Hi everyone. I have a question - my bank will sell me $560 worth of euro for $760. I need to pay a landlord upon arrival, which was why I was thinking it might be wise to take money with me. I'm wondering if it would save money for me to get euros from an ATM once in Paris?

I believe my bank charges 3% transaction fees, but I'm not sure I read the fine print correctly.

I know I've read past posts from folks who are very savvy with respect to getting the most of their American dollars! Any help/advice is appreciated.

That's not the best exchange rate; you would get a better rate from an ATM in Paris.

How many Euros do you need to pay and how much can you get on your ATM card per day. If your card allows enough per day to pay the balance due on the rent and give you some spending money then I would wait until you get to Paris to get Euros. You don't say where you're staying but there are banks and ATM machines all over the city. Your rental agency or landlord can advise if there is a bank handy to the apartment or you can stop at the ATM at the airport. You'd probably need to get Euros at the airport as you need money to get to the apartment.

When I rented an apartment last year the terms were to pay the balance in cash upon arrival but I emailed the agency and asked if I could use a credit card for the balance (I had paid a deposit with credit card) and the response was yes I could use my CC for the balance. But I was dealing with an agency, not a private person. But it's worth a try.

thanks adrienne - I'm staying in the 5th, and my debit card allows me $1000/day. I owe 500 euro upon arrival. So it probably makes the most sense to just wait until I land and hit an airport ATM.

You may need to use more than one ATM
as some won't let you have 500E in one
go...

That is a good point that everybody should be aware of....

There are two restrictions on withdrawals from an ATM..one set by your bank and the other set by the owner of the machine. You never know about the second one till you try; although in that case you can hit the ATM of another bank.

I got 650 euro out of an ATM at CDG airport a couple months ago with no problem -- in one transaction. My ATM card also has a $1000 limit, and at that time, with the exchange rate, that was about 650 euro. It's better now.

I also wanted to chime in about the per day limit. I was only able to get 300 Euro a day. My landlord, Thierry with parisbestlodge.com, said that this was the limit on French ATM's regardless of what my limit was at my personal bank. Had I known that, I would have gotten euros in the states before I left to cover the cost of the apartment.

Hi TMA,

> I was only able to get 300 Euro a day....<

The ATM might have been set up to give out only 300E/day on any one card, in order to prevent a thief from emptying your account.

In that case, go to the ATM on the next corner.

DON'T FORGET to tell your bank and cc companies that you will be using your card internationally so, they don't put a security hold on the card.

I just returned from France and was able to get 650€ at one time from a BNP ATM. My limit is also $1,000 a day - so possibly could have gotten more if I had needed more. Guess it depends on the ATM owner as well as your bank.