vivi

I rented a VBRO in Amsterdam and Paris. The Paris apartment's fee was electronically paid
thru their website, the security deposit can be a personal check. The Amsterdam owner wants me to pay 600E cash upon arrival, tho the security deposit can be a personal check also. Do you think I can get that much cash from an ATM at once? I am wondering if I should buy some Euros here before I leave.

ssachida

You definitely can't get that much money from one ATM transaction. Your bank will also have a per day withdrawal limit. For example, BankOne/Chase only allows $300.00 per day per card. You should check with your bank - that will most probably be a limiting factor.
(You can perform multiple ATM transactions to get over the ATM limit)

If you are going tp be in Paris (or elsewhere in the EU) for a few days before Amsterdam, maybe you can withdraw some extra everyday to save up? If you are travelling with family, they can also get ATM cards to your account (since the bank limit is per card not per account)for the duration of the trip.

Intrepid1

It all depends on your bank's own cash withdrawal limit; my own is $800 per day and yours may vary.

LVSue

I'm faced with the same problem and after a lot of thought and advice from Fodorites, I decided to open another bank account, so that I can withdraw from 2 different accounts the same day. Actually, I'm quite happy about this decision because I'm glad to have a second ATM card to fall back on if the first is lost/stolen/eaten.

tedgale

My recollection of the programming on French bank machines is that the maximum is indicated and is around 250 euros.

caroline_edinburgh

The amount is limited both by your own bank's withdrawal limit & the issuing bank's. Most bank-owned ATMs in the UK have a single-withdrawal limit of £300 and may or may not allow multiple withdrawals over this. I have definitely withdrawn €300 at once in France & Italy but have never tried more. I'd do what sscachida recommends - get out €300 the day before & €300 on the day you arrive, just in case that is your daily limit.

melissa19

i withdrew 500e from an ATM at CDG airport just before easter . . .

Nikki

You can probably change your own bank's limit by telling them you want to raise it; that's what I did for a similar reason. Then you can go to multiple ATMs to overcome the ATM's limit.

Gretchen

And remember it is Euros, not dollars and at today's exchange rate you will neeed to adjust your Euros down in order not to go over the limit (in dollars).

abcgirl

we had the same problem and chose a method that seems to be unpopular on this site, but which worked well for us: traveller's checks! you might have to pay a fee to get them converted to cash (i avoided that by checking the issuing company's website to see where i could exchange them fee-free), but you might also have to pay ATM fees if you go the solely ATM route. I heard about the two bank account option too late to do that, so it was actually very reassuring to me to have some traveller's checks along just in case my cards were all stolen. (which they weren't) It was also suggested that i try talking to the apartment's owner about the possibility of making two payments instead of one large sum, but i chose not to inconvenience him.

short version: we withdrew our daily maximum amount from an ATM at the Gare du Nord (there's only ONE in the whole station, and it's right next to the police offices on the east side of the station) and made up the difference with traveller's checks.

Patrick

abcgirl, as I just mentioned on your other thread, the fact that you paid no fee for cashing those TC's is really pretty insignificant. The real question is what kind of rate did you pay to buy them (if they were in euros) or how many euros did they give you if they were in US dollar denominations? If you think you got the same rate of exchange as an ATM, I bet you'd be quite wrong. There's a big difference between a "fee" and a "currency exchange rate". No fee is nice, but if they gave you 10% fewer euros per dollar than you'd have gotten from an ATM withdrawal, I'd sure want to know.

Kristina

Just 2 weeks ago we were faced with the same dilemma. We arrived at CDG in Paris and needed 600 E plus for our apartment and of couse more cash to get into town.
We went to the ATM in the airport and besides the options for various amounts, there was the option for "other" which we selected. It then asked us how much and we put in 1000 euro. I was stunned, but it actually gave it all to us in one shot!
We bank with Citibank and I didn't call in advance to ask them to raise our limit or anything.

janis

You could go the Travelers Check route - but even if you do find a place that will cash them fee-free you will get a rotten exchange rate. Not a huge deal but certainly not the cheapest way to go.

If you are in Paris first I don't see any problem. The last couple of days before you go to Amsterdam just stockpile some €

I'd raise my daily withdrawal limit but even that isn't necessary if you are in Paris long enought to make a 2 or 3 extra withdrawals.

OTOH If you are in Amsterdam first -- are you traveling w/ someone else. Between the two of you you can get the € upon arrival. If not - have your bank raise your daily limit. You will likely have to make couple of ATM withdrawals because many machines have an individual transaction limit -- this is not related to your own daily limit.

janis

I was posting at the same time as Patrick and Kristina. Am amazed about the €1000 withdrawal - But I have been able to withdraw €500 at once. Maybe the machines at CDG have higher transaction limits because of the high volume of customers needing cash on arrival . . . .

mermaid_

We always call our bank before going to Europe to get our daily ATM withdrawal upped for the duration of the trip. However, I think LVSue's solution is the best one because it has a great backup plan! That's smart travelling.

Angela_m

Don't know if you're travelling with a significant other, but I've found out from my bank that I have a $500 limit on my card, but so does my husband (same account). So that means that together we can withdraw $1000 per day. You may want to check with your bank as others have said and they will up your daily limit.

dcd

Something else you may want to ask your bank if you'll need the cash over a weekend. My bank said it counted Fri at 2:00 (US time) to Mon at 2:00 (US time) as one day for ATM withdrawal purposes. So if your max ATM withdrawal is $500 per day, that's all you'll be able to get during that period of time.

Dave

Patrick

In Italy once we were getting ready to "stockpile" some euros for apartment payment and knew that most of the local ATMs seemed to have a 250 euro limit, but it ended up that seemed to be "per transaction", since we were able to put the same card right back in and immediately withdraw a second 250 euros.

NYCFoodSnob

This has been discussed many times before.

If you consider the difference in cost between spacious apartment w/kitchen versus equally spacious hotel room without kitchen, you still end up with substantial savings even if you purchase the Euro rental amount in America before you leave. Nickle-n-diming your trip to death will consume much time and energy. In cases such as this, the anxiety isn't worth the trouble and any obsession can say questionable things about your relationship with money (chump change). Your property owner will greatly appreciate full payment when he/she surrenders the keys.

Some ATM's in Europe do dispense up to $1000 in cash (in one transaction) but it's not the norm and I wouldn't count on such luck. Banks lose profit dollars when they offer such machines. I know of only one in Venice and I happened upon it by accident. I'm still looking for one in Paris.

JP Morgan Chase in Manhattan permits up to $1000 worth of withdrawals per day while abroad but this can change any day, any minute, and with each new merger.

The most important thing to consider is every American bank is different and each has very specific rules regarding foreign ATM transactions. You need to speak to a representative who works in this area of expertise.

The second most important thing to consider is every European bank is different. Therefore, regardless of your own bank's rules, you are subject to the rules of the financial institution that holds the lease on any ATM abroad. Typically, this means that every foreign bank will have (24 hour) limits on the total amount of Euro you can withdraw in that period of time, regardless of how many transactions it takes to reach that limit. Typical limits can range from 200 Euro to 500 Euro; and on that rare and joyous occasion, 1000 Euro. Happy accounting and bookkeeping!