Please get over the Euroshock...I think it is here to stay for a while and meanwhile Venice CONTINUES to sink and you aren't going to see it before it does if you don't travel.

Just a little perspective, friends.

The Euro came out a $1.18 and dropped to $0.87.

Now it's back to what it was supposed to be.

Although the euro is increasing in value again, I still want to visit Europe whatever it takes.

Recently there was a call from the more radical Muslim/Islam leaders to punish 'US' and make the Euro the acceptable currency for oil, thus making it a benchmark for world transactions. Well, guess what? It did not happen, even though, if the Arab world really wanted it, they could make it happen overnight. So why didn't they? As much as some of them may hate us, they do believe in the greenback, and no, it's not that they don't believe in the Euro, but currency is all about image and believe, and even though the US$ is down, as somebody stated in an earlier post, it's only because this administration is NOT pushing for any different position. The Euro has some "growing up" to do in the near future, and it will be one of the dominating currencies in our lifetime, but at this time, it's definately NOT it's strength that's showing, it's the US $ weakness that upsets the American tourists.

AA,
I also agree. The european union actually may have some tough times ahead beacuse of the weakness of the dollar/strength of the Euro. The EU has just went through a period of high inflation - now with the dollar falling and the Euro is strong they are poised to go into a period of Deflation. - which is very bad for thier economy. To make things worse since the currency is shared over many countries - it is more difficult to create a strong fiscal policy(they have to agree). As more countries join this will be more complex, BUT eventually after the EU gains experiance managing this. The Euro will be a very stable currency.

As far as tourism in Europe - The industy is poised to suffer greatly. Americans that visit Europe will spend less(I planned on eating better an buying bottles of wine in Italy, but I changed plans beacuse of the Dollar/Euro - this hurts the Euro Economy) or not go at all. Germans, and British who normally visit other places in Europe will consider the US instead this year(we talked to several german people while on vacation - and they told us they were planning on visiting the US because of the prices). Also the Japanese that were in Italy last year will return to Hawaii this year.

The EU is just not prepared yet with a solid fiscal policy to deal with this.

Check out the transaction fees charged by the various credit cards you own.
Visa and MasterCard tack on a fee for convervion from Euro to Dollar which is understandable.
However, American Express charges an extra 2% on top of that.
The GM MasterCard charges and extra 3%. MBNA and CapitalOne do not add any additional Charge.
So $3000 in charges could add up to as much as $90 in extra fees, to as little as zero for MBNA or CapitalOne.

In singapore, the euro is twice the amount of our currency -> $2.05 of Singapore dollars = 1 euro!!! {: (

I called my credit card company in regards to conversion fees yesterday. They told me 3%. Now is the Visa Mastercard fee a percentage as well? Is the GM Card 3% in addition to what Visa or Mastercard would charge?

Scottee--Visa and Mastercard charge 1%. In addition, the bank or other issuer that gives you your Visa or Mastercard may charge an additional fee, usually in the range of 1%-3%. Some banks/issuers don't charge any additional fee; e.g., MBNA. When we went to Germany last year, we had a choice of using our MBNA Visa that had only the standard 1% Visa fee, or our Mastercard (I forget the bank) that had the 1% standard Mastercard fee plus a 2% bank fee. We chose to use the MBNA Visa.

Note that some banks have started to add percentage fees of 1%-3% for using check cards and ATM cards--just like the credit card companies. Check with your individual credit card and bank card issuers to see what kinds of fees they charge.

I just wanted to add (planning my trip to Scotland and Ireland this fall and having just returned from London), that a few months back on this board I read a very wise post from someone who said (to paraphrase) 'rather than get sticker shock at the cost of travelling in Europe, use the weakened dollar to your advantage and refinance your home- saving yourself money you can then use to take a trip without worrying about the exchange rate'.
Although that might not be practical for all, it certainly swayed me and I refinanced-dropped to a lower interest rate and will save myself $3600 this year so I'm no longer worried about how much my dollar will buy in Ireland...

Good news at: http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticl...toryID=2951640

dflawyer...thanks for the article...we can only hope they're right!!

Just go to Europe, pay the prices, and have a good time. Beats staying around Butte, Montana for the summer.

I remember well August 14, 1971. My wife and I stayed in Belgium on the way to England. I was in the Army earning next to nothing and we traveled with cash...no credit cards. As we slept in Belgium Richard Nixon devalued the dollar.

We arrived in London the next day with a whole lot less cash than we started out with. Then my rent in German Marks started clearing the bank each month at higher amounts. Luckily, I got out of the Army in a few months and headed home.

Result? We still go to Europe at every chance we get....regardless of the dollar. Best value there is.

shocker yes but it sure is nice when you go from one country to the next not to have to worry about rechanging money to the next country's currency and losing money on that exchange. We just returned from Europe and were in 3 countries so it was nice to only have to use the Euro. Europe is expenseive these days.

The Euro is now down to a 3 month low of $1.13 amid fresh signs that the European economy is struggling to grow, widening the gap between the pace of expansion in the euro region and the U.S.

Some people seem to be mixing up concepts - the exchange rate dollars to Euro & the service fees charged by your own bank to get foreign currency within the States. I'm no expert here, but they are two different things. One you can control (fees) one you can't (rate of exchange).