To the above warmings against using debit cards for paying hotels and restaurants, I forgot about RENTAL CARS. Bad idea to use a debit card (i.e. the type that has the VISA logo) for renting any equipment, really.

About fees by ATM owner: yes, this is definitely the practice by many banks in Europe. Fortunately, not all do it. On my last trip to Barcelona, I skipped a couple of ATMs that had posted fees by ATM owner. I used an ATM near the hotel that had no charges.

>DO NOT ... DEBIT CARD.
Why? I do this rather frequently in many places and never had a problem.

Find out what bank your BofA has an agreement with and there will be no fees.

Viajero, I am confused by your remarks. I have never been charged a fee by a European bank for using their ATM. Perhaps you are thinking of private ATM's, not related to a bank? I skip those both in the US and abroad because of higher fees.

I am also wondering why you say not to use a debit card for hotels, restaurants and rental cars.

I've never heard of the no Debit Card thing, either. Can anyone offer an explanation? Or is this just the normal issue whereby renting a car with a debit card results in a large hold being placed on the account to cover overage fees?

As to the original question, I exclusively use ATMs. Even if your bank charges fees, the conversion rates on cash can be so awful that I can't imagine using an ATM will be that much more expensive. Throw in the hassle of changing cash, and I really don't see how one wouldn't come out ahead.

I also use my credit cards as much as possible. Usually, we use AMEX for the points and don't have too many problems. A few places don't take AMEX, but I find that most of the big ticket places (hotel, cars, flights, expensive restaurants) take it, so it isn't an issue.

The primary reason I can think of for not using a debit card is fraud since it comes directly out of your bank account. Both cards I carry are ATM only. But I suppose if you only use your debit card at ATMs, it's not that much of a risk of having your card number stolen. I've had fraudulent charges on my credit cards a number of times, but since they're credit cards, it's never been too much hassle and the charges are quickly reversed.

In reply to the statement about debit cards: Fraud and scams involving hotels online transactions and even handling restaurants bills (tips, etc...) are some of the most common type sources of scams and complaints banks get related to consumer cards. According to the bank officer, transactions with a debit card exposes personal finances to a much vulnerable level than credit card type transactions. In her view, if you are making hotel reservations, you should never use your debit card. Another reason she said was excessive temporary hold on the funds, which for some people is not a big deal, but for some is. She mentioned a client whose checking account was unknowingly close to depleted by a rental car company who charged him for a fender bender he said he was unaware of.

bookmarking for later

bookmarking

But what about large amounts? I'll have to pay in advance for our apartment rental, needing about 900 Euros on our first day. What's the best way to get a load of Euro right away?

For a great many years I have taken euros with me..from my bank...the rate I am charged is well worth the convenience, to me. I use the Capital One credit card..no exchange fees..I believe it is the only one without the fee charges. I take other credit cards with me, for emergency and my bank ATM card for same reason. This is my preferred way of doing it. I leave on Tuesday and I am all set with everything..

Everyone has their preferred way of doing it...your choice.

With cards from several bank accounts where you have a high enough daily limit, you could do several ATM transactions in succession to get around the ATM's per-transaction limit.

But in your situation, I would probably get Euros before I leave the US (at least half of the amount I'd need the first day) and not have to worry about a possible ATM malfunction.

WOW - there's a lot of information in this exchanging dollars for Eu forum. I now have discovered a very good system for obtaining EU before leaving for Italy. The travel co. Abercrombie and Kent has an exchange program in their on line "store." I told them how many dollars to transfer into EU, sent my bank routing/account #s and 5 days later my Euro arrived via Fed Ex. The rate was much better than BOA and I have a sense that there was no processing fee involved. Some of you might wonder at the audacity of my handing out those #s but I shop on line frequently,trust the security systems and have never had a CC or ID stealing problem. I realize that carrying SO much money is a bit scary but on this trip i do not have a choice as there are 10 of us (family) and the meals at our villa can only be paid in cash. I, like dikensdad, will also use a Fidelity debit ATM card and my Capitol One card. I think it's the best I can do in this crazy period of the no-value dollar.

gianetta-- I have found that AAA is the best alternative to buying large amounts of Euros for cases like yours where you need to pay cash for a rental upon arrival. If you are a member of AAA, there are no processing fees, you pay what the US government pays for buying Euros.

I assume you are talking about AAA in the US? Have you actually bought a lot of euros from them and there was no there is absolutely no markup on them? Because they do have a markup so I wonder how that was possible. You can even go to their website and figure it out, they quote it right online. Today, they are giving you 605 euro for $1000 and officially you'd get 644, so that's about a 6-7 pct markup.

Here's the URL on my local chapter which connects you to the online currency vendor and quotes you the rates:

www.aaamidatlantic.com/Travel/ForeignCurrency

They don't call it a "processing fee", so if that's just the terminology they quoted you, that doesn't mean anything. They have a marked-up exchange rate and it's right online. Actually, Travelex handles it, and the only advantage of buying $1000 or more is there is no delivery fee. You can only buy small amounts in their offices, and I think they may have even a bit higher markup.

Christina-- dear, I never post about an item which I have not have experience. Otherwise, I would had stated so. Yes, I bought more than $3K at AAA not two months ago. If you know anything about foreign currency you know that the US governement pays a markup when buying foreign currency. As stated in my message, that is what I paid. AAA did not charge me a processing fee to transaction the money from them to me. Again, from ACTUAL experience. No clue what they quote online, I dealt directly with their Office staff.