Currency exchange for trip to Italy/Switzerland
 

I have exchanged $ for Euros to pay for hotels in Italy next week, however, I am NOT considering making an exchange for Swiss Francs for that portion of my trip. Would it be absolutely necessary to have Swiss Francs on hand, or could I get by just using my credit card? I'm assuming all of the railways and most restaurants would accept credit cards...? Any advice would be helpful : )

It's a shame you didn't post this question before exchanging anything. You have already lost a good amount of money by exchanging before in the US, as the rates here stink. The best way to exchange is to use your ATM card when you get to Europe. While €'s and credit cards are often accepted in Switzerland, it's still best to have some local currency. Get some Swiss francs from the ATM when you get to Switzerland.

If you are taking a tram from the Zurich airport, you will need cash as the ticket machine doesn't have any other options.

For Swissies you can just charge larger amounts on your credit card and pull cash from your checking account at the ATM you can find on practically every corner.

Can;t imagine why you bought all those euros - it's just shoveling money out a window.

I pay for all my hotels with my Capital One Card-no added charges for conversion.

I bought all the euros because the hotels I'm staying in offer 10-20% discounts for customers who pay cash. I assumed that if I charged those amounts to my credit card I would still end up paying alot because the exchange rate is terrible anyways... IF I really lost money, the hotel discounts will hopefully make up for it. My bank only charged a $10 fee for the exchange.

Hi btkayaks,

Yes, paying cash is a good idea, but you can get (or rather could have gotten) that cash from the ATM when you are there -- rates are far better that way. Just get your bank to authorize a one-time or a two-time withdrawal of a lot of money.

As for cc in Switzerland, you can use them, yes, but it really is a cash-based society. Many restaurants will have a limit for the amounts you can charge, say nothing less than 30 chf. So if you want to stop for a cup of coffee and cake (a great way to rest and soak up the views around you), you need cash. You also need cash to use the trams and busses. And I'm not sure about grocery stores -- you may need cash for all of them or maybe just for the smaller ones, if you want to pop in and buy some bottled water or an orange, etc.

Really, it's a good idea to just use the ATMs.

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Alright, thanks! I definitely appreciate all the advice.

"<i>I bought all the euros because the hotels I'm staying in offer 10-20% discounts for customers who pay cash. I assumed that if I charged those amounts to my credit card I would still end up paying alot because the exchange rate is terrible anyways... IF I really lost money, the hotel discounts will hopefully make up for it. My bank only charged a $10 fee for the exchange.</i>"

Just so you understand for the next time -- that $10 fee was only a small part of what you paid. Your bank also used a worse exchange rate than you'd get using an ATM card after you are in Italy. A discount for cash is fairly common -- but it only usually saves you $$/€€ if you get your €€ in Europe via ATMs. Otherwise, if you buy your currency in the States, it costs more than the discount savings.

Ah... fees and rates, the money changers' favorite trick. The banks prominently taunts fees while being low key on the rate they use.

You can get what kind of RATEs they gave you by using this site:

http://www.xe.com/ccc/

Although the terminologies are for the CC, you can use it for a cash exchange. Enter Euros you got in the "receipt" section, enter the dollar you paid minus the $10 fee for the "statement". You see the % rate premium you paid. The total cost of conversion is FEE+RATE premium. My bank charges 6-10% premium depending on the day. Your bank might have a different strategy.The calculator shows you how much premium they took in.

So a -10% discount will be washed out by +10% rate premium on a bad day. A -10% discount coupled with 0% or 1% ATM rate premium will come out much better at -10% or -9%.

ahhh... live and learn I guess. Now I know what NOT to do next time! as you can tell, I've never done this before : )

btkayaks..... I wouldn't worry about it. It won't amount to that much anyways. I used to exchange USD for foreign currency until I learned better from this forum. Big difference in that and using the ATM. Yes, you can learn a lot here!

btkayaks, I'm glad we have helped you with the ATM for your next trip. A lot of people hear about ATMs on Fodors for the first time so welcome to the club.