currency exchange
 

Any advice on changing dollars to Euros, JFK or CDG?

Don't exchange cash at either place. Withdraw euros from ATM using ATM/debit card when you arrive at CDG. Cheapest and easy to do.

No place. Changing cash is like throwing 10% of your money out the window.

You should pay for larger expenses with CCs and use pull walking around money from your checking account at bank ATMs with your debit card. That's the least expensive way to pay for your trip.

The exchange fees at the airport are outrageous, to say the least, closer to 12%, plus a bad exchange rate. The advent of ATMs in the 90's all but eliminated the need for currency exchanges anywhere in Europe and nearly put an end to the overpriced Travelers Checks, which very few will accept.

As already noted, get what cash you may need to pay a taxi or that public transportation at the ATM when you arrive at CDG, then stop by one of the bank ATM's once you're in Paris. Make sure you let you bank know you'll be using your debit card while traveling, otherwise it will be blocked. You should also make sure your daily limit will be high enough to allow you to withdrawal what you need for walking around pocket money.

Don't "exchange." Take your ATM card and use it at the first machine you come to.

Also, you may want to check with your bank to see what the fees are for using an ATM out of their network or see if they have an affiliated bank in France. For example, I think, but am not sure, that Bank of America customers can use banks in a Global ATM Alliance without having to pay the out of network fee. If you happen to have a debit card that does not charge for out of network withdrawals and also does not charge a foreign transaction fee, that would be ideal.

Bank of America customers traveling in France can use the BNP Paribas ATMs without charge. The same with Barclays in the UK, BNL in Italy and Deutsche Bank in Germany.

Folks, this may be a dumb question, but I will ask it anyway. Does it cost less than a bureau d’change, to change American dollars into pounds in person at a bank like Barclay’s in central London?

I guess my concern is that my ATM card might be stuck/gobbled up in an ATM machine in some remote location– then I would really be hurting. :) I only access cash at my local bank ATM at home.

Many banks will not provide this service unless you are already a customer and if they do the rate will be much higher than pulling cash from an ATM - again - throwing 10% of your money out the window.

latedaytraveler - I understand your concern - it's statistically unlikely but can be a royal PIA if it does happen. Did you know you can obtain a second ATM card from your bank to keep as backup? I have one and it provides peace of mind.

As nytraveler mentions, few banks, if any, will exchange non-customer's cash. I was lucky in the past of have a local take me into their bank to exchange the case, but unlike the States, you cannot just walk into a bank in the EU and expect to do business, if you can gain entry at all.

If you obtain a second ATM card, it will have to be from a separate account. I have debit cards from both a personal and business account that are not tied together. My wife has a separate account altogether should anything happen.

If you're worried about your debit/ATM card being gobbled up by the machine, only use ATMs at a bank when the bank is open. That said, I've used ATMs all over Europe in small towns and big cities at all hours with no problems at all. (My accounts in the US are in credit unions, which charge no transaction fee and a minimal exchange rate of 1% over the interbank rate.)

NYtraveler, Seamus, Robert, and Mimar, thank you for your thoughtful replies and for the reminder that banks abroad do not do business as openly as those in the US. I will try to use my ATM only at banks during their working hours. It’s reassuring to know that you folks haven’t lost your cards yet. :)

crikey, I've never had any problem changing money in a bank in europe (when I had to do it) unless the bank is not a retail bank of course.

But I'd rather pull the cash from an ATM

two things to remember with ATMs

1) cover the pad as you put the pin in incase someone has stuck a camera above the pad
2) do make sure the slot is the original not a capture slot.

http://www.innocenthacker.com/2012/0...rotection.html

<<<i>Robert2533 on Jun 2, 13 at 10:38pm:...If you obtain a second ATM card, it will have to be from a separate account...</i>>>

Nope, not necessarily. It is of course possible to get a second account and card but I have a second card tied to my checking account.

Never change money at an airport booth. BUT, there are plenty of banks in New York that will exchange USD for Euros for a five percent fee. So it's not 10 percent as one commentor claimed.

Unless you have a no-fee ATM card you will pay a three percent foreign transaction fee plus an ATM fee that likely adds up to more than five percent. I personally like having a little local cash on me when the plane lands.

FHurdle - did you check what rate you get at such places?

FHurdle, okay, a 5% fee on top of a very bad currency exchange rate. You end up losing all around. Bank of America charges a 1% foreign transaction fee plus $5 per transaction, which is why when we're in the Basque country (both sides) we get cash from the BNP Paribas ATMs, no fees or transaction charges.

Seamus, if you have two ATM cards attached to the same account, if one is blocked, both will be blocked, as the account will be frozen until you respond to the phone call they made to you home phone.

No Robert2533, a five percent fee on top of the current SPOT rate. I calculated this. Currency values are based on an exact price. Currently the spot price is 1.30880. Multiply that by 1.05 and you get 1.37424. That is the price you will pay for Euros at Wells Fargo, plus a $5 fee regardless of the size of the transaction.

This is a better deal than using an ATM unless you have a no-fee cards, since ATM users must pay both a three percent transaction fee and an ATM fee, and they are limited to relatively small transactions.

Seamus, yes, I've checked the rate and used the service before. I actually called a couple of weeks ago to get the current rate, compared it to the spot rate, and figured out that they were marking them Euros up by five percent, which is quite reasonable.

I’m back. Today I stopped into my bank – SOVEREIGN north of Boston – where I have had an account for years, although this bank site has had many iterations in the last decades. I was told that I could purchase sterling at the daily rate with a charge of $8 for overnight mailing. It could take a day or two.

Sounds good to me…