Euro Traveller's Checks-are they accepted same as currency?
Feb 3rd, 2005, 12:10 PM
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Euro Traveller's Checks-are they accepted same as currency?
Can anyone tell me _for sure_ if Euro traveller's checks can be used in shops, hotels and restaurants the same way currency is used without causing any problems? Here in the States it's no problem to pay with USD travellerl's checks anywhere. It seems to me that would be the most efficient way to bring US dollars to Europe since AAA sells Euro Traveller's Checks with no charge for conversion, just for the face value of the checks themselves. Anyone with first-hand experiences in this matter please respond. Assume I don't have any credit cards to use for ATM withdrawls in Europe.
Feb 3rd, 2005, 12:16 PM
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I don't know what countries you're planning to visit, but in France and Italy almost no one wants to take traveler's checks in any currency, even euros.
Get yourself a debit card and use ATMs for cash purchases and a Visa or Mastercard for everything else. Traveler's checks are a thing of the past. Take them and I can guarantee you will waste a great deal of vacation time trying to get them cashed, trying to pay with them, etc. Waste of good vacation time.
Get yourself a debit card and use ATMs for cash purchases and a Visa or Mastercard for everything else. Traveler's checks are a thing of the past. Take them and I can guarantee you will waste a great deal of vacation time trying to get them cashed, trying to pay with them, etc. Waste of good vacation time.
Feb 3rd, 2005, 12:21 PM
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OK, here's the answer. NO.
I was with a group in UK who had lots of TC's in pounds. Nearly every bank had a 5 pound minimum charge to cash each check regardless of its value. Since most checks were in 20 pounds, that was a 25% fee to cash them. Finally we discovered two banks (Bank of Scotland and Lloyd's who didn't charge to cash them), but you had to rely on the banks being open -- which of course they weren't in the evenings or all weekend. Meanwhile restaurant after restaurant refused them.
Some shops will take them, NOT all, and it is the same with restaurants. In addition be prepared IF they accept them to have your passport and another picture ID ready and willing to let them take lots of time to write down all your information.
About that statement that AAA sells them with no charge for conversion, just for the face value themselves. I'm not sure what you mean. The last time I checked there was no "fee" but their rate was about 4 to 5% higher than the current bank rate.
There is no doubt that the easiest and cheapest way to get your cash is with an ATM connected to your checking account. PERIOD.
I was with a group in UK who had lots of TC's in pounds. Nearly every bank had a 5 pound minimum charge to cash each check regardless of its value. Since most checks were in 20 pounds, that was a 25% fee to cash them. Finally we discovered two banks (Bank of Scotland and Lloyd's who didn't charge to cash them), but you had to rely on the banks being open -- which of course they weren't in the evenings or all weekend. Meanwhile restaurant after restaurant refused them.
Some shops will take them, NOT all, and it is the same with restaurants. In addition be prepared IF they accept them to have your passport and another picture ID ready and willing to let them take lots of time to write down all your information.
About that statement that AAA sells them with no charge for conversion, just for the face value themselves. I'm not sure what you mean. The last time I checked there was no "fee" but their rate was about 4 to 5% higher than the current bank rate.
There is no doubt that the easiest and cheapest way to get your cash is with an ATM connected to your checking account. PERIOD.
Feb 3rd, 2005, 12:22 PM
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FOR SURE it is harder to use travelers checks than cash. FOR SURE you can't even use them in a lot of places in the U.S. anymore. I can say from experience I had a hard time cashing AmEx checks (they were a gift) in the AmEx office in Paris! Huge line, tons of I.D. needed, etc. A big hassle. Never had a problem spending cash Euros!
If you have the cash to buy travelers checks, you have the cash to open a CHECKING ACCOUNT and get an ATM CARD. Which you then use in Europe. You can even open an account just for that purpose.
No credit cards needed, although I would love to know how you bought a plane ticket and reserved a hotel room on another continent without a credit card.
BTW, if you are 'sticking it to the man' by using 'traceless' travelers checks, remember you will need to show your PASSPORT when cashing them at stores and your I.D. will likely be recorded. But an ATM withdrawal just records you took money out, not what you spent the cash on.
If you have the cash to buy travelers checks, you have the cash to open a CHECKING ACCOUNT and get an ATM CARD. Which you then use in Europe. You can even open an account just for that purpose.
No credit cards needed, although I would love to know how you bought a plane ticket and reserved a hotel room on another continent without a credit card.
BTW, if you are 'sticking it to the man' by using 'traceless' travelers checks, remember you will need to show your PASSPORT when cashing them at stores and your I.D. will likely be recorded. But an ATM withdrawal just records you took money out, not what you spent the cash on.
Feb 3rd, 2005, 12:26 PM
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Of course not because they aren't cash, they are a form of check. I'll bet you can't cash them anywhere in the US like cash, either, although I've never tried it except at the grocery store, etc., places that tend to take large checks anyway.
Believe me AAA does not sell them at no charge for the conversion -- I know as I've asked them their rate and compared.
Believe me AAA does not sell them at no charge for the conversion -- I know as I've asked them their rate and compared.
Feb 3rd, 2005, 12:58 PM
#9
NO, sure sure... you can't use Euro TC's in <shops, hotels and restaurants the same way currency is used>.
That's not to say somewhere, sometime a restaurant or more likely hotel might accept them from you, but it is not common, and should not be counted on.
If you want to go that route, simply plan to go to a normal bank, with your passport as ID, to cash them.
That's not to say somewhere, sometime a restaurant or more likely hotel might accept them from you, but it is not common, and should not be counted on.
If you want to go that route, simply plan to go to a normal bank, with your passport as ID, to cash them.
Feb 3rd, 2005, 02:46 PM
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Not only will you have your money in a form that is barely acceptable in Europe, you will pay 5% up front just to acquire your euros. Then, when in Europe, you may have to pay a fee to convert them from check form to spendable form.
I was in a situation where I had to send a deposit to a business that did NOT accept credit cards. I finally decided to send a traveler's check. I ended up paying an exchange rate difference that amunted to 5%. I could just have easily have sent cash in an envelope; in fact, I should have.
So any idea that the checks are costless is not accurate. The only way you can know what you are paying, or being charged,is to know how what you end up paying compared with the wholesale bank rate of exchange.
I was in a position where I knew if I went to a local bank and ordered euro notes that I would pay about 5% over the wholesale bankrate. The ch4cks cost me the same and at least had a refundability aspect that the cash did not have if the money never got to its destination.
I wanted the service at the other end, so I paid the fee and sent the money and secured the reservation. But I was not all that wild about paying extra.
Normally aTM transations result in a 1% increase over the wholesale bankrate unless your bank socks you with a charge for an off net transaction. I use Bank of America and go to Barclays in the UK (and elsewhere in Europe where Barclays has a branch) or to the Deutsche Bank if in Germany because Barclays and Deutsche Bank are affliate correspondent banks of BOA, or so they tell me.
For anyone interested, Scotia Bank is an affiliate in Canada.
Europe as a whole is more cash oriented.
You rarely see people writing personal checks at food markets like here in the States. Credit card or real money are the two most common mediums of exchange.
I was in a situation where I had to send a deposit to a business that did NOT accept credit cards. I finally decided to send a traveler's check. I ended up paying an exchange rate difference that amunted to 5%. I could just have easily have sent cash in an envelope; in fact, I should have.
So any idea that the checks are costless is not accurate. The only way you can know what you are paying, or being charged,is to know how what you end up paying compared with the wholesale bank rate of exchange.
I was in a position where I knew if I went to a local bank and ordered euro notes that I would pay about 5% over the wholesale bankrate. The ch4cks cost me the same and at least had a refundability aspect that the cash did not have if the money never got to its destination.
I wanted the service at the other end, so I paid the fee and sent the money and secured the reservation. But I was not all that wild about paying extra.
Normally aTM transations result in a 1% increase over the wholesale bankrate unless your bank socks you with a charge for an off net transaction. I use Bank of America and go to Barclays in the UK (and elsewhere in Europe where Barclays has a branch) or to the Deutsche Bank if in Germany because Barclays and Deutsche Bank are affliate correspondent banks of BOA, or so they tell me.
For anyone interested, Scotia Bank is an affiliate in Canada.
Europe as a whole is more cash oriented.
You rarely see people writing personal checks at food markets like here in the States. Credit card or real money are the two most common mediums of exchange.
Mar 10th, 2005, 06:54 PM
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My daughter is going on a high school trip over Easter break to Italy. What would you recommend as a backup to a teenager to the Visa debit card? Looks like traveller's checks or the AAA cash passport are bad options. I am going to provide some cash, but don't want that to be her backup. samejia
Mar 10th, 2005, 07:26 PM
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Do yourself a favor and leave the traveler's checks alone. You'll get the worst rate when you buy them, you'll get charged ridiculous fees to cash them - it's just not worth it. An ATM card is much easier.
The last time I used traveler's checks (2003), I took 100 euro worth of travelers checks into ABN AMRO in Amsterdam and walked out with 87 euro in cash. I cashed my last traveler's check right then and there.
The last time I used traveler's checks (2003), I took 100 euro worth of travelers checks into ABN AMRO in Amsterdam and walked out with 87 euro in cash. I cashed my last traveler's check right then and there.
Mar 11th, 2005, 04:55 AM
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To samejia:
I would suggest that TCs are actually a good idea for a _backup_. You won't get a good exchange rate, will have to pay fees when cashing them, and will have the inconvience of having to find an open bank to do so. However, since they're just backup and they're somewhat more secure than cash, the drawbacks shouldn't be that big a deal. I would get them in USD and not Euro. That way when your daughter doesn't use them, which will be the most likely case, you can simply redeposit them back home and are only out the cost to get them in the first place (which may be free). I took a couple of hundred dollars in TCs on my first couple of trips (just five years ago), but haven't since (and won't when I'll be back in Germany next week). However, I'll likely be carrying 2 credit cards and 3 ATM cards (including one from a German bank.)
I'm sure your daughter will love Italy.
Paul
I would suggest that TCs are actually a good idea for a _backup_. You won't get a good exchange rate, will have to pay fees when cashing them, and will have the inconvience of having to find an open bank to do so. However, since they're just backup and they're somewhat more secure than cash, the drawbacks shouldn't be that big a deal. I would get them in USD and not Euro. That way when your daughter doesn't use them, which will be the most likely case, you can simply redeposit them back home and are only out the cost to get them in the first place (which may be free). I took a couple of hundred dollars in TCs on my first couple of trips (just five years ago), but haven't since (and won't when I'll be back in Germany next week). However, I'll likely be carrying 2 credit cards and 3 ATM cards (including one from a German bank.)
I'm sure your daughter will love Italy.
Paul
Mar 11th, 2005, 06:44 AM
#14
Travelers checks are a fine back up. But take them in U.S. denomination, plan to go to a regular bank during business hours, with your passport as ID, to cash them.
It's taking them in Euro and expecting to spend them directly in businesses is the part that doesn't work.
It's taking them in Euro and expecting to spend them directly in businesses is the part that doesn't work.
Mar 11th, 2005, 08:36 AM
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Whenever we travel, we rely on ATM's and, to a much lesser extent, credit cards. Some areas of the world have very high rates of credit card and/or ATM fraud. For this reason, I have a special "holiday" account for the cash which has a limited supply of funds in it; that way, if we do get ripped off, there's a finite amount of cash the scoundrels will be able to get away with (i.e. they won't have access to ALL our money). My husband and I EACH have an ATM card, so if one gets lost/stolen we have a back-up.
On an extended trip to Europe, my sister-in-law set up all her banking online so every couple of weeks she would transfer funds from her regular account to her "vacation" account, thus ensuring a steady supply of funds but at no point leaving herself vulnerable to theft of more than a couple of hundred dollars.
As far as credit cards are concerned, I always tell my credit card co. where I'm going and when - this ensures that they won't block my card. On a recent trip to Mexico (where credit card fraud is rampant), I had them put a complete block on my credit card EXCEPT for medical costs as we had no intention of using the credit card at all except for emergencies. (Also in Mexico, they often add a surcharge if you try to use a credit card.) In more "civilized" places, such as Europe, we find we use our credit cards a lot more - we carry both Visa and Mastercard; lots of places don't seem to accept American Express (at least, that's what we found in France a couple of years ago).
With respect to ATMs, most banks (mine included) charge an extra fee for withdrawing cash from foreign ATM's. The charge is only a couple of dollars each time but this does mount up. We find it works best to withdraw enough cash for several days rather than waste valuable vacation time running to ATMs every day, this approach also minimizes the amount we pay in fees.
One last thing - don't use the freestanding ATM's unless you're ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE they're legit. There was a big scam with these in Playa del Carmen, Mexico - the cash machines would simply disappear overnight and anyone who'd used it would suddenly find unauthorized withdrawals being sucked from their account. It's more advisable to use ATM's that are firmly anchored in the wall of a bank.
HTH
On an extended trip to Europe, my sister-in-law set up all her banking online so every couple of weeks she would transfer funds from her regular account to her "vacation" account, thus ensuring a steady supply of funds but at no point leaving herself vulnerable to theft of more than a couple of hundred dollars.
As far as credit cards are concerned, I always tell my credit card co. where I'm going and when - this ensures that they won't block my card. On a recent trip to Mexico (where credit card fraud is rampant), I had them put a complete block on my credit card EXCEPT for medical costs as we had no intention of using the credit card at all except for emergencies. (Also in Mexico, they often add a surcharge if you try to use a credit card.) In more "civilized" places, such as Europe, we find we use our credit cards a lot more - we carry both Visa and Mastercard; lots of places don't seem to accept American Express (at least, that's what we found in France a couple of years ago).
With respect to ATMs, most banks (mine included) charge an extra fee for withdrawing cash from foreign ATM's. The charge is only a couple of dollars each time but this does mount up. We find it works best to withdraw enough cash for several days rather than waste valuable vacation time running to ATMs every day, this approach also minimizes the amount we pay in fees.
One last thing - don't use the freestanding ATM's unless you're ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE they're legit. There was a big scam with these in Playa del Carmen, Mexico - the cash machines would simply disappear overnight and anyone who'd used it would suddenly find unauthorized withdrawals being sucked from their account. It's more advisable to use ATM's that are firmly anchored in the wall of a bank.
HTH
