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?

I called all the banks here in Canada to ask about the fees they charge when using a debit card (ATM card) in Europe. On top of charging the regular exchange rate, they charge a percentage for administration PLUS $3.00 or $5.00 per transaction depending if you have a PLUS or a Cyrrus

I find that using an ATM or Debit card in Europe is the most expensive way to go.

Number one choice should be using your credit card for purchases and if you need cash, exchange your money at a bank (you might get a better rate for your canadian money at an European bank but I did not check that part.

The cheapest way to safely bring cash is travelers check but because of the popularity of ATM cards it's not used as much anymore. As a result, lots of merchants do not accept them and you must go to a bank to exchange them for cash (some banks will exchange them for free some others charge fees)

<b>NOW HEAR THIS</b>

Look around, and you can find credit card issuers who don't charge any markup on foreign currency purchases whether credit or debit, don't mark up ATM withdrawals, and don't charge a fee. Some even absorb the network fee, so your cost of doing business abroad is: zero. Capital One is a brand that is mentioned frequently.

And to state that &quot;if you need cash, exchange your money at a bank&quot; is just flat wrong.

Capite?

Thanks everyone! great advice.

I think i will take 100 Euros from the US itself (for my better half's peace of mind) and look for an ATM before exiting the airport in Rome.

Gotta call my bank and ask them the following Qs:
1. Tell them my itinerary
2, Daily Limit
3. Who is in their Partner network
4. What are the various fees?
5. Which phone number should I call if i need to speak to them? Are those numbers manned 24x7?

Thanks again!

The biggest problem you're likely to encounter with that plan is finding someone at your bank who knows the correct answer to any of those questions. Everyone you talk to will be happy to answer them, but their answers will almost certainly, in my experience, be wrong. I don't think there is ANYONE at my bank who is authorized to speak to customers who has the faintest idea what their rates are.

Scotiabank in Canada does not charge a transaction fee for using The six banks in the Alliance - BNP Paribas, Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank/Deutsche Bank 24, Scotiabank and Westpac.

My question for any bank would be...if there is no transaction fee, do you still use the bank exchange rate (not sure of the proper term...counter rate?)...or a different rate for foreign ATM transactions. Someone pointed out that banks don't break out the fees, but rather bury it in the exchange rate.

Second point.. I would question wether traveller's cheques are &quot;the cheapest&quot; way to carry cash. What exchange rate is used?

Well it might be argued that TCs are the cheapest way to CARRY cash, but they certainly aren't the cheapest way to GET cash. People are fooled by the famous &quot;no fee&quot; promise, but don't realize that a 7 to 12% mark up on either buying them or cashing them is pretty standard. They don't call that a &quot;fee&quot;, but I do.

I usually get about $100 in euros here just as a way to hedge against Murphy's Law. I want some small of cash on hand just to cover Murphy's Law -- the ATM network is down, someone unplugged the ATM, the ATM doesn't speak Bank of American, whatever -- but more importantly as a hedge against jet lag. I can't sleep on planes to save my life so I always get to Europe groggy and sleep-depped, so having one less thing to worry about and remember to do is always a plus.

The screwing that I'm getting on the exchange rate alone (&euro;1=$1.36 as of today) more than renders the surcharge that Bank of America charges irrelevant.

Just spoke to BankAm. Here's what ive found out for Italy: The following banks' ATM's will not charge ANY fees for cash withdrawal (i hope the agent i spoke to is right!):

1. Banca Antoniana
2. Banca Nazional Del Lavoro
3. Cariplo
4. Cassa Di Ristarmio Di Virona
5. Deutsche Bank (even though this ATM would be in Italy not Germany)

Can you please please look at my other post and offer suggestions on that also? Thanks!

In Florence last year, I think it was a Deutsche Bank ATM we used with our B of A ATM card and still got charged fees. Maybe it's new, but I never heard of Italian banks being affiliated with B of A.

P_and_J: I don't know anything about the first 4 banks on your list (hopefully NeoPatrick will see your new question since he is w/ BofA and spends a lot of time in Italy)

But for Deutsche Bank -- I know for a fact that the BofA agent is wrong there. DB ATMs are only free to BofA customers in Germany. In Italy, Bof of A definitely will assess the fees. I suspect the agent was also wrong about the other four banks - but don't know for sure.

Prat and Jazz,
No italian bank will charge you for using thier bankomat. The charges come from your bank for using an out of network ATM.

Henry

Thank heavens my credit union does not charge any fees for my withdrawals, even from other machines. AND my debit card also works as a credit card. I can use it either way. And in fact, at one large grocery chain, it will only take it as a credit card.

I bought some Euros off of a friend yesterday whose daughter recently returned from European trip. :) NO fees! :) We looked up exchange rate and it was an even trade. :)

Off to Paris/Italy in less than 6 weeks...WOOOOHOOOO!!!

yes - to clarify my point - none of those banks would charge you (or anyone else - BofA customer or not) to use ATMs. The fees will all be from BofA.

Janis and Henry: I understand that the Italian Banks will not charge any fees, but my impression from the BofA agent was that even BofA will not charge me anything.

Having said that, I do doubt if that is true...well, the joys of travel :) i will find out and share it with everyone.

Prat and Jazz,
This is from the BoA website:
Use your ATM card or Check Card within our Global ATM Alliance in the countries shown with no fees.

Barclays (United Kingdom)

BNP Paribas (France)

China Construction Bank (China)

Deutsche Bank (Germany)

Santander Serfin (Mexico)

Scotiabank (Canada)

Westpac (Australia and
New Zealand)



Henry

Went to the Deutsche bank website and found sites in Italy. Can I can use my BoA card at these locations with no fees??
http://tools.deutsche-bank.de/cc/loc...n/welcome2.do#

Sorry, but no. They used to do that and I was surprised that last year they started charging for the &quot;partner banks&quot; when not in the &quot;home country&quot;. So there will be a charge of $5 from BofA to withdraw from a Deutschebank in Italy. Trust me -- I did this about 6 times this summer.