you just owe interest if you didn't pay the bill in full on the date it is due? For example, if I take out 600 Euro on my Citibank Visa and pay it off on the next due date, I don't owe any interest, right?

wrong, that's only for purchases. Cash advances on credit cards are not purchases, they are loans. You owe interest from the date you take them out, as well as (probably) a very large flat fee, such as 3-5 pct of the amount.

I think BIOYA had a recent question, and the answer is that the AAA prepaid money card is a Visa card. That's who supplies it to them. AAA doesn't make any of their own financial products, they use Visa (used to use Amex for TCs, but now use Visa where I live). I really would not get one, though. I also would not get TCs in euro (I think AAA doesn't sell them in anything but USD any more, anyway, although going elsewhere to get them, you could). I still wouldn't do it, I think it's a bad idea to get them in euro.

Thanks. I will have to check with my company before I go away in December.

Once again. Those AAA Visa prepaid cards will charge you 7% conversion fee for every foreign purchase you make with them and for every foreign ATM withdrawal you make with them. PERIOD.

Several times I have used my MasterCard wich is both a Debit/ATM card for cash withdrawals here in Bahrain and in Europe without being considered as loan but the cash deducted from my account on same day. Though it bound the normal bank charges for currency exchange. A couple of years a go I have made the mistake to use my Visa Credit card as ATM which it did work but as noted above it was considered as a loan with very high interest rate. This summer I have used my new Euro Visa/ATM (Fairbairn Private Bank - Isle of Man) card in Germany without any charges except the exact Euro withdrawn. Some ATM mentioned there will be charges of about 2% for cash withdrawals but none shown on my card or bank statement. Maybe this is due to the card in same currency Euro. I think it is good policy to have credit/ATM card in Euro if one visit Europe on regular basis. At present I do use my Am Ex card it US $ , another AmEx blue card in BD (bahrain dinar), Master/ Visa/ATM cards in BD from HSBC and National Bank of Bahrain. Though next Wendesday will be going to South France for a couple of weeks where I will be using the Euro card for no exchange rate charges on credit card and cash withdrawals. But as noted above will take other cards as precuation if one (god forbids) got stolen ...or lost. I am not quite sure whether it is called saving for having different cards in different currencies, because most of the time one need to have surplus currencies parked in the bank with little interest. In UK and Switzerland but not yet Germany I use my Fairbairn credit card without signature but with a pin number. Probably in France too. To my knowledge in US same as in Bahrain with signature only. My understanding, using a pin number is saver than signature. Though if one get amnesia I am not sure if one can remember the pin number - I hope it will be many years to come in order I can find out !! Actually I do have a friend who is older than me with amnesia, to my understanding, since he has now difficulty to remember my mobile number to phone me. This is just a thought/comment felt to make. In a way Europe is now much easier in currency wise because of the Euro implementation.

Ahmed: Your visa logo Debit card is not a credit card as such. It is a <u>debit/ATM card</u> that can also be used wherever visa is accepted to make purchases - but since the money comes directly out of your bank acct you are not charging anything. It simply isn't a credit.

A true credit card treats cash advances differently and assess fees/interest from day 1 - no grace period.

The difference between a credit card and an ATM/debit card is easy.

If you get a bill each month which you must pay -- it is a credit card.

If your purchases or withdrawals automatically are taken out of your bank account as you make them, it is an ATM and/or debit card.

yes, Neo, but you can also use your credit card (MC or Visa) to withdraw money from your bank's ATM machine.

Many people do this not realizing if they use their credit card in the ATM machine it is a loan (not a credit card purchase. This credit card loan is very expensive and the loan charges can be anywhere from 12-24%. The loan begins accuring immediately upon taking out the money from the ATM.

Yes, of course. I thought that had just been explained well, particularly by janice. NEVER use a credit card to take money out of an ATM. I just thought there seemed to be some confusion on what is a credit card and what is a debit card, so I was trying to make it simple to know which is which.

&quot;Bank of American does not charge any fees to take money out of the ATM machine if you use their partner banks (Barclays in England, BNP in France, etc). Their conversion fees are very competitive with other banks.&quot;&quot;

However, should you desire to leave one of the BOA &quot;approved&quot; countries you will pay thru HORRID fees.

I took a group of kids to Europe and they used the AAA Visa Travelcard just fine. Yes, it has higher fees but considering that these kids generally did not have bank accounts with ATM cards this was a good system and allowed thier parents access to &quot;add cash&quot; (some parents, who had a good understanding of thie kids, partialled out the cash so the kids wouldn't be broke by the last city LOL!)

&quot;However, should you desire to leave one of the BOA &quot;approved&quot; countries you will pay thru HORRID fees.&quot;

Frankly I don't consider $5 a horrid fee when withdrawing something like $500. That is 1 %. BofA charges $5 per withdrawal from non affiliated banks. Period. Maybe not the best, but I wouldn't call it &quot;HORRID&quot;.

It's ironic that CarolA would call a $5 fee HORRID, then tout the benefits of a VISA travel card which would charge $35 for that same $500 withdrawal.

But yes, I do get the point that those prepaid cards might be OK for parents sending kids off to Europe -- all the fees might be worth it to them.

FYI - Travelex will ship (in 2-days)your currency order for free if you exchange a minimum of $750 (otherwise for a smaller amount there is a $8 fee as GailK mentioned). BUT also know that you only receive $700 worth of &euro;uros -- Free delivery notwithstanding, Travelex pockets the rest.

I've used my debit card at overseas ATM machines in Europe, China, and Egypt and have never had any trouble as long as the symbols (Cirrus, Star, Plus, etc) on the ATM match ones on the back of my card, as mentioned by Ira.

[In Germany, perhaps elsewhere, the card can also be used as a sort of keycard to gain entry into seemingly closed foyers for late night withdrawals.]