Italy: Take euros or get there?
 

Hi guys, I’m looking for some advice from seasoned travelers to Italy. My husband and I are going on our first European trip to Italy in March (Rome & Venice for 7 nights) and unsure about what to take cash/card wise. Are cards accepted at most places? If so, which ones (Visa, Discover, Master Card)? Should we get some euros before going or is it better, economically, to get them there? Are atms widely available in the major cities? If you think it’s better to get it here in the U.S. before leaving, how much do you recommend we take? Also, is there anything else you wish you had known before your first trip to Europe or Italy? Thanks for any advice!

You are always better off getting your Euros in Europe. Yes, there are plenty of ATMs in Italy. Credit cards are widely accepted. Not Discover - I think it is only accepted in the US. Visa is the most popular card, MC is also accepted. Make sure you have a back-up ATM card just in case your. card gets eaten by ab ATM.

All the usual credit/debit cards are widely accepted. be sure yours have a 4-digit pin.

It's cheaper to withdraw euros from an ATM once you arrive in Italy than to get them beforehand from your local bank. ATMs are everywhere, including airports.

I opened the thread to answer -- had to answer a phone call and in two seconds they beat me to it . . . Ditto

Yup. Use your cc for big purchases and ATM card to get cash for the smaller stuff. It never pays to get euros ahead of time. Discover won't work. Visa is best, Mastercard second best.

There are a million things I wish I had known before I made my first trip to Europe, but you will learn, too,hopefully with the help of good guidebooks and maps.

I suggest that you each set up a free account with Charles Schwab brokerage so that you will receive a debit card which we have used all around the world with no problems, and no fees! You should carry these separately just in case you get pickpocketed.
ATMs are everywhere and the rates are much better than buying Euros in the US.
You should each have a no-transaction fee credit card (either MC or Visa, preferably with a chip) because in Europe everything is paid with credit cards at the best bank rate. You may find that you won't need very much cash (in Euros) so don't take out more than you will actually need because it costs at least 1-2% to convert your Euros back into USD at your departure airport and remember you can't convert coins, only bills.
When you use an American bank credit card, you will have to sign for every transaction, but this is still the best and cheapest way to pay for everything.

Always take out EUROS (or local currency if not EUros) and NEVER let an ATM or merchant charge you in US Dollars! That's a scam called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and just adds more fees. Do the math in your head or on your phone to convert currency and save the fees.

Understand what it costs YOU to take money out of an ATM in Europe and to use your credit cards there.

Many banks charge up to 3% currency conversion fee to withdrawal from an ATM - on top of a per-use fee! (Most bank-owned ATMs in Europe charge no fee - I've never been charged one.) It's possible to get an ATM card that charges you 0% conversion fee and no per-use fee (e.g. some credit unions) or a little more.

US credit cards often charge up to a 3% foreign transaction fee - but it's relatively easy these days to get a card that charges 0%. Try to use the credit card as much as possible (but NOT to withdrawal cash!). Most US credit cards have chips now but almost all of them are "chip and signature" - meaning you have to sign a receipt if a person is involved, whereas Europeans have chip and PIN cards where they type in a 4-digit PIN to make purchases. Chip and signature credit cards work at many machines in Europe without a pin, with notable exceptions (train ticket machines in Italy, France, and the Netherlands come to mind as exceptions).

<< Most US credit cards have chips now but almost all of them are "chip and signature" - meaning you have to sign a receipt if a person is involved, whereas Europeans have chip and PIN cards where they type in a 4-digit PIN to make purchases. >>

My Barclayscard works as a chip-pin. No, I don't get a cut of any new customers' transactions I bring them.

Get your money there. If your cash card has a Plus or Cirrus symbol, you're set.

And don't use discover or Amex, use Visa or MC. Use one with no foreign exchange fees - Citi, Chase, Barclays, CapOne, pick a credit union, others all offer this.

As for the dynamic currency conversion discussed by Andrew - he's completely correct. Pay in local wampum only, withdraw local wampum only WITHOUT conversion. Never convert your money - your bank and card issuer will do that on their end and get you far better deals.

Here’s my take on it and we have been going to Europe yearly for 16 yrs.

Use credit card (Capitol One, Master Card is our go to card) for anything you can. But watch if your card charges an extra fee, Capitol One does not.

For us it’s the same price to get some Euros ahead of time, but my husband worked for a bank so we get a good deal. Regardless, check your bank to get 200-400 Euros before you go. Why? How are you getting to your hotel? Prepaid booking? If not, will the taxi take a credit card? ATM in the airport? On 2 separate occasions we came across ATM’s in an airport that didn’t work...frustrating.
Also came across ATM’s in a foreign language with no English attached. Maybe Google the directions in Italian before you leave. A hotel clerk in France wrote out the directions in French for us one time that saved us.

Best advice IMO, use an ATM attached to a major bank that is open during the day and probably has English directions, in case it eats your card.

After many trips we now take about 400,Euros gotten at our bank, ahead of time. Even if it costs a bit more for you, as a first time visitor you do not want to deal with any “OMG, now what do we do” experiences.

I know that most European travelers here will say to use the ATM’s in Italy. This is just my “I wish I had known” tip.

Agree with everything Andrew said except my Capital One Visa chip and signature (no PIN) credit card has been working in machines in train stations, etc. last few years. Only place it didn't work was toll booths in France.

I see no point at all in buying Euros ahead of time before going to Europe, unless you really can get them for free and at no big inconvenience. (Some people might need a lot of Euros immediately to pay for an apartment up front or something - a situation I would prefer to avoid myself.) If the ATMs at the airport don't work, I still have a couple of credit cards. If I really must have cash, I bring a few hundred USD with me just in case I need to change some in an emergency - there always seem to be currency conversion places like TravelEx at the major airports. It might be expensive - but it's a last resort, and I've never needed to do it.

The chance that I'll have a problem at the ATM, that I can't find anywhere to change USD, and that my credit cards won't work to pay for transportation, all at the same time, seems extremely remote. I'd guess the chances of losing my wallet or having it stolen are higher.

I don't mind having a few Euros from the last trip in my wallet when I land on the next one, but not 100 Euros or anything - 10 or 20 is plenty in case I just need to make a small purchase at an airport convenience store or something, but it's not something I worry about.

And I've never encountered an ATM anywhere in Europe that didn't have an English option in the last fifteen years, certainly not in Italy. That too is something I just wouldn't worry about, unless I were headed to a small town in a remote area. I've used ATMs in some pretty small towns (e.g. Bosnia) and still never had the problem.

isabel: <i>Agree with everything Andrew said except my Capital One Visa chip and signature (no PIN) credit card has been working in machines in train stations, etc. last few years. Only place it didn't work was toll booths in France.</i>

I used a chip and signature Visa card from a major US bank in Italy and France last May and it worked almost everywhere - but not at the train station ticket machines in Italy or France. So I wouldn't count on any old chip and sig credit card working at those machines, unless you confirm ahead of time you have a specific card that someone else has verified as working (e.g. Cap One). I used my chip and PIN credit card instead at those machines.

I'll disagree with everyone else here who suggests waiting till you get to Europe before you get Euros. We travel to Europe 2-3 tomes every year from the US and have been doing so for 18 years. Before that - once a year since 1977.

I don't want to land at an airport and hunt for an ATM machine. I'm just not in the mood and I want to "get going". First thing I usually do is to take a taxi to a hotel/apt, etc. Cash is usually best to pay for a taxi. Next day or two I seek out an ATM machine.

Also, don't carry the same cards/accounts as you husband. If you get your wallet stolen - you don't want to cancel every card the two of you own.

Stu Dudley

PS - in about 2001, there was an ATM strike in France and all the ATMs were drained.

Stu Dudley

You've gotten some great advice already!

When possible, I would suggest using an ATM that is physically connected to a bank and using it during the bank's open hours -- if anything goes wrong with your ATM card (an ATM "ate" one of my cards once), the bank should be able to help. Don't worry too much about that -- just be sure you have a back-up option.

I also agree that you should reject DCC, but I've had two experiences in which my explicit refusal of the DCC was not honored. If that happens, don't panic -- do what you can to fight the charge (e.g., pay it, but write on the receipt that you had declined DCC) and ask your CC to fight it, but if they won't, remember, it's unlikely to be an extraordinary cost, so shake it off and move on.

Hope that helps!

To each his own, Stu. I've never had a problem looking for an ATM at the airport after a long flight- though to be honest, more than once I haven't even bothered getting cash at the airport, if my credit card works for transportation. I almost never take taxis, and credit cards usually work for buying transit passes. These days, you can buy tickets on your phone for many modes of transportation using, say, your Paypal account and not even need a physical credit card. I did that in Venice this last year.

>>I don't want to land at an airport and hunt for an ATM machine.<<

I have never once had to 'hunt' for an ATM in a European airport -- I get jet lag like anyone else, and I am never so tired I can't manage using a cash machine. And if there is a worst case situation and the ATM is out of cash, I always have $200-$300 on me and can exchange it at any Bureau de Change (In 40+ trips to the UK/Europe since ATMs have become ubiquitous I've had to resort to that once.)

If one wants to get a FEW € (like €100 or €150) at home just to get through the arrival airport, maybe to pay for a car service to your hotel, something like that -- sure. You are paying a small 'convenience fee' to get a little seed money. But Don't get much ahead of time. No need.

Weirdly -- my go to credit card for the last 3-ish years has been my Nordstrom Visa - ever since I discovered they charge no foreign transaction fees plus I get extra perks. I usually take 2 back up credit cards and 2 ATM cards.

Many airports have websites with maps showing locations of ATM machines.

Get your money in Italy. You won't need to "hunt" for a working ATM; sheesh it's Europe. The last airport in which I had real problems getting cash from an ATM was Kigali, Rwanda. And even that was 7 years ago.

I am old fashioned. I like to take about $200 of Euros with me. There is a crazy place near us, that offers good rates. He is in a plexiglass box instead a tchotchke shop near Penn Station. Even if that costs a few dollars more, I like to know I have money the first day.

Once in Europe we try to charge as much as possible in Euros and use the ATM machines that have a connection to our bank.

<i>"The last airport in which I had real problems getting cash from an ATM was Kigali, Rwanda. And even that was 7 years ago."</i>

Haha, that brings back memories! It was even worse 15 or 20 years ago when there were no ATMs at all in Rwanda, and the only places that accepted credit cards were international hotels. Even ORTPN, where you booked gorilla tracking, accepted only cash.

For Europe, I always bring the euros left over from my last trip and hit the ATM at the airport to top up.

Thank you, everybody! I think we’ll get a few euros from our credit union (like 200, not the 1000+ my husband initially wanted!) just for our own peace of mind and then take our cc’s. Thanks for the heads up re DCC!

This is a favorite topic so I'll just emphasize a few points that have been made. Western Europe's electronic banking is well ahead of the US so you can use plastic extensively. But do not expect to charge purchases at tiny shops, especially on a debit/ATM card. It may be possible, or maybe not. Spain is the only country I have encountered recently where an ATM machine charge is made by the operating bank, and even then not by the majority of banks. Usually the charges come from your own bank. For me, the most economical use of foreign currency returns to the old days of cash. Withdraw a big amount when you arrive and then use cash for all but the biggest purchases, minimizing the service fees.

I live in Italy, so I don't get euros when I travel. I do get a small amount of foreign currency when travelling to a non-euro destination, especially if it's a long trip. I prefer to make cash withdrawals at a bank ATM, when I'm wide awake, and not encumbered with luggage. I never get as much as €200, just enough to get a taxi or whatever.

Don't use a credit card to withdraw money; interest charges commence immediately. Use a debit or ATM card.

Unless you expect to travel frequently outside your home currency zone, opening a special account to avoid a 3% conversion fee is overkill. If you use credit cards where possible, you won't need much cash. Even if you use €1000 (which is more cash than I spend on trips), you're talking about €30, a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of your trip.

Finally, someone said above " be sure yours [credit cards] have a 4-digit pin." This is not necessary. Maybe it once was.

You can get airport maps that show where ATMs are.

You can check with your bank to determine their corresponding bank in whatever city you are visiting.

For a few dollars, in the scheme of the whole trip, buy yourself maybe even just $25-50 in euros.

What are you doing in both cities? You may be able to prepay hotel, train, museum, city cards and really only need euros for a drink, ice cream.

Landed in Brussels in Sept, immediately took train to Bruge and had 50E from previous trip, $100 bill for emergency conversion, a debit card and credit card. I notified all banks prior to trip.

Found an ATM and on first try, card got declined. 2nd try took the 70E that was on the screen instead of the 210E I wanted, tried 2 more times at 70E each. Unfortunately racking up charges each time (got those reversed when I got home).

Went to other ATMs, card declined, went to bank, card declined. Alone, so had hubby in States call bank but all was good. Finally went back to only ATM I could get euros out of and took out the most I could to last me the rest of my 2 week euro portion of my trip.

That's why i like to know how much I will need.

Hint: take out odd amount so you get some small bills. Awkward to break a 200E bill for a soda.

My other alternative would have been to get an advance on my credit card and again, you would need to have a ballpark figure of how much money you would need.

Just my experience and thoughts.

Virtually all debit and credit cards with a Visa or Mastercharge logo work in Europe. It's true that you may need to inform your bank of your travel plans, but my daughters come to Europe (from the US) once or twice a year, and have never done this, and never had a problem. Better to play safe, though.

I've never got a €200 note from an ATM! However, it's good to have small notes. Especially, it's best not to pay a taxi with anything bigger than €10 notes, because some crooked drivers claim that you gave them a 10 rather than a 50 or a 5 rather than a 20. (The colors are similar.) If you must pay with a larger note, make sure to hand it to the driver slowly and say, "This is €50, right?" and get confirmation before letting it out of your hands.

Canadian banks generally don't want to know if you are travelling:

https://canada.creditcards.com/credi...e-travel-1264/

As for availability of ATMs in Italy, the smallest town will have at least one. Many more in larger towns.

I have a question - I believe my American Express does not have a foreign transaction fee. I have traveled in Europe with my AMEX previously. Is there some reason that those responding to this question are not recommending to take their AMEX with them to Europe?

@ mjs01: AMEX (and most, if not all, other CC companies) have different cards and different kinds of accounts that differ in their foreign transaction fee policies.

Amex just isn't as widely accepted in Europe in my experience as Visa/MC. I've used my Amex in Europe before, but I ran into more than once place that would not accept it.

Your Amex card may not have foreign transaction fees, but all of mine did (I don't use them anymore even in the US). One of them had 2% cash back on travel-related charges, so using it with a 3% foreign transaction fee effectively meant 1%, which was usually acceptable. Nowadays, I have Visa and MC cards with 0% fees so just use those.

I threw away my Amex card when I moved to Europe. No one wants it here - it costs them too much. Might be fine in big cities, but is useless where Iive and where you might want to visit.

I'm with StuDudley about the cash and with Andrew about DCC (so I hope to please both the two arch-travelers on the board...) Buying cash ahead doesn't cost that much for the small amount we need (we have chip CCs, and paid for lots of stuff like museum entrances with them. We also had pre-bought stuff on-line beforehand like train tickets since doing so saved us money).

CDG airport in particular is just not a place I want to spend a second more than necessary after arrival, not for the sake of a few bucks. But it's more than that. At home, we get to explain to the teller the denominations we want, scrutinize the notes (got the newest version of euros this time, had time to go online before departure to study the differences and how to identify the anti-counterfeit features.) Last time out, we didn't visit a single ATM after arrival. Came home, reconverted the unused cash (we spent very little) save for the coins and one or two small bills. Total cost of the entire operation was only a few bucks.

But as for DCC -ugh. No, just no. THAT one is worth everyone fighting.

Just out of curiosity, is pay wave now everywhere in Europe? It's become the most common way of purchasing with a credit card in my home country. Waving your phone at the card machine is also becoming popular although less so.

"Waving your phone at the card machine" may not take off for a year or two yet. The feature your phone needs to do that is called NFC, and it's still not available on many low-end phones. I just ordered a new Android and it doesn't have NFC, so I won't be using Android Pay on it. I'll live.

We use credit cards for everything possible, preferably AmEx since we get great points and other benefits, but some smaller/modest places take only Visa or MC so we have those as back up. Also we both have at least 2 CCs and a debit card.

We take about 200 euros (or whatever) usually left over from previous trips, but if not we will just change in the departure airport. And I bring $100 US in case of electronic emergency - but have bringing the same $100 back and forth for about 15 years.

For walking around money we just pull cash from a bank ATM using our Citibank ATM cards. We are not charged more than the 1% over Interbank rates, but they may be connected to other accounts we have with them.

It's amusing to revisit this thread after several days. A question that takes one post and four sentences to answer thoroughly somehow took 35 replies and thousands of words.

Yes Edward, and one highly extraneous post.

Edward must be new in town.