Hello,
My husband and I will be in Greece (Athens, Santorini, Naxos, and Naphlion) for 2 weeks later in May. We prefer to pay for things with credit cards if possible - easier than carrying a lot of cash and the card companies usually have decent exchange rates. Are credit cards generally accepted at museums, restaurants, and shops? How much cash do you think we'll need, and where is the best place to convert dollars to Euros - in the US or in Greece?

Thanks,
Mary

There is no question the best way to convert is to use your ATM card to get €s one you get to Greece. ATMs are everywhere. Be sure to notify your bank and credit card companies you will be using the card overseas.

OK, thanks for the suggestion,
Mary

CCs are accepted at many shops but you will be charged extra to cover the fees charged to the merchant. I suppose that by now some restaurants and upscale galleries will also accept a card, but not all of them. The same extra charges may also apply. You'll get the best conversion rate by using the ATMs in those locations. Buying Euros in the U.S. will be expensive.

Just to make sure we are on the same page, do not use a CREDIT card at an ATM unless it's an emergency, as they will charge huge fees and interest. Use your debit card or bank ATM card. The debit card usually works in more ATM machines than a regular ATM card.

You could always take euros with you. Rumour has it they are several billion short. I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

leuk, don't make jokes. newbies wouldn't get it. They also refuse to believe that using a credit card will cost them at least 3% per purchase besides the 1% currency conversion charge. What is more, if they want to eat at atmospheric small tavernas in villages or by the shore (for 8-11€ for a hearty authentic meal), they cannot use charge cards. If they insist on paying only by credit card, they must go to the more touristic restaurants and eat surrounded by other credit-card-using Americans.

I bet if they were using their credit card at the local mall in their area of the US, and were told that doing so would cost them 3-4% extra, they would be alarmed. But that's what US credit cards do to us abroad. It applies to hotel bills too. That's why I have accounts in 2 Banks and a credit union that charge a bare minimum or nothing for ATm transactions. I get cash every 3-4 days and use it for almost all my expenses.

millemar, I am so glad you have asked this question. I will be there in June. We typically use the atm card to get cash for small purchases but otherwise always used credit cards for dinner and hotels. travelerjan as usual you are a wealth of great info. One of my forums I had asked about sons and hubby wearing shorts vs pants and response said feel free to wear shorts so long as you pay cash they don't mind. I didn't realize till I saw your info and response from P_M how much better off we will be using the ATM vs credit. As always - thanks guys

Greece is a cash society. Pay cash for hotels and tavernas and you will enjoy better prices.
Use ATM machines and take out cash enough for 2 or three days. Unless you are a luxury traveler that means all meals accommodation and ferry travel at less than 100 euros a day at least in May and June.
Keep in mind both Jan and I are budget travelers. You can certainly pay a whole lot more with your credit card if you are so inclined.

thanks stanbr - if I remember correctly you were the person who said ok to shorts w/cash. Jan had mentioned having different bank accounts. my daughter is lucky enough to have one that doesn't charge anything for atm usage outside USA which she has kept active even though she is no longer in the state. Fee structure has changed and she is grandfathered in but new accounts can't get the same deal. I'm trying to find a bank with better rates that I can easily fund while we travel. Now that I have heard from you guys I am going to put more effort into the search

Joe I think what I said was no taverna or shop ever turned me away when I was wearing my shorts, Because cash is the norm I have never been turned away. I am not sure that the Grand Bretang would be so happy to see me though. I have not brought anything but shorts with me to Greece since 1996. There is really no correlation between shorts and paying with cash. What I meant was, wear what you be comfortable with and be who you are. If you are a good customer no one will pay any attention to shorts.
I am embarrassed to admit that this year my wife has upgraded her wardrobe and to compete, I did buy a pair of Kaki cargo pants just so I do not look too casual. I may not wear them but at least I get brownie points for trying.
Re fees to convert currency, no matter what you do in getting Euros in Greece ( travelers checks, visa or ATM's you are going to be charged a fee. ATM's are just very convenient and I never felt we were overcharged. Its just doing business when on vacation.
Have fun. Me and my cargo pants fly to Greece in 6 days.

Two interesting things here:

1. You are paying the additional price for using your credit card in a mall here, it is just distributed across prices where you can't see it.

2. Greece is on the verge of financial collapse because it is a cash-based society that collects only 34% +/- of the taxes that its citizens should pay. Some of us seem awfully happy to abet this situation even though we all, or at least you Europeans, will wind up footing the bill for Greece's failures, though the same could be said about Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

Is there a problem here?

We are off to Greece on the 23rd of May. I would normally rely on getting money out of ATM's whilst there.
However having seen national strikes recently we are carrying more than the normal amount of Euros with us in case of banks being closed/unable to restock ATM's and particularly on small islands , the local money changer not being able to get cash.
We purchased £500 worth of Euros on Tuesday when they fell against the pound and will probably do the same again if the international community approves of the coalition.

Joestrip, maybe we could suggest a bank if u would say roughly where you're from ... what is it with you new guys? I'm happy to admit to Philadelphia, and stanbr stands by British Columbia but all these people with lots of questions wont say a word about where they're writing from, are you in the Witness Protection Program??? ... If you are in Canada or on the East coast US, the TD bank charges no flat transaction fee, no percentage of withdrawal (Greedy Wachovia/Wells Fargo charges BOTH), for up to 10 withdrawals per month, and gladly raises daily withdrawal limit to $750 ... even if you and your wife are the last of the big-time spenders, hard to use up $7,500 that fast -- heck, you could BOTH open accounts, and then you could get $15,000 cash before paying any fee.

As a back-up I have a darling Credit Union account which is also totally fee-free (I'm retired but I shall do my major banking there until I die, because I can telephone toll-free any day and they'll cheerfully tell me my bank balance, and also tell me the latest news from CT).

As someone has to point out, virtually all ATM cards DO have a 1% fee levied, which is figured into the exchange price -- that is the fee charged by Visa/Mastercard for acting as the clearinghouse for currency conversion. Granted, it involves no effort on the part of V/MC, nothing more than their software, but sobeit. I understand that if you get a Capitol One Online BANK account -- not the credit card they are always pushing -- they will "eat" this 1% fee. But I've never bothered, because I'm funny, I like a bricks-and-mortar institution to deposit my pittance in.

My Capital One Visa credit card does not charge currency conversion fees, and I do not have a bank account with them.

I didn't say that they charged conversion fees Ack, we were discussing the no-fee/,minimal fee way to get CASH.

Got it, thanks to all for the responses. ATM it is.