Kannanr

Can anyone suggest places to cash travelers checks in Madrid? I visited a few banks and they won't hear of it! I am near villahermoso (Canal Metro). Many thanks for your suggestions.

smarty

There is an American Express office on Plaza de las Cortes and another at the airport. I wouldn't waste any more time trying additional banks and just go to AX.

janisj

Now that you have learned an important/expensive lesson - that TCs are next to useless - follow smarty's advice. Head to the nearest Amex office and get it over with.

Christina

I don't know if Amex will exchange them if they are not American Express brand, though. There are other travelers checks, VISA makes them, for example. If they are AMex, do that. If not, often currency exchange bureaus (cambios in Spanish) are more likely to exchange them than banks.

There are always cambios at airports and train stations, I know there is one at Atocha and Chaumartin train stations. There are also cambios around main tourist sites like the museums, Puerta del Sol, etc. There are some on Gran Via, also.

I don't know for sure if they will exchange them, but they might. I have no idea where Canal Metro is, so you'll have to figure that stuff out on your own. Here are some addresses of cambio brand Changepoint:

Gran Vía 56.
Plaza de la Puerta del Sol 8

Travelex doesn't have them in Spain, don't think, or they might work.

Christina

oh, if you really do not need to exchange them, don't. Just use your ATM card, if you have one. If you don't, that's a real problem.

I do carry TCs with me but as backup and I know some places where they are not that hard to exchange (other countries and cities), but I don't remember the experience in Spain as I don't think I used them there or noticed. I remember when I was in Poland, no bank would exchange them and only one brand of exchange bureau would, but in Paris, they are pretty easy to change. So, if you really don't need to, don't. I hope you didn't get them in euro, as that's why I just don't use them and take them back home to deposit in my bank account for no cost that way. If they are in euro, you'll probably lose money changing them back to your native currency (and I bet you lost it buying them if they are not in your native currency).

suze

Train station?
Hotel front desk?

Guenmai

I haven't been to Spain, but have been going to Paris for over 3 decades and I take AmExp traveler's checks which are easy to cash there. I just go straight to the AmExp office and cash a wad at once and usually don't have to be worried about money the rest of the trip...as I use a credit card for the big expenses.
I have never used an ATM card in Europe. I personally take Traveler's checks,cash, and 2 credit cards. But, I have taken the ATM card along, just in case of an emergency, but as I said have never used it.
I know that there are those who only use ATM cards while abroad and to each his own.
A Parisien friend of mine discovered 800 Euros missing from his bank account that had been fraudulanty accessed somehow through the ATM system. This was back in the spring when I was in Paris. This happened a few days after we had gone out to dinner. He said he can't even access 800 Euros at once. So, his card was frozen and he couldn't get any money. It's good he had some cash stashed at home...until the mess was straightened out. It kind of messed up our weekend plans as we had to budget tighter.
I've been a victim of a kind of identity/card fraud, so I'm a bit careful about these financial things. Happy Travels!

janisj

Your advice about using TCs in Paris is not all that helpful to our OP in Madrid. Plus - your plan only works w/ Amex TCs - we still don't know if the OP's are Amex.

So you think carrying around wads of cash is safer than using your ATM card?? very weird . . . . . I'll personally take the tiny odds of having an ATM card mis-used over the hassle of TCs and the extra needed security.

dutyfree

Traveler's checks are a thing of the past-kinda like Europe on $25 a day!

Momliz

the only place in the French countryside that cashed 'em was the Post Office. Maybe Spanish post offices will cash them for you?

Yup, they are not worth the trouble anymore.

crazyfortravel

I agree...TC are a thing of the past. Purchased Euro TC a few years back and thought since they were Euro it would be like cash...fat chance.

My hotel in Lyon would not take them...No place in Arles would take them including banks. Had to change them at an exchange booth and pay a ridiculous fee. In the Languedoc it got worse...no one would cash them and could not find exchange counters in every town. Apparently the vendor has to pay their bank to deposit them so no one wants to touch them with a ten foot pole.

Amex has closed many of their offices so it's not easy to find an office in every town anymore. Yes in the large cities but not always convenient to track them down.

Lesson learned...no more TC. I use ATM and credit card.

For the OP...if they are not Amex and exchange counter will cash them but you will pay a hefty fee.

TDudette

The following info adds to smarty's:

Plaza de las Cortes, 2
Madrid, Madrid
28014
Neighborhood: Retiro & Paseo del Prado
Nearest Train: Gran Via
Phone: +34 91 322 5500

Hope it helps. We haven't used TC for several years but most retailers used to take them. Not true anymore? The first year Euros-only were required, we thought we'd be smart and get TCs in Euros. The first bank we approached were flummoxed by them! They actually called our bank in the States! We forgot that the Euros were as new to Europeans as to us! ATMs really are the way to go these days.

chapla

AmEx closed its office at Las Cortes in Madrid a couple of years ago!Your only sure option is to go to the Barajas airport! I just cashed some old TCs there 4 weeks ago.Before going to the airport, try El Corte Ingles customer service.

bob_brown

One night in Paris I found a great use for AE checks: Show them to an excited waiter to calm him down.

We had finished dinner at a little restaurant just off of Boulevard Raspail where 6 meets 14.

I called for the check and dutifully handed the waiter my credit card. The waiter soon came back waving my credit card and making noises like a tea kettle that had boiled over. He spoke only a very little more English than I do French, but I got the NO GOOD part loud and clear.

I started fishing in my wallet and passport case for my back-up card.
It was well hidden, even from me. My wife said she would go to the ATM on Boulevard Raspail, which was close by, and get more currency with her aTM card. When she rose from the table, I thought the waiter was going to blow a gasket and start leaking oil and spewing coolant.

I guess he thought she was skipping out even though I was still seated and fumbling for that elusive backup credit card.

In desperation, I yanked my AE checks out of my passport case and tossed them on the table. The sight of the checks calmed the waiter down while I finally located my other card.

The other card worked, the waiter was happy, his bubbling subsided, and we left the restaurant without further incident.

I still have those checks in my passport case. They served their best being UNcashed.

So travelers checks do have their use!! The next time I accidentally stir up a French waiter I will know what to do. I hope it is an older person; the younger ones probably never saw a TC before.

TDudette

Sorry my amex info was out of date Kannanr!

janisj

bob_brown: You get a lot of cocktail party mileage out of that story, do you?

travelme

Traveler checks are still useful in Mexico. You can change them at a "cambio". ATM is the way to go in Europe for sure.

Janis wrote:
You get a lot of cocktail party mileage out of that story, do you?
Is someone a bit snarkey today?

bachslunch

Re traveler's checks. I still use them when I travel because I don't want to get socked an ATM fee when I use my card.

I was able to cash a traveler's check in Madrid but it took a little searching to find a bank that would do this. But I did find one.

Robespierre

There's a much better way to avoid ATM fees: open an account at a bank that doesn't charge them.

Even if you have to pay a dollar or two, that's a LOT less than what TCs typically cost. Say you withdraw the equivalent of $300. Even a $5 fee (which is a high one - most of them are 1% or 2%) means you're paying 1-2/3%.

historytraveler

If you're a good customer, the bank will usually void any ATM fee charges. Mine does.

Regardless, the fees become irrelevant when included in the total cost of a trip. I know I wouldn't want to be wandering aroung using trip time just to locate a place to cash my T.C.s.