Euro travel checks
 

I will travel next month in several countries in central Europe and will carry most of my money in the form of American Express Travel Checks made out in euros. Which financial institutions will cash these checks at face value for me, i.e., without charging me a fee. I know that American Express Travbelk Centers will do this, but they are very few and far between. <BR><BR>My experience in the past in trying to cash American Express Travel checks made out in Deutschmarks or French francs has been abyssmal, and most places have charged me an exchange fee, just as they would if my checks were made out in US dollars.

It's the same thing. Decidely few places take them and other than Amex offices, most banks will nail you with a charge for cashing them. Your hotel might take them at face value but I don't understand why you would be doing this.<BR><BR>This is the 21st century. It's good to take some travelers cheques in US dollars as a back up. It's good, if you are paranoid, to take Euros with you to save you "hassles" upon arrival. But, for the most part, the modern and only way to travel in the 21st century is to credit card everything possible and for those few places which don't take credit cards to use ATM machines to pull out small amounts of cash as needed.

Conclusion:<BR>Forget about travellers checks all together. They're a pain to cash, and if you lose them, they're a pain to replace. They're a thing from the past.<BR>Use ATM's.<BR><BR>

I was in Spain last month and places that would cash tc's in Euros's were charging a 2%commission. Tc's in foreign currency ie: US dollars no commission.

What do you do with the left over euro checks when you get home?<BR>And how much do you have to pay for euro checks you buy over here?<BR>No, they are not free. You pay a fee for them,usually in the form of an exchange rate that favors the seller.<BR>I don't recall the AE rate for euro transactions, but the last time I bought Canadian dollar checks, I had to pay 2%.<BR>I don't do that any more either!!<BR>I rely on ATMs in Europe and Canada.<BR>I do take a few US $ traveler's checks with me everywhere I go as a doomsday reserve. I have used 2 of them in the last 5 years.<BR>

To answer your question, Cr&eacute;dit Lyonnais did not charge a fee to convert to cash while Banque Nationale de Paris did. No restaurants in France would accept them.<BR><BR>If you're positive your ATM card will work, I'd go with that and a little in trav. cheques for emergencies.<BR><BR>My ATM card did not work in Europe on two different trips even though my bank assured me it was cleared for international use. They suggested upping my daily withdrawal limit and, lo and behold, I had not trouble at all.

If you're taking travelers checks just for emergencies, take them in dollars. So if you don't use them, you can just re-deposit them when you get home rather than paying a conversion fee twice.