I am travelling for 9 days to France at the end of July. I have heard conflicting stories regarding what maoney to take. Some people say to take nothing, just get it out of ATM's when you arrive. Others have said to take traveler's checks. What is best? I was also wondering if it would be a good idea to buy some Euro's (say 500 or so) here in the USA, just to have some money when I arrive. All suggestions are much appreciated.

do a search on this topic. There have been quite a few threads about it.

I think the general consensus is ATMs all the way. Travellers Cheques are really old school -ie... inconvenient and really pointless in the age of computers, online banking, etc. ATMs are easy, plentiful and so convenient. Dont bring a single Euro, just get off the plane and go to the nearest atm.

I think it is always nice to have some euros when you set out- just eases the pressure when you arrive.

Traveller's checks are not as readily 'cashable' in some places, and most people seem down on them.

If you are using an ATM, you need to look carefully at fees that you may be charged, and there are a lot of posts about issues with PINs.

Cash advances from credit cards can be expensive because interest starts running immediately.

I'm leaving for France, Italy, Switzerland on Saturday and after drowning in all the info on these posts, I've opted for 400 euros in hand, some US$- small bills, and the ATM, with purchases on my capital one MC, which seems to be ok with fees.

You also need to read the posts about DCC- dynamic currency conversion- another scam to watch for, and its a good idea to notify your credit card company that you will be charging abroad.

Good luck.

ATMs are the only way to go. If the airport ATM isn't operating, there are always exchange booths which, while expensive, are less expensive than exchanging into euros in the U.S. The fees are trivial, only a buck or two.

Make sure that you have a four-digit PIN. This is critical.

The suggestion to notify your bank and credit card company is a very good one. Give each one a call.

Traveler's checks are more trouble than they're worth. I usually take about 100 Euro with me, left over from previous trips just for comfort. ATMs are usually very easy to find but mind that you check out the PIN with your major card company before the trip. AMEX, VISA and MC are common. Haven't yet seen Discover being usable overseas. You will need a 4 digit PIN. Debit cards cost the least to use. Even with the added fees, a cash advance with a credit card usually costs less than changing money at a bank or kiosk. TCs will cost even more and many places won't take them. Many hotels will give a discount of 5-10% if paid by cash so I will usually visit the ATM for cash to pay my bill.

I also agree that it's best to stick with ATMs. But I also like to take some Euros with me (anywhere from $200 - 500 depending on where I am the first few days) just for peace of mind. We just got back from Germany, Czech Republic and Austria and I was amazed at the places that would NOT take travelers checks. We didn't take any this trip and were glad we didn't.

After reading all of the posts about money, here is our plan:

Take some spending money in US dollars and change some into Euros when we get to the airport. Then use ATMs to get cash (have 4-digit pins, no 0s) and our credit cards for some purchases. We have 2 checking accounts that are not connected, each with an ATM card, so if one account becomes compromised or the card self-destructs, we have the other card to the other account. We are also taking credit cards to 2 different accounts for the same reason. And of course, we will call the credit card companies and our bank to let them know we will be using the cards overseas.

I think this just about covers it for the money.

>I was amazed at the places that would NOT take travelers checks

Why? Travellers' checks are not the accepted legal tender. The Euro, or the Czech Crown, are. Why should a merchant keep a separate booking system for the TC's which he would get once a month or so?

I thought the TC's are something out of the olden times, something like the telegraph or the "Europe on 5$ per day" books, until I came to this site...

If you must have some euros prior to departure, you can purchase them from someone who has recently returned from the Euro zone with leftover euros.
You can look up the US$ to euro exchange of the day and buy the euros based on this rate. Both of you will come out ahead since no middleman taking 1% cut!

I suggest:
300 euro purchased ahead
300 USD save for emergencies
ATM card
charge card(s)
Travelers checks optional

Traveller's checks are out. A hassle and expensive to cash.

I usually take with about the equivalent of $50 a day in the local currency to cover misc costs and the times when you can't use a credit card. Local transportation, taxis, some small purchases, snacks, etc.

I also take with about $100US for some reason (not sure why).

So, Myer, you carry enough cash in Euros or whatever to pay for your entire trip? Wow, that's a lot to safeguard. And it's expensive to exchange that much currency. Unless you take very short trips. One of the great advantages of ATM cards is just getting and carrying enough cash for a short period.

I am leaving for Germany, Switzerland and France in a few weeks and plan on using my ATM only and will withdrawal cash at the airport when I arrive.

altamiro - I probably should have been more specific. My reference was not to merchants, but to banks, etc. I know that TC's are not legal tender (just as any check is not considered legal tender). But some people in our group had TCs issued in Euros and we were surprised when banks wouldn't accept them. Some people do carry a small amount of TCs for insurance in case of problems with ATMs - which does happen in this technologically advanced age.

Why no #0's in you pin. Will it not let you take out money if you have them in your pin number?

&quot;<i>Why no #0's in you pin. Will it not let you take out money if you have them in your pin number?</i>&quot;

At one time European ATMs would not accept PINs <u>starting</u> w/ a zero. Zeros w/i the PIN were OK. There is some question if leading zeros are still a problem, so the safest thing is to make sure your PIN doesn't start w/ a zero.

DH has pin that starts with a zero and hasn't encountered any problems (yet).

Mimar,
Enough to pay for the whole trip!!! Heck no!!!

Hotels, dinners, etc on credit card.

$50 per day on average goes pretty quickly. Transit passes for several days for two could be $20. Breakfast snack, buy junk that's too small to charge, taxi, tickets to whatever attraction, train tickets purchased on the train, etc, etc.

I took with about $850 equivalend for two weeks and ended up with $50. in cash left.

Just make sure you start with bills large enough so as to have a few bills. But not too large to cash.

The Hunagrian money came in bills that were too small and we had a wad of them. I changed them at the currency counter at the airport for free.

We take about 100 Euros each in cash, and use our ATMs the rest of the time. Our cash is mainly for the taxi/car service from the airport, tipping at the hotel (if nec.) and getting some botled waters and cafe food right away so that we can head out to site see. We have NEVER had ATM or credit card problems other than trying to use my DH's Amex Corp. card to pay for a taxi which he was allowed to exp. only with that account. The cab drivers in Vienna were just incensed about not getting cash and would shake their heads and drive off. Visa also seems more accepted in stores than MasterCard.

Some good advice I received from this site years ago: my husband and I take 2 different debit cards and 2 different credit cards just in case one doesn't work or, heaven forbid we get robbed. Bon Voyage!