Buy Euros in US before trip?
 

Hello ForEx Expert Fodorites,

We are going for a 15 day tour of Europe, starting with Rome. I am planning to take 500 Euros from the US itself, pay the big spend via my credit card and use the ATMs for cash withdrawals.

Would you say that makes sense? If yes, where would be the best place to buy Euros? At a currency exchange in the city or at the airport?

Thanks for your help!
Prat

Why do you want to take 500e with you? ATMs are normally the best (cheapest)way to get currency. As you are planning on using them anyway, why not just use them when you arrive? Or if you really want a few coins in your pocket for the first few hours, change a small amount, but 500e is a lot.

100 euros is more than enough to get you to your first European ATM.

hi, P & J,

I agree with lerouac that you don't need more than 100E to get you started. What you do need are several ways of getting out money, in case one fails - ATMs can be very temperamental, and from the no. of threads on this board about teh subject, many US banks are incapable of understanding simple information about their customers' foreign travel plans. strangely, UK banks don't seem to give a fig!

regards, ann

Ann

I am not sure you are completely correct about UK banks. My First Direct cards have worked everywhere, but I also have a John Lewis Partnership Card, which is a Matsercard, and they like to know in advance when and where you are going to use it overseas.

A friend bought some train tickets with his John Lewis card in Narbonne in France, and then tried to use the card in Girona in Spain the same day. The places are not far apart, but the card was refused because they were different countries on the same day.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the Post Office counter in a small Gloucestershire village shop, and waited while a woman bought some euro. These were all in stock at the Post Office, as US dollars would probably be. Some Turkish lira had to be ordered specially for the customer. I am always surprised that Americans seem to have such difficulty buying foreign currency, even in major cities.

Yesterday we bought 100 Euros at our bank (Arvest)for our upcoming trip to Paris. $142.00 PLUS $13.87 FedEx shipping. I should have waited until we got to Paris and used my ATM card, it would have been cheaper.

My bank has a foreign currency dept, so check with your bank before ordering online.

I always listen to this and maybe I'm dense or missing something...

This is the 21st century...99.9% of the time, ATM's work very well..

But for peace of mind (whatever that is) I'll throw away $15 so I have euro when I arrive and don't have to deal with it after a long tiring flight...what malarkey...you're gong to have to wait for your baggage anyway...during the time you are waiting for your baggage, you hop over to the ATM.

Besides which, in many cases y9u don't need euro anyway.....the RER takes credit cards...most car services take credit cards.....

What's the big deal????

Oh yes...if the ATM should be down, simply mosey over to the foreign currency exchange desk and take out a couple of crisp $20 bills (assuming you're from the United States) and you'll do no worse than you do by running around getting euro in advance.

Part of the big deal is the convenience of having some euro on hand already. How far is that ATM from the baggage carousel anyway?

As mentioned some banks do have f/x currency departments onsite so you can save some fees.

Hi P,

You certainly won't need to bring that much cash.

$100 worth is plenty, can be gotten at your departure airport, and will cost only about $4.00 more than if you got it in Europe.

Do inform your CC and ATM companies that you will be traveling.

((I))

So glad you posted this question! I'm leaving in a minth for Italy, and will be there for a month. 2 weeks of that will be spent traveling with 2 members of my family, and we'll be paying in cash at some of places we're staying. I have a Citibank account here n the USA, and they tell me that if I withdraw cash at a Citibank ATM, there is no fee, but if I use another ATM, I'll pay 3%. The only Citbank ATMs are in Florence Rome, and Milan. So woulddn't it make sense to take the Euros with me from home, and use the ATMs when we run out in Florence?

"Part of the big deal is the convenience of having some euro on hand already. How far is that ATM from the baggage carousel anyway?"

I have yet to be in a major European airport that didn't have numerous ATM's, mainly on the way out of the airport after you clear "customs" (nothing to declare) just after getting your bags. It's usually difficult to get to to ground transportation without passing any ATMS.

Meanwhile this summer twice I noticed ATM machines IN the area with the luggage carousels (FCO in Rome was one such place). That was nice as you can get your money while waiting for your luggage. This seemed new to me, or maybe I'd just never noticed them before.

This should answer all your questions and some you didn't know you had:

20 tips for using plastic on vacation

http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ztgdw

There's nothing wrong with taking 500 euro with you, as long as you: 1) don't mind paying higher fees to get them and 2) don't lose them or get them stolen.

"17. Leave debit cards at home."

<b>WRONG!</b> If you use a credit card to get cash from an ATM, you will get nailed for a &quot;Cash Advance Fee&quot; which will probably make your effective rate of exchange more than 10%.

<i>Use credit cards for purchases. Use debit cards for ATM withdrawals (preferably on a &quot;partner&quot; bank's network).</i>

The problem is you pay more than 3% when you buy Euros in the US. You pay twice, a fee to change and a bad exchange rate.

My last few trips to Europe, I've waited until I arrived to get my foreign funds. I was nervous at first, but ATMs are all over the place. Usually banks of them as you exit the airport.

Plus I have an account at a credit union. There is only the standard 1% fee to withdraw money from an ATM; it works at almost all ATMs. Ditto for the credit union credit card.

There is no &quot;standard fee&quot; to withdraw funds from an ATM. Many card issuers absorb the International Service Assessment as part of their offering. My card not only eats the ISA, but rebates any fees charged by an ATM not its own.

Robespierre, number 17 is in a section devoted to ATMs. Not all of us are as sophisticated as you and think there is no difference between an ATM card and a debit card.

The advice stands.

&quot;Not all of us are as sophisticated as you...&quot;

Glad to see you acknowledge that fact :D

But for the average person reading the article, it might appear that somehow only ATM cards will work. I give the author a C-.

I wouldn't take the advice of anyone who told you to leave the debit cards at home, when they were referring only to purchases. Then they go on to talk about ATM usage, but people who use the ATM usually use a debit card. That's really dumb advice. I don't know anyone who has both a debit and ATM card (I wonder if a bank would even give you two cards on the same account like that).

Some places you cannot use the ATM while waiting for luggage, you have to do it after getting it. And in some airports, you certainly can't leave the baggage claim area to go to the area outside where there might be an ATM and then return. It's against security nowadays, at least for many international flights.

So, I think in most cases where I've landed, you had to wait until after getting bags to use the ATM, so it's not like it involves no time. Sometimes the line can be really long and you may have to wait 10-15 minutes. I've had that happen. I don't get euro in advance any more for that reason (not wanting to use the ATM in the airport), but some people just want to get out of there and not do that. It's up to them to decide what that is worth to them. I can't imagine why someone would need 500 euro on arrival, though, as it definitely will cost you more to get it in advance, so why take so much?