aspir4more

I am traveling to Greece and the Netherlands - what and where is the best way/place to get Euros? Is it better to get it in the USA before I leave, or just wait til I arrive in Greece?
Any suggestions on currency is very appreciated.

kleroux

just go to an ATM machine at the airport and get the currency you need. Don't get any in advance..its easy to use the ATM...but make sure your code is in letters. If its numbers they may not correspond on foreign ATM machines. You also might find its cheaper to use a debit card than a regular credit card. Check with your bank to see if they have any arrangements with foreign banks to save you some of the fees.

JoeTro

I would get them there, from an ATM in the airport. You can buy them in the US from some banks, but they usually charge a lot more in terms of a poor interest rate. Make sure you have a debit card, and call your bank to tell them you are going abroad.

aspir4more

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPLIES
I hadn't thought about contacting my bank - I did contact American Express.

polaris

Kleroux, I was curious and surprised by your remark about using letters and not numbers. Our code is numbers, do we need a new code from bank? I think in the past we used our # code, but don't want problems when we get to Spain next week. Thanks

Flyboy

I think kleroux has it exactly reversed. The problem is with using LETTERS because that is what will not correspond.

janisj

definitely - kleroux has it backwards. Your PIN <u>must</u> be numeric (or you need to know the number equivalent of your PIN's letters). ATM pads in Europe usually do not have any letters. . . . .

kleroux

oops...you are right. I used to have letters and switched to numbers because I couldn't access my account.
Sorry about that!!!

valsal

We were told by most local banks in our area that the best rate on converting to euros was available at the airport. Were they talking about using our ATM card to purchase them, or is there an office/department in the airport? We're confused and travelling soon for the first time....

NeoPatrick

I've not heard in recent history of any agency or booth in any airport in the world offering a better rate than ATM's. And don't be fooled by an exchange bureau with a big sign proclaiming &quot;NO FEE&quot;. They may charge you an extra 5 to 10% in their currency exchange rate and don't call that a fee, but I would!

xxx30

In Europe you can pay the road tolls with a credit card.As far as getting the local cash, use any ATM anywhere you see one. Safe as an ATM in any US town.

polly229

Our two most recent European trips were Greece in May and NL last month. We get cash from ATMs, though we do take some dollars for an emergency, which we haven't had yet but might have had if we didn't have two cards.

Both of our ATM cards are through credit unions and both are issued by VISA. We call before our trips to let them know where we will be and when. We couldn't get money with one of the cards in Greece this year, although we got it in Greece last year. Text-messaged our daughter to send us the e-mail address of the credit union manager. E-mailed mgr. and she said we could get money inside the bank and she was working on taking care of the problem. (Later claimed she did but her e-mail wasn't clear, so we never tried it again.) No problem with the other card. And the one that wouldn't get us cash worked as a credit card. Mgr. said to contact her before we went to Amsterdam/Belgium last month and she would make sure all was okay. Although we had a fair amount of cash left from Greece, we got money from the ATM in Centraal Station in A-dam the first day to be sure it worked. But several days later I couldn't get any with that card. The next day both my husband and I were able to get money from the same ATM, more than our daily approved amount. (We weren't together and didn't know the other was going to get money.) Next time we tried to get money was in Belgium. We were never able to get cash with that card in Belgium, though the mgr. said, after we got home, that we should have been. It's possible that their system was down several times, I suppose, but we don't really trust that card. (And I worry about a suddenly having a problem with the other card out of the blue, which is why we have some $$$.)

I have read numerous other posts where people used their cards without problem for years and suddenly they couldn't get money. As there is more and more fraud, I suppose it will get worse. So I think it would be wise to be sure you have at least two cards for accessing cash from an ATM. And now we make sure we have the e-mail addresses for both credit union managers.

janisj

polly229: how weird. That would make me crazy. I'm one of the &quot;never had a problem&quot; ATM users. But I do take two cards just in case. Only started doing that a couple of years ago 'tho.

But - just to explain one tiny bit of your situation -- &quot;<i>The next day both my husband and I were able to get money from the same ATM, more than our daily approved amount. (We weren't together and didn't know the other was going to get money.) </i>&quot;

That makes total sense. Your daily limit is <u>per card</u> - not for the account. So if you both have cards, you can bot withdraw up to your daily limit. In fact if you had three people on the same acct - all 3 could get up to the daily limit.

suze

valsal- I will assume the banks were referring not to ATM's but rather Exchange Bureaus. These are kiosks at international airport where they sell various currencies. I do not know if they are a better or worse rate than getting from a local bank.

I doubt banks were talking about an ATM, only because unfortunately they often don't know what they are talking about in my experience and pertaining to foreign travel -haha.

My opinion is to get your money wherever you feel most comfortable: order foreign currency ahead from a local bank, buy it from American Express, AAA, or Thomas Cooke, change USD/Canadian at your departure airport, use the ATM at your arrival airport... whatever works for you.

saps

aspir,
You said you contacted American Express...I assume you have a credit card through them. I do not have AMEX but from what I have read on this forum they are not as widely accepted in Europe as MC/Visa. Just something to consider.

alanRow

Just to add the standard reminders

1) tell your bank &amp; credit card companies before you go
2) check what the fees are for withdrawals and watch out for minimum fixed charges as they'll make it very expensive to withdraw small amounts of &euro;

missypie

I will say that the first time I tried to get Euros in Italy was on a Monday morning in Rome. The first 3 ATMs I tried didn't work. I was getting very worried. The 4th (and every one thereafter) worked. I think the ATMs were just out of cash after the weekend. So you might want to think about your arrival time and whether the ATMs are likely to be depleted when you arrive.