janisj

>>Yes thanks for the cooler heads on my original question. This is 3 or 4 private tours over the whole country over a 2 week period.<<

Then you are only talking about 2 or 3 hundred € at any one time. So even IF these guides don't take cards (I cannot imagine that for expensive tours) it isn't any different than any other expenses. Carrying €300 or €400 is no biggie. Get € as you need them. Easy peasy.

starrs

Good thread. Thanks!

bvlenci

<i> once in Italy there was a national strike and nearly no ATM had any money in it </i>

That must have been a long time ago.

Anyway, what kind of strike could have prevented re-stocking ATM machines?

nytraveler

No business in the US can charge more for payment with CCs. If they try to do so all you need to do is complain to the CC company - who will cut off the business - severely limiting their business.

daria

Going back to the original question, I have Bank of America, and they give me some Euros beforehand at no extra charge above the equivalent in dollars and the exchange rate is fair. It takes a couple of days and I have to go back to the bank to pick it up, but there is no fee. Of course, you don't want to take as much as 1,000-2,000E, but I get a couple hundred to start just so I have some cash when I arrive.

janisj

>>I have Bank of America, and they give me some Euros beforehand at no extra charge above the equivalent in dollars and the exchange rate is fair.<<

If that is true -- it will be the first time BofA has done such a thing. They charge some of the highest fees and if there were none, then they got you w/ the exchange rate. BofA (and other banks) don't provide that service for free.

marvelousmouse

It's half true. The exchange rate being fair is debatable- last I checked it's like a 7 cents difference between market and Boa which doesn't sound like much but...

To get a currency fee waived at Bank of America, you have to order more than $1,000. So let's say Daria did did that- the rate they offer today means that they'd be making $70 off of Daria. They waived 7.50. So nice of them. Eye roll...any time BofA "waives fees", I pull out a fine tooth comb...

But they make money off fees when you use an ATM, too, 3% plus ATM charge. So probably what gets most people is DCC or just taking out too little money too frequently. I think DCC is actually the bigger problem. I've done the math a few times out of curiousity and I was glad I follow along here and knew what that was. The exchange is never in the customer's favor. Met a few backpackers in Japan who had no idea what that was. And then BofA still charges that 3% fee because that fee ISN'T for conversion. It's for "foreign purchases". I don't think many people understand that.

(Just FYI, Daria. I actually like Boa- or at least did until they cancelled a bunch of the rural branches- but no such thing as a free lunch.)

luvtotravel

I was on a tour in Italy this past May. After traveling in Italy many times it was the first time I had trouble using ATMs. Where they ask what language you want on the screen, it was written in Italian. I don't speak Italian so I had no idea how to use the ATM. If I spoke Italian I wouldn't have needed instructions in English. Our tour guide helped us use the ATMs. This was in Florence and Orvieto.

It was a long time ago, but I was in Paris when the people who deliver money to ATMs went on strike. It was a problem getting money out of ATMs for several days.

vincenzo32951

>>Nothing you can do if a bank machine has it's own limit (but I've never heard of one as low as 250 myself).<<

250 did sound low to me, too. I was recently in Europe and used an ATM, but my withdrawals didn't approach that amount, so I can't say for sure what the limit was.

>>No business in the US can charge more for payment with CCs.<<

Gas stations do it. Of course, there's some sleight-of-hand involved because it's depicted as a discount for cash, but it amounts to a surcharge for using a CC.

bvlenci

A lot of ATMs in Italy have a €250 limit, but it's a transaction limit, so you can withdraw a 2nd time to get more.

When I use my US card, there is a message asking what language I want to use, but it gives me a choice of "Italiano / English / Deutsch..." etc. Even if you don't understand Italian, the word "English" should jump out at you.