Neal

When in Italy, what's the best way to take advantage of the exchange rate for purchasing meals & gifts: american dollars, italian lire, credit card or travelers cheque? I'm thinking of a combination of all 4. Thanks!

Book Chick

Neal, <BR>If you exchange dollars, say at a restaurant, hotel or shop, it's unlikely you'll get the most favorable exchange rate, and you'll probably get really variable rates in different instances. I'd use the credit card & Italian lire (and use your credit card or ATM card to obtain lire), & I believe you'll realize a more favorable exchange rate this way. <BR>Buon Viaggio, <BR>BC

Joe

I disagree. We visited Italy in August and banks were paying about 2000L/$ whereas merchants gave me 2150L/$ for both travelers checks and US currency, the change back was in L, very convenient. Not every place would take travelers checks though. <BR> <BR>When I was able to use a credit card I did, but the receipt converted everything to Euro. Haven't received bank statements yet to determine which was better. <BR> <BR>I don't use ATM or Credit card for cash advances but others on our trip who did thought the exchange was fair but the fees were inconsistent between machines.

ro

thanks for the info. keep us posted when you get your bank statments.

Bob

ATM will always give the best rate. You will find that over 90% of the people on this board use a ATM card to get cash. Just make sure you have the cash in your Checking Account and have a four digit PIN.

John

Did both the ATM and credit card and when I analyzed them after the trip, the credit card gave me the best conversion if you take the "extra charges" into account from the ATM. Now, sometimes you can't use a credit card and need cash and the local currency is always a better deal than trying to use American dollars.

Linda

I called the BofA where i have a checking account and the CSR i spoke with said that BofA would charge a flat $3.00 for every ATM transaction, and that the European ATM's bank would also charge a fee. Is this true? Seems so, from an above post. Then wouldn't it be better to use a credit card to avoid fees from both banks? Am i missing something--why do the majority of people prefer ATMs? <BR> <BR>I also called my credit card companies and the conversion fee is 3% for Chase and 2% for Amex. They also said they use the bank to bank conversion rate, as does the BofA during a foreign ATM transaction, no? <BR> <BR>still confused about the advantages of using ATMs... <BR>

Christina

The main advantage is that you can't use a credit card for small item purchases. You have to have some cash in local currency to buy a cup of coffee, paper, trinkets, etc. Are you sure BofA told you that foreign ATMS "would" charge you an ATM fee, or just that they might, they had no control over it and couldn't tell you? I've never been charged a fee from a foreign ATM, only from my own bank, but I don't have a BofA account, so can't say if they have some really bad deal abroad or something. These small percentages are trivial IMO (ie 2.5 vs 3 pct) and exchange rates can vary daily that much. However, if you take out large amts of money from an ATM (US$100 or more equivalent) and your ATM fee is $2 or less per transaction, that price of getting money should be less than the 3 pct of some credit cards. Your 2 pct AMex isn't too bad, though -- if you have a $2 ATM fee and take out $100, it's a draw.

Bob

Bank of America is now part of a ATM Alliance and there are no charges from anyone for using: Barclays in the UK, Deutsche Bank in Germany and BNP Paribas in France.

Linda

The CSR reminded me about 10 times that there would definitely be a fee imposed by the European bank for using their ATM machine. He didn't mention there were exceptions. Also, it seemed he was discouraging me from using the ATM and wanted me to use a BofA credit card instead, stating that i could avoid the flat fee. Of course he didn't mention there would be a supplemental conversion fee. <BR> <BR>For those of you who have tried both the cc and ATMs, apart from the additional fees (conversion fees for ccs and flat fee for using foreign ATMs), was the same exchange rate used? I'm assuming this will make a larger difference to the bottom line than supplemental fees. <BR> <BR>Christina--what you said makes sense. I will definitely need small cash for pastries, coffee, and gelato! Mmmm...can't wait. <BR> <BR>Bob--thanks for the info. Do you know of any banks with a similar arrangement in Italy and Switzerland? Many thanks!

Bob

The latest list I have did not have Switzerland or Italy. This just started in July and they will be adding to the list. It is hard to find anyone at BofA that knows anything about it.

Paul

Don't take your American Express. I spent hours trying many different ATMs in Sicily and none would allow me to get cash... <BR>Use Visa or Mastercard.

Louise

Hi Neal, I used my ATM card in Italy a couple of times for gelato money and paid a $3 fee each time, which I thought was fair (I don't pay any fees in the US). I think if you use your Visa or MasterCard in the ATM, you'll be paying a cash advance fee (which can be a LOT). Check with the bank from which you have your card, and get it in writing. Basically, I would use charge cards to charge, ATMs to get cash. <BR> <BR>Buon viaggio.

Linda

Hi all, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the replies. Esp Bob for letting me know about ATMs and Louise about when to use what.

traveler

Have a great trip!

alb85

I have a debit card. Isn't this like having an ATM and a credit card rolled into one. I should be able to withdraw money from machines and also use it to purchase items also. Correct??

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Alea

Yes, that's correct if you have a Visa or MC debit card. Charges for purchases will be taken directly out of your bank account, as opposed to using a separate Visa or MC and then receiving a bill later. Many people use the ATM/Visa/MC debit card for cash from machines, but charge purchases to their separate Visa/MC card so that they aren't draining their bank account. It's also nice to have a few weeks before you have to pay for the purchases.