Just a thought, I assume you are aware that Euros will work in Spain and France but in UK you still need Sterling (so don't take out too many of what ever before moving on).

The euros look slightly different in Spain and France (don't panic only slightly and it will not cause a problem.

Converting change back is impossible so again you need change for automatic machines (car parks etc) but you don't want too many

UGH. Some of the better advice you got is from CAPH. But if you really want to save money, here's what to do:

(1) Open a Cap One Savings account fast and get them to send you a debit card. Use the Cap One account for cash transactions overseas -- Cap One does NOT charge ForEx fees. I think Bank of America will still charge the ForEx fees even if you pull the money out at BNP/Paribas -- the issue the others are talking about are transaction fees for using the ATM as opposed to fees for converting dollars to Euro. Cap One charges neither! Most European banks do not charge for out-of-network ATM usage -- that's primarily an American ATM issue. Cap One is on the Plus cash network, which is affiliated with Visa. You should have no problems finding ATMs that accept your card. And you won't be limited to BNP/Paribas to avoid fees, so you won't have to hunt around for a preferred ATM.

(2) Use the Cap One credit card for credit purchases. Again, Cap One charges no ForEx fees. If you actually drop all $6K, the savings from Cap One will be worth about $180 at minimum -- that's about 2-3 nice meals.

(3) Take only the dollars you think you'll need for use when you arrive home. I haven't exchanged cash dollars to European currency in eight years and only did that on an emergency basis.

You will spend less cash, and you'll use your Capital One card more than you presently anticipate.

Do not use the BofA Debit/ATM card at restaurants, gas stations, etc - because of the 3% Foreign transaction fee.

Use the Capital One card for restaurants, hotels, etc.

DO NOT (like yk said) pay in Dollars on your credit card. You'll get hit with a double exchange rate/foreign transaction fee.

Make sure your car is gassed up on Saturday. Many gas stations close on Sunday.

When you charge dinner/lunch at a restaurant, the paper you sign has no place to add a tip. Put a few Euros on the plate if you want to tip (5% for good service at most nice restaurants).

>>NO NEED to exchange Euros in the US before your trip<<<

That's what my cousin did (or didn't do). He landed in Nice with no Euros. Picked up a rental car & headed out to meet us in Provence. First thing he hit was a toll both - which needed Euros. Credit card did not work. He had to get out of the toll both line, convince the toll attendent to let him get off the freeway without paying, get off the freeway, find a town, find an ATM, and get Euros.

About '02 there was an ATM strike. When ATMs ran out of cash, everyone went to the bank/Post Office for cash. Long lines, and they soon ran out of cash too. We arrived with $2,000 worth of Euros because we immediatly had to make a Gite payment of about $1,000.

Last year we arrived in Paris. Met friends for lunch the first day. Our Debit Card did not work (Morgan Stanley Debit/ATM card - 1% fee). It had been "compromised" a few days before we left home in the US. We did not know about this until the issuer sent us new cards with new numbers, which arrived after we left home. We paid for lunch in Euros and then went to investigate. We had to use a different issuer's card and our BofA ATM card to get further cash.

What if you need a taxi???

Want any more reasons to land with Euros????

Personally, I hate trying to find an ATM at the airport after 18 hours of traveling.

Stu Dudley

BigRuss, like I said, Bank of America ATM card charges <u>1%</u> foreign exchange fee, and NO ATM fees if the OP uses BNP banks' ATMs. This is a reasonable option for her without needing to open a new bank account with Capitol One, esp she's leaving in 2 weeks' time.

Since the OP will be using credit card for most things, so if she ends up spending €50 a day of cash for 25 days, we're talking about a total of $1600 of cash, which means she'll pay $16 of foreign exchange fees if she sticks with BofA and BNP's ATMs.. A drop in the bucket considering the total cost of the trip.

<<USAA, if you have a military connection, also has a bank account that refunds some overseas withdrawals (don't know all the details)>>

As a USAA member for over 35 years, I can say that for foreign purchases, USAA:

1. Credit cards incur only the 1% Visa/MC currency transaction fee.

2. ATM withdrawals incur only the 1% Cirrus/Pulse currency transaction fee.

3. reimburses the ATM withdrawal fee (with some limitation caps) charged by ATM hosting banks on domestic withdrawals. This is not an issue in France as French banks do not impose withdrawal fees.

Stu:
Laminated and in her shoe? Wow. I was thinking about where to put that info last night. All scenarios running through my head and imagining my suitcase stolen (unlikely but possible. My Mother's was stolen right out of the late luggage dept. at CDG some years ago). I opted for the last 4 digits, phone numbers,etc, in my journal. Left the rest of the info and another card at home should someone need to overnight it to me.

I know the rates for using the cards are high (yet I thought there was a law passed against that?) but I add that into my expenses instead of driving myself crazy and carry a little Euro cash from the U.S.and use ATm's, which are everywhere. I've decided on this trip to pay with cash as often as possible to avoid the charges.

There's no law in the US about ATM rates or foreign transaction fees not being allowed or fees for debit card not being allowd, what are you referring to. The fees for using a debit card are never that high, but some people call 2-3% high, I suppose. B of A is the only bank I've hard of that had really high ATM transaction flat fees ($5 or something).

When people say there is no reason to take euro with you to Europe, they are presuming someone doesn't rent a car and drive off without getting any at the airport. That is kind of dumb.

Sorry to offend. I did say "thought" and had a question mark. Nothing was stated emphatically.

I agree with Christina, the story about the cousin didn't give me any reason to get euros in the US instead of at an ATM. That story told me only told me that the cousin is an idiot. But it sounds like he'd still be an idiot wherever he got his euros.

I've been to Europe a dozen times without getting euros in advance. I can understand why someone who needs a large sum in euros to pay for an apt. might need to get them in advance, but most people don't. If the ATMs were all out of service, I'd go to the exchange desk, but that's never happened.

If someday the ATMs are all out of service and the exchange desks all have long lines, then at that point I will probably say "I guess I've learned my lesson. I should have driven all over town looking for a bank branch that will sell me euros at inflated rates, instead of standing in line at the airport for 20 minutes."

I'm like cheryllj. I have gone on 13 European trips in the last 6 years and have never exchanged Euros or Pounds beforehand. Sure, sometimes I have some leftover euros or pounds from the trip before, but I have never had a problem NOT finding a working ATM on arrival (be it airport or train station). In fact, I NEVER call my bank beforehand to alert them of my overseas trip, and I have yet to have my card frozen.

I guess I've been lucky, and perhaps some day my luck will run out and I will "learn my leason" as well. In any case, I always bring a few hundred USD with me, so worse come to wosre, I'll go to an exchange booth to get money, but that hasn't been necessary yet.

Sure, if I'm expected to hand over €1000 for an apt rental upon arrival, I will get the money in the US beforehand.

What if the place you're traveling to doesn't use Euros? I recently went to Hungary, and would you have gone to your bank to get Hungarian forints beforehand? I don't think any regular branch carries forints... so that may mean a trip into the downtown branch to get it. With all that hassle, I'd rather take my chances and wait until I get there. For the record, we had no trouble finding and using the many ATMs in Budapest (including at least one at the Keleti station).

I have made many trips to Europe with my Schwab Investor Checking debit card. Here is my direct experience:

0% ForEx (currency exchange markup)
0% Visa International Service Assessment
$0 ATM withdrawal fee (any bank fees are rebated)
$0 Annual fee

I verify these facts each time I return using xe.com/ccc

I think the cousin story was just an example of why I may need Euros, I really dont think the "idiot" comment was necessary.

Like I stated earlier, we've spent 2 months traveling in Europe every year starting in '99 (mostly France). Before '99, we spent 3-4 weeks vacationing there, starting in '77 (we're old). The stories I mentioned really happened - I'm not making them up. Why in the world would anyone risk starting a vacation on a downer by not having access to cash when they arrive in France - just to save maybe $5-10 by waiting for a better exchange rate in France???? That's stupid.

My cousin (actually my real cousin's husband) is one of the smartest and most successful businessman I know. Why is he an idiot because he did the same thing you are proposing????? I guess that makes you an idiot too??? He was not aware that his Credit Card would not work on the Toll roads just out of Nice. Not sure he even knew there were toll roads there. Does katiem know that there are toll roads in France and that US credit cards might not work to pay the toll. Does anyone positively know if there is a working ATM machine at the Nice Airport??? An exchange office isn't any benefit - because you'll let lousier rates than you would at the BofA at home!!!

The ATM strike lasted for several weeks. There was NO CASH at most ATMs, Banks, Post Offices, Rip-off exchange offices, etc - unless you wanted to spend the day driving/walking around, waiting in lines, and looking for ones that have cash when you finally reach the front of the line. Remember - unions in France respect each other, and if people who deliver cash to the ATMs go on strike - so might the people who deliver cash to other providers.

>>I guess I've been lucky, and perhaps some day my luck will run out and I will "learn my leason" as well.<<

Yep - and is saving $5-10 worth the hardships if you can't pay for a cab, can't pay a toll at a toll road, can't pay for admission to a castle, etc. How paniced would you be if you had zero Euros and couldn't even obtain Euros easily within a couple of days.

>>In any case, I always bring a few hundred USD with me, so worse come to wosre, I'll go to an exchange booth to get money, but that hasn't been necessary yet.<<

It would have been necessary in June of '02 (it might have been a year either way) - and USD would not have done you any good because there were no Euros/Francs available at the exchange booths.

Be prepared !!!!!

Stu Dudley

4400€ isn't a lot of money. I'd just have that in cash in my pockets. :-). Cash is always preferred.

Stu, I didn't say you made things up. I believe every situation you described. It's just different strokes for different folks. What works for you, works for you. What works for me, works for me, so far at least. As I said, when it happens to me in the future, I will change my ways.

As for the ATM strike that went on for weeks, I'm not sure how bringing Euros with me would have made a difference, unless I bring thousands of Euros with me from the US to last me for several weeks.

And it's not just extra $5-10 fee I'm talking about, but the time and effort to go to a bank (during operating hours) to get the currency exchange. When I was working 10 to 12 hours a day, 10 days in a row before my trips, I simply didn't have the luxury to take time off to get this done.

My only advice is to remember to have fun. Don't get all caught up in the tangle of "this card charges 2%, but if I hit the ATM it only works out to 1.5%". Pay attention to money and fees, but remember that you're there to have fun and see a different country and don't get too frazzled about So-and-So said to do it this way, but Whats-his-face said to do it this way and it's a whopping 1% difference. It all ends up as what works best for you.

Personally, I put most everything on my credit card and pay it off when I get home. I use the airport ATM for cash when I get there and try to estimate what I'll need for the first week. I don't like to carry a large amount of cash and don't want to hit ATM's all the time. It's what works best for ME, but not necessarily for others.

You'll learn different tricks along the way. You'll do things on your first trip that on your next trip you'll know a better/easier way to do. Remember to have fun :)

Right on Stu.

It's interesting how bold and extremely rude people can be when they don't have to do it to your face. The woman who started this rant about 9 posts ago, does that throughout the forum and has for years. Now it seems she has company.

Don't take the bait because that's all it is.

Stu: I'm sorry about the "idiot" comment -- I didn't mean it literally, I was being facetious.

But I do agree with Christina that it's sort of a dumb thing to get in a rental car and drive off with no cash in your pocket, and that's true in any city, foreign or domestic. Not just tolls, but food, taxis -- you need cash for all sorts of things and one should never depend on carrying a credit card for minor expenses. I think that was poor planning on your cousin's part and it's a good lesson for everyone in that respect.

I personally have never needed euros in advance, but the main issue for me (like yk) is HASSLE, not expense. I'd have to take off work and schlep a good ways to buy euros in the US -- it's not worth the time, money or hassle to me, but I understand that the security of having euros on hand is worth it to other people and that's fine for them. I will continue to live life on the edge! ;)

I have never had a problem getting cash from ATMs in Western Europe — except for the time we landed in Vienna from Atlanta on a Sunday. The ATMs would not accept my card, even though I had notified the bank well in advance. Everything worked fine the next morning and for the remainder of the trip, but some banks seem to have a problem making that first connection on a Sunday. We spent a hectic day trying to come up with enough cash to buy food, but we survived. Just to be sure, I now try to have some euros with me before I leave the states even though I am taking a loss on the exchange.

Living life on the edge... Someone asked me, if I could change a 50€ bill. I couldn't, Actually, I never carry more than 2€ to 5€ in my wallet. Use an ATM to get a 20€ bill, spend bill, repeat as often as needed. If you're lazy get more money in one session from ATM. If you're super lazy, carry a few 1000€ with you, who cares :-)