iris

Going to Galway and Dublin in 2 weeks. When we get there should we exchange our money for Euros or just use credit card or traveler checks. We are going to be there for 4 nights on a tour. Thanks your help.

Flyboy

Credit cards are the best bet in many situations, but they don't cover them all. Your best course of action is to visit an ATM upon your arrival. This will generally involve a flat transaction fee and you will be nicked for a percent or two as well, but that is generally not as high as what you will incur trading currency at an exchange booth. (Airport booths are often some of the worst.) Because of the flat, per-use fee on ATMs, it is best to limit the number of transactions for drawing cash (for example, it's much better to take 200 Euros once, instead taking 50 Euros four times during the course of your trip). Travelers checks offer an extra measure of safety, but they can be a hassle and they can often entail fees to trade into cash. Not everyone accepts them.

RufusTFirefly

Agree with Flyboy. Take TCs for emergency backup. Use credit cards for most purchases, ATM to get cash. BUT check to see whether or not your credit card and bank ATM card carry additional charges on foreign currency transactions. Our Visa credit card would have charged an extra 3% on all charges outside the US while our Mastercard charged no additional percentage--so we used the Mastercard. Some banks are now also charging an extra 3-4% on foreign ATM withdrawals. Call them and find out.

ira

Hi Iris,
I think it helpful to exchange $50 or so at the airport before you leave. That way you will have some cash upon arrival.
I checked with my credit card people yesterday.
MBNA MC adds 1% transaction fee. This is the fee charged by MC.
AMEX adds 2%
Most other cards, like my VISA add 3% transaction fee.
The fee applies to charges and cash advances.
Debit cards depend upon your bank.
Hope this helps.

cd

We took euro traveler checks to Ireland and no one would accept them. We had to always find a bank to cash them.

blh

We took 200 Euros and 200 Euro travelers checks with us for backup. Ordered both on www.bankofamerica.com. We then used our ATM card for cash (no charges on our Bank of America card for transactions) and our Citibank mastercard (which did have a 2% charge for exchange). We ended up needing the travelers checks to pay for a hotel that would not take credit cards - there was no ATM in town and we didn't have enough cash, so we used the checks - we were sure glad we had the checks! Most of the time there are plenty of ATM's, but occstionally in small villages, there aren't any.

Patrick

Never, never, ever use your credit card to do a cash advance from a machine!! Not only will they bank charge you the up to 3% exchange fees, plus a transaction fee, they will start charging you interest on the money you are "borrowing" from them the day you get it.

I hope travelers know the difference between a withdrawal from your personal checking account on you bank ATM card and using a credit card at an ATM to get a cash advance!!!

damama

Patrick, thanks for your reply. I just learend about the cash withdrawl interest charge yeterday from my credit card compnay. Obviously, I knew the difference between a credit card cash advance and a checking account auto withdrawal but had forgotten about the immediate interest charge. I'll just make sure there is enough cash in my checking account.

Statia

My only fear of taking my debit card to Europe is there being no recourse if it's stolen and my funds are taken...it's like hard cold cash gone. However, with a credit card, it seems I would have more recourse for fraudulent charges made. Any comments on this?

Christina

Statia, I think you should check with your bank to find out their policies on fraudulent charges, it may not be as bad as you think. I don't have a debit card, only an ATM card (and don't want a debit card), but I did check with my bank on that once when they issued me one automatically, as I was concerned (I refused the card and had it cancelled). As I recall, there was some limitation similar to credit cards on fraudulent charges, but some fine print language about limitations dating from when you notified them or something. I didn't like that because I don't use an ATM daily so might not notice for a week or so if it were missing, but if you are traveling, you could make a point of checking it frequently.

There doesn't seem to be a good alternative for getting cash if you only have a debit card and not an ATM card (which can't be used without a PIN), as you aren't going to want to use a credit card for that.

Statia

Thanks for the info Christina. Actually, what I have is a Visa check card which debits directly from my checking account. I haven't used it often (since I don't like them either), but it seems to still be better than carrying so much cash. I also usually have to enter a pin to use it as a debit card, although sometimes cashiers put it thru as a credit card.

I am only thinking of taking it to Italy because of the extra ATM charges using my credit cards to get cash. I need to figure a way to get cash easily (when unable to charge items) w/o having so many extra fees involved.

Guess I'll do what you suggested...contact my bank and find out the details. It seems that when I've asked in the past, there was some sort of limitation, as you said.

Thanks again.

RufusTFirefly

Statia--when you call your bank, do not forget to ask if they charge an extra fee (2-5%) for foreign exchange transactions using your check card. Some banks are doing this now just like many credit cards have been doing for some time.

celticdreams

Learned an interesting lesson this past trip to Ireland. I had to bring cash with me on this particular trip (I usually only ever bring ATM and credit cards and get my Euro's when I get there). It was nearly impossible to find a bank that would exchange US $100 bills to Europes. Even a lot of hotels wouldn't do it. AIB would not change them, Bank of Ireland wouldn't and Bank of Ulster wouldnt. This held true in Galway, Cork City and Dublin. An Irish friend of mine finally took the bills to a credit union and basically begged. Bank of Ireland would allow a customer to deposit the money and then the customer could withdraw the Euro's, basically from their own account. I had never considered this a problem and was very nearly in a bad situation because of it.

Statia

Thanks for the advise, Rufus.

Ann41

I usually just use my ATM card, but I have exchanged US $$ on occasion, and have never had trouble doing so at a bank.

pop

Gee, I thought an ATM card WAS a debit card (PIN always needed). I use my ATM card for cash and my credit card for major purchases. So far, no problems.

cnmiranda

You can also purchase Euros online at www.bofa.com. (bank of america)