Cash to pay for apartment on arrival
 

When you arrive in Europe, in my case Rome, and you have to have a fairly large amount of cash, in my case, about 850 euros, to pay for your apartment, where do you get it?
Do you arrange with your debit card provider to increase the amount you can withdraw?..carry it from the U.S.?...
Thanks for your help,
Dupher

I asked this question prior to arriving in rome as well - I will try to find the thread - I got good answers.

Our owner was willing to do a bank transfer - we ended up not doing it as our plans changed and we were in Europe long enough to collect euros from the ATM - we had to have about 900 Euros -

We increased our daily limit to 500.00 USD - with fees and the weak exchange rate we were able to get 250.00 from one ATM and then move to another one and get another 150.00 or so? (I do not recall the exact amount). It took a few days to collect enough Euros.

Ask your apartment rental if they will do a bank transfer if Rome is your first stop with Euros - the other option that some suggested was that the owner would have to come back and collect the rest later in the week.

Some said their owners did that.

I will find the thread as there was a lot of good advice.

dm

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34983464

I hope that works - I have never posted a thread in this forum before.

Thanks for your help...I'll talk to my bank,
Dupher

Be aware, though, that international bank transfers are pretty expensive.

Yes- international transfers are pricey. I don't know what the rate is from the US to international destinations, but I pay about $20 with the exchange rate from Switzerland to the US (charged by my Swiss bank). The US bank then charges me $15 to "receive" the transfer.

Maybe your apartment folks would be willing to take half at the beginning of the rental and then the rest a few days later, once you have taken more out of the ATM?

I called my bank and spoke to the branch manager. I explained how much I would need upon landing in Rome and he arranged for me to be able to withdraw (in 2 transactions, on after the other)that amount while my husband was waiting on the bags at the airport. Worked out perfectly.

Thank you all for your assistance. How can anyone travel without Fodorites?
Dupher

Probably the same way they did before the internet and Fodor's and with a great deal less anxiety they were doing something wrong.

Would it be cheaper to go to you bank branch to pull out the amount of money needed prior to leaving? With the exchange rate going up daily it may actually be cheaper, provided you wanted to carry that amount of money.

Just a thought.

The rental agency for the apartment my wife and I rented in Rome last May was willing to take American Express travelers checks in Euros.

I am in this same situation for my upcoming trip. I arranged with my bank (Bank of A) to temporarily increase my daily ATM withdrawl limit up to $1000 per day.
It could have been higher if I had wanted.

I am picking up my euro for the same apartment transaction in US before I leave. I like to have it with me when I land as I will go directly to the apartment. Others here like to go to the airport ATM's. It is just a matter of preference.