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LOWEST FEES VIA CASH, TRAVELLERS CHECKS OR CREDIT CARD PURCHASES?

LOWEST FEES VIA CASH, TRAVELLERS CHECKS OR CREDIT CARD PURCHASES?

Old Sep 2nd, 2001, 05:50 PM
  #1  
Athena
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LOWEST FEES VIA CASH, TRAVELLERS CHECKS OR CREDIT CARD PURCHASES?

HELLO!

I HAVEN'T FOUND AN ANSWER TO THIS ONE YET -- DO TRAVEL EXPERTS HAVE AN OPINION ON WHAT'S THE CHEAPEST WAY TO EXCHANGE CURRENCY OR TO USE FOREIGN CURRENCY IN EUROPE.

specifically, I'M FROM THE U.S., PLANNING A TRIP TO W. EUROPE, WHERE THE EURO ISN'T USED CONSISTENTLY YET.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OPINION ON
THE CHEAPEST WAY TO EXCHANGE US DOLLARS FOR EUROPEAN CURRENCY IN EUROPE -- ABOUT $100 - 200 PER EXCHANGE TRANSACTION? WHO HAS THE BEST RATES, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION FEES AND SURCHARGES?

also, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT USING LOCAL CURRENCY OR my U.S. CREDIT CARD FOR PURCHASES. ANY OPINION ON WHAT'S BEST FROM A MONETARY VIEW?

dOES EXCHANGING U.S. TRAVELLERS CHECKS FOR LOCAL CURRENCY FOR PURCHASES make more sense for saving on fees?

ANY INFORMATION YOU CAN SHARE IS APPRECIATED.

thank you for your time, OPINIONS and replY.



























 
Old Sep 2nd, 2001, 05:53 PM
  #2  
StCirq
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Athena:

Please don't use ALL CAPS in posting - it's considered to be the equivalent of SHOUTING on the internet.

Use a debit ATM card in Europe to get local currency - you get the best rate and it's easy as pie. There are machines everywhere that will accept your card. Just make sure you have a PIN number that's in digits, not letters.

 
Old Sep 2nd, 2001, 08:05 PM
  #3  
Christina
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There is no one fits all answer to your question, it depends on country and even city as to what you get for travelers' checks. I know people will tell you otherwise but I use them myself a lot and I know in some countries you get about the same as using an ATM card or credit card. Other places they really gouge you (Austria, Portugal I'm told). Also, it depends on your credit card, they have various fees for foreign currency; finally, it even depends on your ATM fees. Most are reasonable but I have seen some people who said their ATM fee was $5!!! It is highly unlikely you will save anything by using local currency instead of a credit card as you will pay something somewhere to get that local currency. My opinion? Use a credit card when possible, use an ATM card if you can and want to; in large cities in France and in Prague, travellers' checks are as good as anything if you know exchange rates of course and don't go to one of the ripoff places. I'm sorry that you want a simple rule but there isn't one.
 
Old Sep 3rd, 2001, 10:17 PM
  #4  
Sherry
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If you have a First USA/United Mileage Plus credit card, they only will charge a 1% conversion fee. They waive the 3% other credit cards charge. So use that credit card as much as possible for purchases, that way you don't have to pay all the commission charges etc. for changing traveler's checks or cash
 
Old Sep 7th, 2001, 09:18 PM
  #5  
John G
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I think you get the best rate of exchange on your credit card, so I always charge whatever I can when Im traveling. Now, I wouldn't use my card to get a cash advance, that is plain stupid. You should have some money with you to exchange so you can pay for cab fare or for a meal in a cafe that doesn't take credit cards. But, honestly, even if you don't get a good exchange rate you aren't losing that much money. Maybe $30 or $40 for a 12-day trip. What's $40 after you have spent thousands just to get to Europe?
 
Old Sep 8th, 2001, 06:54 AM
  #6  
Leslie
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You get the best rate using your debit or ATM card to retrieve cash from an ATM. Reason being that either card gets the commercial daily exchange rate (you can check this rate in the "Wall Street Journal") that you would get using a credit card. Here are the drawbacks -- some banks charge a $1 to $5 transaction fee or a 1-2% withdrawal fee using a "foreign ATM", meaning one that is not owned by your bank. As an example, my bank does not charge me a transaction fee as long as I use any ATM in the Cirrus, NYCE, or MasterCharge networks. Also, you don't have to pay commission fees. So you need to check with your bank. If you can pay for everything via credit card then you also get the best rate, but some cards charge a percentage fee, a transaction fee or a conversion fee. And, it's impossible to pay for "everything" by credit card, so you still need cash. You need to check with whatever company issued your credit card. If you use traveller's checks then you still have to pay a commission fee on the exchange, unless you go to the office where the traveller's checks were issued, like Thomas Cook or American Express.

Back to ATM cards, if your bank charges you a flat transaction fee, then it is always best to withdraw large sums of cash. If it's a percentage then it doesn't make any difference.

If you look at Oanda to get a cheat sheet, you have a choice of 3 options on the conversion. The highest conversion rate is always with a credit or debit card.

Use the cards that have the best rates. Remember, you won't see any of the assessed fees on the credit cards as a separate line item on your bills, the fee is built into each purchase.

Leslie
 
Old Sep 8th, 2001, 10:12 PM
  #7  
Eric
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I can second most of the credit card responses posted thus far. I have an ATM card from my credit union that allows up to 10 no-fee withdrawals per month, and got the same rate my United Mileage Plus card got. Just the 1% Visa Intl fee. Use credit cards as much as possible if yours doesn't tack on high fees. Use your ATM card for cash if it doesn't surcharge you to death. Regardless, you should ask all your credit card issuers and the bank(s) that issued your ATM card(s) for their policies BEFORE going.

I can add one more thing. If you are traveling to one of the Euro countries (Spain, Germany, France, Italy among others) you can carry Euro travelers cheques. Rates between Euros and pesetas/francs/DMs etc are fixed forever. American Express and two of the hotels we stayed at in Spain gave the official exchange for the Euro TCs with no commission. If you are an AAA member you can get these at AAA offices. We carried these as a backup to ATM and credit cards.

I can tell you that unless your bank applies high fees, exchanging US cash or US TCs for local currency would probably be the worst exchange rate, because it WILL entail commissions and fees. This is why you should know your own bank/CC policies before leaving. The fees vary widely. Usually a hotel is the absolute worst place to do a currency exchange.
Example: Spain late last month. Official interbank rate was around 182 pesetas to the dollar. Visa/MC rate was around 180. Airport exchange was 172, not counting minimum commissions applied ($5.55). Hotels were giving around 165 to the dollar, not counting commissions.
 

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