Euro's, CC's & ATM cards in Italy
 

Traveling to Italy this Sept. Wondering about how much we should bring in Euro's? It's just my husband and I. Should we bring our ATM cards to use as well? I hear CC's are accepted for shopping and dinning but Euro's are preferred for smaller cafe's local shops? Any advice appreciated!

1) Enough to last you a day
2) Yes - along with your PIN as a number, not the first four characters of the cat's name, knowledge of how much a withdrawal will cost you from your bank, while you doing that tell them you are going abroad and the overseas contact number of your bank for when they forget you are abroad and block your card. Ditto for CCs

I agree with alanRow, as will everyone else on this board. Get your euros from an ATM in Italy. That will get you the best exchange.

As Alan suggests, I always notify my bank and cc companies that I will be traveling, especially my Mileage Plus card from Chase, as they will block charges if they aren't notified ahead of time.

I have two ATM cards, just in case one of them gets eaten up by a machine. That's never happened, of course, but I'm extra cautious.

As Alan suggests, I always notify my bank and cc companies that I will be traveling, especially my Mileage Plus card from Chase, as they will block charges if they aren't notified ahead of time.>>

I did that for the first time when we went to Sri Lanka last year. My DH didn't. they blacked my card but he had no problems.

I don't think that it's a fail-safe system.

Take a few€ if you must, but otherwise just use your ATM cards to get cash.

Buying € at home costs much more.

And, definitely contact you banks and credit cards. Though it surely isn't fail safe. Just got back from my latest trip and one of mt ATM cards was blocked - Because I advised them I'd be in the UK . . . But neglected to inform them that Scotland is actually part of the UK! I kid you not . . .

Just got back from my latest trip and one of mt ATM cards was blocked - Because I advised them I'd be in the UK . . . But neglected to inform them that Scotland is actually part of the UK! I kid you not . . .>>

I think that was what must have happened in Sri Lanka - they didn't recognise the place where we had stopped to get some water and money.

a good reason to take a variety of cards.

Much of Europe now prefers/wants credit cards w/ chips; much heavier than other credit cards. One of you should have one of those. I think it is nuts to go to Europe without some euros in your pocket. I am not a fan of using ATMs in airports and other highly busy places. Credit card fraud is rampant. Take at least 100 euros with you, will it cost you about $5 more -- perhaps. Really.... Yes, the chip is the credit card that can be read, along with all recently-issued U.S. passports by portable scanners in perpetrating identity theft, so knock yourselves out and get an RFID wallet to boot. If you're worried about the cents of getting euros here, cover yourselves for the 'big stuff' not the small.

>>Much of Europe now prefers/wants credit cards w/ chips; much heavier than other credit cards. One of you should have one of those.<<

Easier said than done. The VAST majority of US banks/credits cards don't offer chip & PIN cards.

No reason to hunt one out - your current visa/mc/amex will work just fine except in the occasional unstaffed gas station/ticket machine/etc.

Sure, taking €100 is fine if it gives you more confidence. Just don't take hundreds/thousands of € That would be costly plus then you have the security issues of protecting all that cash.

Ok, ok, it'll cost you more than $5 for the euros, but convenience is important; especially upon arrival after a sleepless night. Friends of ours were on a recent Scandinavian tour and the chip cards were the only type accepted in certain places/cities. They were annoyed their tour operator did not so inform them. Our chip card we use exclusively for travel and dining getting double points. There have been other extensive posts about these chip/pin cards.

Pretty soon travelling will be a bigger hassle than it is if we followed every last "precaution" as advised on this board although, let me emphasize this, everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

Yes notify rthe issuers of your cc's and debvit cards you will be out of the country.

We have discussed chip cards up the gazoos here. For the time being, there is not all that much of a problem using the archaic American magnetic strip cards almost everywhere there is a human being to deal with. There is a bit of a problem in some automatics kiosks but in almost all cases you can see a human being to complete the transaction. Chip card do not weigh more than non chip cards.

I don't see any need whatsoever to buy euro in advance. Use the ATM on arrival at your first stop. If by some chance, and it has never happened to me in all my years of travelling, there is something amiss about the ATM's in the airport and you need euro desperately, yo can always go to the exchange office with a few crisp $20 and take the loss if necessary on exchanging cash. Like I said, it has never happened to me.

Use your credit cards wherever they are taken for all purchases large or small so yu don't have to worry about exchanging cash. If some merchants offer you the service to convert the purchase on the spot to US dollars (or whatever your own currency is) say no, I'm not a sucker. If the merchant insists look up some of the threads here on dynamic currency conversion to see how to fight this scam.

In today's world, travelers cheques are next to useless if not useless. Credit cards, ATM cards are the way to go.

I always have some leftover euros from a previous trip, but before I traveled to Europe regularly, I did feel more secure if I brought $50 or so worth of euros with me.

I take $200 to Europe that is for emergency use only, which I have never had to use. I use the foreign currency that I get from the ATM machines in Europe and also use my Capital One credit card which has no international fee.

Every European airport of any size has a bank of ATMs just beyond the baggage carousels. Easy to find, easy to use -- as long as you have a numeric pin.Your bank ATM card should have, on the back, the symbol for one or more of the interbank networks, like Cirrus or Plus.

Check with your bank on what it charges for foreign ATM withdrawals. (Often
a cashier won't know.) There is no charge for a withdrawal from a European bank ATM. Your bank may charge a transaction fee of up to $5 and/or a conversion fee of some percent. And your bank will have a limit on how much you can withdraw in a given day.

For my ATM cards from 2 credit unions there's no transaction fee and a conversion fee of only 1% over the interbank rate. Ditto for the credit union credit cards.

Another tip - try to do your transaction at an ATM that is physically connected to its bank, and try to get this done while the bank is open. The reason is if there is a problem with the machine and/or your card gets eaten, you can go immediately into the bank and get help. This happened to a lady on tour with us in Turkey and unfortunately it happened on a week-end. Her relative back in the US wired her some money (another adventure collecting it) and she notified her card issuing bank, but she spent lots of time and nervous energy dealing with it all.

Thanks everyone! This seems to be a middle of the road approach! By that I mean I have had people tell me that I shouldn't even take CC's or ATM cards and just carry thousands of dollars in cash (like $5000 euros)! I love how some people try and freak you out prior to traveling...

>>By that I mean I have had people tell me that I shouldn't even take CC's or ATM cards and just carry thousands of dollars in cash (like $5000 euros)! <<

Who on earth advised that?? Horrible idea (though there is one Fodorite who advocates this - but she is on the nutty side :) )

I too like to take 100 Euros with me. Just in case the ATM's eat your card, the bank forgot to note that you be out of the country, the ATM is not your banks and charges you enough that it would have paid to get money stateside, etc.

Remember you need a four character pin in Europe and xerox both sides of your credit cards in case they are stolen.

BigAleinstein...Once upon a time, long long ago (well maybe not so long ago) you were correct about 4 digit pins. No longer. European ATM's take 6 did it pins also.

Years ago I changed my pin for travel. We were in the UK last year and I did not know that it changed.

To our European posters:

Are you still responsible on credit cards that are issued by European bank for all expenses until it reported lost or stolen?

As a European poster living in the U.K., I am not aware that I am usually responsible if my card is lost or stolen. I thought that most misuse now took place online, so you don't know about it until you see your card statement.

My only personal experience is when my card, still in my possession, was used to buy some t-shirts online from a store in Sacramento. I reported it, and the amount, which was quite low, was just removed from my account. The card was not changed.

The chip & pin system makes it difficult to use a stolen card in person, but does not affect using it online.