Cash in Europe
 

Hello Everyone-
I am going to France June 1st, first time over to Europe and I have been saving my money since January!! Very excited but kinda frustrated cause I am not sure what to do with the cash- I dont want to carry an excess amount in my wallet. I am going from June 1st- June 25th and plan on covering France as well as maybe a day in London and Barcelona.

I bank with Bank of America and I have a Capitol One card, I was looking into AAA Visa Travel Money but that seems to be a rip off.

Any good idea what to do with the cash I would like to take over there? If this helps out, the figure is around 6 thousand dollars....If I keep the money on my debit card, BOA charges a transaction fee as well as an ATM fee. Since this is my first time I dont know if that is normal or there are better rates/programs out there....

Any auggestions would be nice.
Thanks =)

Put your cash in your checking account and leave it there. When you need pocket money, use your ATM card to access the money in your checking account.

There are banks that charge fewer/lower fees than yours--consider opening another bank account and transfer your travel money there. See options in this article:

http://www.time.com/time/business/ar...0.html?cnn=yes

"Put your cash in your checking account and leave it there. " I meant "Put your cash in your checking account that has fewer fees and leave it there."

In France use PNB Parabas bank which is affiliated with BOA and either there are no fees or they are minimal. Traveler's checks are indeed a rip off and you should not carry lots of cash. Exchanging dollars for Euros at the Exchange places is also a rip off. Use your BOA ATM card for cash withdrawals and your credit card for large purchases.

I hardly think you'll need $6,000 for 3 weeks. that's enough for 2 trips. And I would recommend more than a day in Barcelona and London.

Since you already have a Capitol One card, you might want to consider using that as much as possible and using your cash to pay it off when you get home. Capitol One is one of the few credit cards that doesn't charge a foreign transaction/conversion fee.

I sure hope you don't plan on carrying $6,000 in US dollars around with you and exchanging it as you go!

Put it in a checking account that doesn't charge you for withdrawals in Europe. Shop around. Credit Unions typically have better deals than banks. Then use the debit card to get your cash (and a credit card for the big expenses like hotels).

European banks don't charge for withdrawals, so there will be no fees on that end.

You may want to check again with BoA. It was my understanding that BoA customers making ATM withdrawals from BNP (Banque National de Paris) ATMs did so without incurring fees (including the 1% currency conversion fee).

In principle, ATMs can be the best way to access funds while in Europe. The catch is that your bank can impose out of network fees which take away much of the ATM allure.

BOA also has a reciprocal agreement with Barclay's Bank in England. If you use their ATMs in London, you won't be charged a fee.

If you have a Bank of America ATM card - They have a contract with the following international banks

Bank of America | Checking and Savings | Contact Us
Travelling Internationally?

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)
Satander Serfin (Mexico)
Scotiabank (Canada)
Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)

We spend 2 months in France most years.

Get some Euros in the US. We usually take about $300 worth with us when we land in France. Exchange rates at US airports are horrible.

Use your BofA ATM card to get cash in France. The exchange rate you'll get (including the foreign transaction fee) will be better than any rate you'll likely to get from a cash exchange bank/office - here or in France.

I believe your Capital One credit card charges you a zero foreign transaction fee. Use that for all your credit card purchases. The Capital One card can be used for about 90% of your purchases.

Do not get cash on the Capital One card.

I can use my BofA ATM card as a debit card too, so that should be a good backup if your Capital One card is lost or stolen.

If you are traveling with someone who will use the same card, you should carry 1 card and the other person carry the second card - in case a purse or wallet gets lost or stolen.

Write down (on paper) your credit card number and the contact in case it gets stolen/lost & you need to cancel the card. Sometimes 800 numbers are hard to access from France. Keep this number in a safe place - obviously not in your wallet or purse with the card. We laminate our list of cards & numbers & my wife keeps it in her shoe.

Notify both card issuers that you'll be in France and using the cards there.

I don't know anything about the AAA Visa card.

Stu Dudley

The ATM with your debit card is your best bet. If your debit card has a Visa or MC logo it will work in virtually every ATM in Europe (and they are everywhere). Most banks charge a fee for the withdrawal and exchange the currency at the best possible rate.

Before you go, you need to do some bank research.

I read recently that B of A will charge $10 per overseas withdrawal (versus an industry standard of $3). If that's true, you should look for other choices.

I've also read Charles Schwabb money market accounts allow debit card withdrawals with no fee, even overseas. USAA, if you have a military connection, also has a bank account that refunds some overseas withdrawals (don't know all the details). Some credit unions may have better deals.

I'm not positive that these are true statements but it's worth a look to make sure no more of your savings go to bank fees than necessary.

The OP will be in France in less than 2 1/2 weeks. That's not enough time to obtain another card or set up a new bank account - especially for a first timer.

Use the BofA card for cash & the Capital One for credit card purchases. I recall some recent changes to my BofA debit card too & there may be some large fees if I use it as a Debit (not ATM) card. I'll have to check more thoroughly.

I have never been charged a usage fee by a French bank.

Stu Dudley

Stu-
You said you spent 2 months in Europe every year- awesome- do you think 6k in cash is sufficient, if I use my Credit Card for larger purchases? I definately plan on using my BOA Debit Card in France, should I use it at BNP only? Also, if I want to get cash- where should I exchange it? I plan on taking over about 300 in Euro and when I am over in Paris, getting maybe a few hundred more in Euro- should I exchange it at the bank?

Thanks for all you help everyone =)

katiem201-

Please read this:

NO NEED to exchange Euros in the US before your trip. You'll lose a lot of money due to the poor exchange rate you get from your bank at home. All banks mark up the exchange rate, so even though they tell you "no fees", the exchange rate they give you is usually 5-7% above the interbank rate.

The BEST WAY to get money is use any ATMs at the <b>BNP banks</b> in France. You get the best exchange rate that way. BNP ATMs are everywhere. I have used my BofA debit/ATM card at BNP's ATMs in France many times before, and the only fee you'll be charged is the standard 1% foreign conversion fee.

DO NOT exchange USD to Euros at banks in France, unless you have no other choice and it is an emergency. Again, you will lose a lot of money due to the poor exchange rate they give you.

Thanks YK!!

So just cause Iam very new at this let me get this straight:

Take my Capitol One card for larger purchases and NEVER take cash out.

Use my debit card for other transactions like supermarket, restaurants, small shopping etc...
Use the ATM at BNP for cash withdrawls and avoid exchanging USD for EUR at all costs.

Is this correct so far??

Also, one question, for example, if Iam at a restaurant and the bill is 50 Euro, should I pay in cash or on my debit card or does it not matter at all?

Thanks =)

I would use the Capital One rather than your debit card for small charges as well as large ones. As I said before, Capital One doesn't charge a fee, your debit card will. Again, anything you charge can be paid off with your cash when you get home, in order to avoid interest charges.

Also, the more you charge, the less cash you have to carry around.

Good point. Thanks.

Some smaller shops or establishments in small towns may not accept CC, so for small purhcases, I usually just pay with cash. In fact, I tend to pay cash for most things... that's just the way I am. Having said that, I tend to travel solo, rarely do any shopping and rarely eat at expensive restaurants; so I'm not talking about paying a €100 dinner bill in cash.

When you pay with Credit Card, make sure that the final charge is in EUROS, not USD. Some places use DCC (dynamic currency conversion), and instead of charging you in EUROS, they automatically convert the charge (at a poor exchange rate) into USD as to "do you a favor". INSIST on having that charge reversed and make them re-charge you in Euros, otherwise you'll lose out another few percentage points.

Just to clarify, I know that BOA charges a 3% foreign transaction fee on their credit card. My guess would be that they charge that same fee on their debit card when used for purchases overseas. Capitol One <i>will not</i> charge you that fee.