Exchange Rates
 

Hello,

I will be leaving to London (then Paris) in about two weeks. What is the best way to get a good exchange rate? Would you recommend the pre-paid Visa TravelMoney card, ATM, or just take cash? By the way does anyone know if a ATM from Citibank will work in England and France?

Thanks

Anyone?

absolutely - use your ATM card.

Pre-paid money cards are realy expensive, and exchanging cash gets you the very worst exchange rates

(there are hundreds of threads on here - a search will bring more info than you couls possible want . . .)

ATM.

Prepaid Visa Travel Money is the worst. You pay to get it, you pay to use it, and it may be difficult to use it.

Your bank's ATM card is the best way to get cash. All banks charge some kind of percentage, and some add fees, so check with your bank.

Use a credit card whenever you can, but, again, some cards charge les fees than others.

Whaeer fees your bank or credit card issuer charge, it will still be cheaper than the Travel Money card (or travelers checks).

If you search here for ATM you will find many threads that discuss this subject.

I agree ATM bank card is the best - we use Bank of America because it is a partner of Barclay's (England) and BNP (France) so you don't have to pay those pesky non-customer bank fees.
Never use your MC/Visa at the ATM as you'll be paying loan fees (some cards charge up tp 25% from the moment you get your cash)

To the person that uses Bank of America, do you get charged commission if you use the banks that are affiliated with Bank of America, or do you just get charged the exchange rate?

Thanks.

hi nd5524 - we can use our B of A card at B of A's "partner" banks in Europe (as I mentioned, BNP in France and Barclay's in England) we get an exchange rate which is competitive, no conversion fee and no ATM fees.
We're not big fans of B of A for our personal banking use at home but we opened it just to use for travel.

and no commission fee as long as you use the correct "partner" banks.

Call the 800 number on the back of your card and ask which are the partner banks with your bank in the country(ies) you are going to.

It seems nd5524 uses a Citibank card (which is also the bank we use for our personal banking in the States).
I know they don't have "partner" banks as they have ATM's world wide under their own name. However, as I recall they do have slightly higher fees.

Make sure your pin is 4 numbers. Also, some have said that the pin shouldn't begin with a zero, but I can't verify whether that's an issue.

Ok thanks. nanabee do you have a checking account or savings? I'm pretty interested in maybe opening the Bank of America account just for travel. Is you card is a debit card. Right?

Bank of America is telling my that they will give me a Debit card associated with Visa (with Visa logo). Is this what you have? I asked them about a checking account.

Yes, it is a debit card.
Good luck and have a nice trip!

OK. Thank you everyone! Have a great day!

There are 5 London citibank locations listed on their website though I don't know how convenient any of them are.

None are listed in Paris.

If you use them in Europe there are no fees over the exchange rate. They have hefty fees, though if you use another bank's ATMs. Citibank credit cards also have among the highest exchange fees.

Nanabee are the exchange rates with those affiliated banks in Europe competative? Enough to make it worth it for me to open a checking account with B of A.

Hi again nd 5524:
B of A exchange rates are competitive. If there is not a fee to open an account with B of A then i would open an account and have the card handy in addition to your Citibank card. That way you are doubly covered.
Especially in Paris in case Citibank has no handy ATM's.
We have both cards. We find the B of A a little more convenient.

Open an account with Capitol One instead - then you won't have to find the "right" ATM

Do a search as this has been recommended a few times before

Hi Alan
Is Capitol One a debit card?

Just checked- it appears Capitol One is a credit card. If you use a Credit Card in an ATM machine they consider it a loan and although you may not be charged ATM or exchange rates fees my guess is you will probably be charged as if you have taken out a loan against your credit card and those fees can be anywhere from 12% to 25%.

but...(sorry) I would use a credit card such as Capitol One for direct purchases with the merchant (that may be a big savings).

capital one is a full service bank - so it has both credit cards <b>AND</b> debit cards on its money market and other accounts.

Then in that case, if Capitol One can be used in any ATM machine in Paris and London with no charge to you, competitive exchange rates, and no conversion fees it is certainly worth checking out too.

BTW, You might want to check what your credit card &quot;foreign currency transaction fee&quot; is. Most bank issued Visa cards charge 3% for every charge made in a foreign country. My insurance company issued Visa only charges 1%. Guess which one I'll be taking to Europe.

To compare different bank cards see http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20050624b1.asp

Henry

nd5524, I certainly consider brevity to be admirable but the questions you have asked so far are brief to the extreme. Try asking your questions with a little more detail.

Anyway, you should find this article from moneycentral will answer many of your questions (and some you didn't know you had).
-------------
20 tips for using plastic on vacation

Smart use of your credit and ATM card can make your trip easier. Here is what you need to know to protect yourself and avoid costly glitches.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/pzhp4
---------------

Enjoy your trip.

I assume nd5524 is an American. Try your local credit union. We've used our credit union ATM/debit card all over Europe with no use charges, just a 1% conversion fee.

nd5524
make sure you only use your ATM with the correct bank.

A question: Does any ATM machine not charge a use fee?
nd5524: Have you sat down with your local banker and asked these questions?
Suggestion: Take a notebook along. Make a record of all your financial transactions. Do it at the time of the transaction not days later. Next..calculate your costs.
Over many years of observation it is apparent that few travelers know the difference between a credit card and a debit/check card and much less of buy and sell rates.

Yes! If you use your own bank's ATM machine.

I have a Bank of America debit card that I have used for traveling in Europe with no difficulties. That said, I do pay the $5 foreign transaction fee because I don't take time to look around for 'partner banks' just use whatever machine is most convenient. It is still the best way to go imo.

I also carry some euro I bought ahead from my home bank (yes there is a service fee and bad exchange rate), some USD (for emergencies), 2 credit cards.

Preloaded &quot;TravelMoney&quot; is the worst possible as far as fees and problems. I would take Travelers Checks before using one (if you need yet another source to feel secure).

In Italy I've never used a bank ATM that charged a fee for use. And since my bank card (HSBC) adds no fee for uinsg any ATM, in or out of system, my final rate is pretty good--usually within 1-2% of the actual exchange rate. I can't speak for London or Paris, although in London I actually used an HSBC ATM.

&quot;<i>Does any ATM machine not charge a use fee? </i>&quot;

Banks in western Europe don't charge a fee to use their ATMs. The fee comes from the cardholders own US bank. (non-bank affiliated machines like in convenience shops and casinos do charge fees though)

One of the best things about being a cardholder in France is that the euro zone authorities decided that bank fees should be the same as in one's home country throughout the entire euro zone. Since France has no fee for using an ATM and generally no fees for any operation that one can do over the internet, not only is it free to use any ATM in the euro zone but it is also free of any charge to make a bank transfer or a credit card payment anywhere in the zone.