loonie in paris
 

Can someone please tell me how to go about getting the best possible exchange rate. I am from Canada and will be going to paris in july. Here are my options,(1)canadian doller to American, then to french franc. (2) Canadian travelers cheques.(3) ATM's (4) visa. Help!! LONNIE in paris.

Use the ATMs to get walking around cash and use credit cards for everything else. Check with your bank to make sure that your PIN # will work in France. If you change money twice (CDN to US to FF), you will lose twice. IMO, traveler's checks are a pain.

<BR>&lt;loonie in paris&gt;........ooooh! I thought this post was going to be about John Cleese or Michael Palin or one of the other Monty Pythons appearing in Paris. Never mind.

Betty Ann's advice is absolutely correct. Unforunately, however, Canadians still get a double exchange whammy using an ATM card. In my experience, using a CIBC card, the foreign currency is first converted to U.S.$, which is what is shown on my monthly statement, where it is converted to C$. Presumably, these are at wholesale rates, so still better than the retail rates of doing double cash conversions. But even if the rate is just as bad, it is by far the most convenient option.

What an eye-catching title. I did not associate it with the Canadian $1 coin. <BR>That coin sure represents an improvement over the Susan B. Anthony coin -- aka the Carter Quarter. <BR> <BR>I was not aware that Canadians got a double whammy. But here is a ploy you might be able to take advantage of so that you might be able to save a little money. The market on exchange rates is highly efficient; I don't think you can pull any insider deals to beat it unless you are in a very preemptive position. <BR>The ploy: watch the exchange rates on Yahoo; they change frequently. <BR>If the franc swings in your favor between now and the time that you go, take a gamble and acquire francs, in currency form. <BR>Of course the cost of the francs will depend on your source. Last summer I bought several hundered Swiss francs when the market swung our way. It was the best rate in a long time. By the time I got to Zurich, the rate had swung against us by about 5%. So I was about $100 better off. Of course it all depends on how cheaply you can buy francs. American Express sells them via the mail, if you have an account. I did not have an account, but I talked a good friend into using his account. All it took was a phone call and an Amex card number. <BR>True checks are a pain, but the American Express office is available in Pais and other major cities. I cashed very few of mine; instead I used the old check card and ATM card for currency.