Ronda

The B&B we are going to be staying at in Graebels uses Gites de France for its bookings. I have sent her the contract but she requested a deposit be sent through the bank (she never said specifically wire transfer). My husband went to the bank and was told the wire transfer would cost $40! Any ideas if there is another way we can send this deposit? Thanks.

Christina

yeah, wire transfers often do cost that much from the US to a foreign country, in fact $40 is a low fee (some banks charge up to $60). I think my bank charges $50. Frankly, I would just do it, I don't consider $40 that much in the overall vacation budget, sometimes these things are just expenses you have to accept when you decide to do certain thinks, like booking from Gites de France. I know in past years, I've sent deposits in euro checks by getting a service that has a bank abroad, but that probably cost just about the same amount, and isn't as quick. YOu can get international bank drafts or essentially cashier's checks drawn up for less than a wire fee, but if they don't want something mailed to them, that's no help.

YOu can check out setting up an XE trade account, I think that doesn't cost much, if anything http://www.xe.com/xetrade/

or look at Paypal, although they may not want that, they have to have a Paypal account. I don't know their fees, but suspect they charge something, they always do
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/send-money-abroad

this seems to be their fee schedule for doing that <<0.5% to 2% fee when fully funded with your bank account or PayPal balance or 3.4% to 3.9% if paying with a credit or debit card>>

janisj

If they want a bank transfer - and IF you want to stay there, then you will need to pay the fees.

But, because bank transfers cost much less in Europe, the owner may not realize how much that would cost you. So first, you might want to contact the owner again and explain/ask if they accept any other form of payment.

If not, pay your bank and do it.

Ronda

Thanks, Janis, I did just that. First I asked her if I could send a personal check but she didn't know what a personal check was. I believe in the past I have sent a check from the bank - can't think of the name right now - bank draft? If we were staying very long it would be worth the $40 but just a couple nights n a B&B. Christina is right, may just have to do it.

Robert2533

You can do a funds transfer through XE.com for no additional cost beyond what they make on the exchange rate, with is typically 1.5%. You do the transfer using ACH/EFT (electronic funds transfer) instead of a Wire transfer. The difference in delivery time to Europe is only a matter of a couple of days.

A wire transfer would cost $22 if you have a Commercial Account. The cost of a personal account may be slightly different, but you can set up a personal account much easier then a commercial account.

StuDudley

Is this for your upcoming trip? If not - when you are in France this October, go to a Post Office and do a "Mandat Postal". You give the postal clerk the money, and the clerk writes a check to the B&B owner, then you mail it to the B&B owner. We have rented 65 gites through Gites-de-France and have sent Mandat Postals several times. However, this year a Gite owner would not accept a Mandat Postal. She said that it costs her money to do so (hard to believe). So we sent a wire transfer last week (BofA charged $35). As others have said, people in France do not know that it costs us $35-$60.

Investigate the xe.com thing. Michael (who is a frequent poster here and lives in SF) has used it several times to make payments in France. If you do it - let me know how it works out.

Stu Dudley

Ronda

Thanks all for the info. Yes, Stu, for October. Will look at XE.

Michael

Follow Robert's directions, as xe.com does give several options to transfer money, and some are more expensive than others. You could also check Transferwise, which is even cheaper than xe.com, as they are in a new company modifying their policies as they grow, but the last time I checked, it was impossible to specify the amount the be received, which is what you want when making a deposit.

Michael

amount the be received = amount to be received

1994

Also be aware that if you send an Int'l wire transfer from the U.S. to a French bank, there will be fees on the receiving end also.

The French account holder (in this case the owners of the B&B) may or may not know what those fees will be. It is my experience that whatever those receiving fees are, they are almost always passed on to the guest. You may want to inquire about this as all the bank fees for a couple of days B&B visit can add up to silly prices.

Mimar

Whenever I had this problem and I explained the extra expense to my prospective host, either they said never mind, I'll hold the place without a deposit, or they accepted a personal check, which they kept and tore up when we paid them upon arrival.

wanttogo

Also, I have used Xoom and it was easy and cheap.

Michael

<i>Also be aware that if you send an Int'l wire transfer from the U.S. to a French bank</i>

There are no bank fees associated with the xe.com electronic transfer. I know because I've transferred money from my American credit union account to my French account and the monthly statement on either end did not reflect any fees.

manouche

I wouldn't go to the trouble of setting up a special account to send a one-time transfer. It takes just a couple of minutes to fill out the form at your bank and the funds arrive in 24 hours. It's an extremely secure procedure.

A regular bank-to-bank transfer requires that service charges be paid on both ends - by the sender and the recipient. It's a zero sum affair since you are both out the same amount of money.

Some gites include this in their rental fees, but most do not. We don't use cheques at all anymore, and they are on the way out in France. Everything is done via bank transfer, either locally or internationally.

Ronda

Thanks for all the suggestions. We have worked it out.

NeoPatrick

"Thanks for all the suggestions. We have worked it out."

ummm. After all the suggestions and discussion is there a reason you aren't telling us exactly "what" was worked out ?