Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Let's talk money

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)

- - Let's talk money (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/lets-talk-money-118764/)

Let's talk money

I leave for Tuscany in a week and a half. I will be gone for 17 days. Should I take cash? Visa? Master Charge? or Bank Interact card? I have never travelled internationally before and I simply have no idea. I would appreciate your help. Thanks Barb

Barb, I've used both MasterCard and travelers checks. Last time I used MasterCard after using 2 different cards, I discovered that one card charged a $5 to $6 charge for each ATM withdrawal, so you'll want to check that as it can having a bearing on the rate you receive. Most often I use travelers checks and look in Rick Steves books as to where he recommends exchanging--also in the Let's Go. Marilyn

Hello, Barb! Usually, I take two debit/VISA cards and US$300 cash. Often, I'll go to the local AmEx office and buy the equivalent of $50 in the currency of the first country (if more than one) that I'm visiting. Also, you might check with your banks to find out the additional fees, if any, that they charge for withdrawing money at an international ATM. Just a tip that if you must ask a non-English speaking person where an ATM is located, they usually will under if you ask for a "cash station" (ATM doesn't translate as well). Also, if you're interested in estimating a budget, the following link offers a spreadsheet to guesstimate your expenses: http://www.twenj.com/tipsbudget.htm Ed is a very helpful frequent poster and his site offers some terrific advice for travelers (I belive it includes a "travel tips" section, too). I would love to read trip notes upon your return, as I'm planning on (hoping for) Tuscany for 2002. Have a wonderful vacation!

Barb, I assume from your e-mail that you're another Canadian. Personally I never take travellers cheques anymore (although we did have a problem when we went to Turkey - our ATM was on the Plus system and that was not widely available where we were). We bank with CIBC and I think we're generally charged $1.25 or $1.50 Canadian when we use our ATM card. I don't recall it being significantly more than if I withdrew money at home from a bank other than CIBC. This subject has been discussed a few times on this forum. I generally take some US cash (maybe $100) so that I have something to fall back on if my card doesn't work and I run into problems. (I find it's better than our Canadian dollar.) I use Visa as much as possible (same as at home - I get frequent flyer points with Visa so we use it as much as we can). I also took a second credit card last time (it was a Master Card) in case there was a problem with my Visa. It's also a good idea to let your credit card companies know that you're travelling - a few times we've gotten home to find a call on the voicemail asking us about the charges. You'll probably find ATM machines all over. I'm amazed when I'm travelling how common they are. Even if I withdraw money every day or 2, I feel it's worth the service charge - I don't like carrying a lot of cash on me for obvious reasons, so the peace of mind is definitely worth it. Have a great trip.

Hi Barb. I have spent many wonderful vacation days in Canada. And I handle my money in Canada like I do in Europe with one exception -- I wait until I get to Canada to exchange any money at all. For Europe I follow this plan: 1. Before leaving, I purchase the minimum amount of the currency of the first nation I visit. I do this so I will not need to hunt around for an ATM machine immediately after I arrive and still have enough to hire a taxi and get something to eat. 2. I rely on ATM machines for daily currency requiremets. I try to estimate what I will need and keep withdrawals to a minimum because after the first 2, my bank charges me a fee for each transaction. I have both a debit card and a standard ATM card. My debit card has my picture on it. In a couple of instances the debit card worked; the standard ATM card would not. I never really found out why. 3. I carry two credit cards, one MC and one Visa. I use them for as many purchases as possible because I have found that I get the best exchange rate that way. Why two? Well, there have been times when one would work and the other one would not. (We had an experience in Paris restaurant where the waiter said the Visa was "No good", so I used my MC, to which he said "Is good." 4. I carry a few hundred $$ in American Express checks to use as a last resort. In 3 European trips, only once have I needed to convert a traveler's check to obtain local money. We were at the airport in Zürich and the ATM near the train station within the airport terminal was down. Departure time was almost at hand, and I wanted to make some purchases from a store that did not accept credit cards. Having no Swiss money at all, I was forced to convert a check if I was going to make my purchase. Be sure to protect your highly valuable documents and money by keeping all items in a money belt or a neck wallet. Pickpockets are around and you need to be prepared.

I don't want to belabor the point, but here's my question. I have an ATM check card from Bank of America. It has the Visa logo on it but no others, i.e. CIRRUS etc. When I use it, it takes money from my checking account so there is no interest charged. Also, I have a 4 number PIN. So, should my card work in most of the ATM's in Italy? I'll contact my bank to find out the fee for it's use. (When I talk to them about whether it will work, I get the feeling the person I talk to hasn't a clue.) There is also the talk about using a Visa or MC for cash. Doesn't this get a little spendy with the interest charged or is it to be used as a last resort. Thanks, Jim

Jim, First, let me say that I am not in a banking business. I have reserched the web regarding the workings of ATM/POS but it has not been easy. Here are my observations. MC is the POS (point of sale) side of the business, while the Cirrus is the ATM machine side. So if you go into a store/restaurant and buy something other than cash, you go thru the POS side, the MC symbol. If you go to ATM machine to get cash in whatever denomination, you go thru Cirrus side of the business. Now this looks interchangable because for MOST adults, they carry MC credit card with Cirrus access capabilities, or Cirrus debit card with MC pos capabilities. For Visa, Visa is the POS side and Plus is the ATM machine side of the business. I noticed that some cards do not bother to put PLUS/Cirrus at the back. For Bank of America, for example, they do not bother to put PLUS symbol, even if it has that access. This type of information is VERY VERY hard to find. I went thru 2 800 customer service, their supervisor, 3 local branch customer rep to have them call someone else to get this info. Regarding "the person I talk to hasn't a clue.)", your experience is norm than an exception. At any given bank, only a handful know how the international banking work. The run of the mill 800 or local branch customer rep will only tell you it "should" work. It becomes your responsibility to make "should" into "does." Also I learned after pestering the local bank rep why certain transactions from Europe was rejected, the answer was that at this bank, the transcation came in as DDA transactions and my account was not entered in the DDA account field, that I "should have" chosen other type of account. There is no such choice available from European ATMs "duh." But he had no clue that European ATM can only do that type of transactions.