I am going to Ireland for a week. I want to put as much of my expenses on credit cards as possible.

So, here are my questions:

What things will I have to pay cash for?

Is it easy to exchange Traveler's Cheques for euros?

Is it better to get the euros in Ireland or U.S.?

Are there American Express offices in many locations in Ireland?

Any suggestions of how much U. S. $ I should change into Euros?

Forget the travellers checks no one uses them anymore in europe from my experience. You can aldo use you cash card in the bank mchine if you are on the cirrus network. I use my Irish one in the U.S. You can use credit cards in restaurant, pubs, all shops, supermarkts and gas stations...basically everywhere you use them in the states. Check out the amex website for the offices there may be one in the tourist office on Suffolk Street. Get a few euro befoe you go...don't carry too much cash its not worth the hassle if you lose it etc. You are fine with a visa and cash card. Get a small amount if you feel more comfortable but I thionk they are a hasle and I havent seen them used since I was a kid viiing Ireland 20 years ago.

We charged everything we could to our credit card and used ATMs for our cash needs. We didn't take Euros or traveller's checks with us, but made our first cash withdrawal at Shannon upon landing. We didn't have any problem finding ATMs, although it's good to think ahead as some small towns don't have one.

Some B&Bs don't take credit cards. This was our main reason for needing cash. Most pubs and restaurants take them, although there were a few small places that didn't. We were able to charge most meals, gas for the car, and all of our shopping expenses. (Ask merchants to charge your card in Euro. Some try to convert to US dollars and you're much better off if this is done by your credit card company.)

We travelled to Ireland with friends. They used ATM machines and had no trouble ever finding one. We took Travelers Checks and ALWAYS had to find a bank to trade them into euro. No one took them! Next time I'll use credit cards and ATM to keep some euro on me.

SiobhanP is correct: forget the traveler's checks. For the most part the only place you can cash them is at a bank, which will charge high fees, even if you get checks in Euros in the US.

An ATM ion either the Cirrus or Plus networks will work in Europe. This covers almost all ATM cards. European banks don't charge fees for using their ATMs (at least none that I've seen or heard about).

On my last trip to London I took no GBPs with me. When I landed in the airport I found an ATM and withdrew 200 GBPs. If you're not comfortable with that, take about 50-100 Euro's with you, no more. You don't get a good exchange rate at banks, or you'll pay high fees at banks in either country. Avoid exchanging money at banks and exchange bureaus due to the lousy rates/high fees.

Use the credit card or ATM card as much as possible. You get the best rates/lowest fees with them. Both give you the wholesale (bank) exchange rate. Credit cards are used as widely in European cities as they are in the US. Supposedly some of the smaller towns may be a little harder to use a credit card but any major hotel, restaurant and store should take the credit card. A small shop of restaurant might not, but it is getting very rare.

Your bank may charge a small fee for using a foreign ATM (same as if you used a non-network ATM in the US) but this is less than exchanging money at a bank. If you don't make a lot of small withdrawals the fees are not a problem. In other words, take out the most you can or feel comfortable carrying each time you use your ATM card.

Your credit card will add 1-3%, depending on the card. Even at 3% the fee is usually less than using traveler's checks or a bank.

Have fun on your trip.

Thank you for the information. I had no idea that traveler's cheques were so passe.

My atm card is on plus, star and interlink systems. I will check with my bank to make sure that I don't need any additional codes. I had a problem using an ATM card in Australia some years ago.

Enjoylife,

In my experience, here's answers to your questions.

What things will I have to pay cash for?
-------------------------------------------
If you are off the beaten path (ie smaller towns/villages) in Ireland you may need cash for everything from B&Bs to gas (petrol) to lunch. It's good to know up front if you can pay for your B&B with a credit card. Often you can reserve your B&B with a cc but not pay for it with one. OR they will charge you a small fee for using a credit card since they may be charged this fee by the cc company.

Is it easy to exchange Traveler's Cheques for euros?
-------------------------------------------
We always bring a few TC with us and exchange them though we will do this at the larger banks when we hit a good sized town. The Bank Of Ireland or Irish Allied Banks are great for this and give you a good exchange rate - probably the best exchange rate around as far as exchanging money goes. Smaller places like shops or post offices in small town are usually more expensive in the fees. Do not exchange money at the airports unless you have to; they have the worst exchange rates.

Is it better to get the euros in Ireland or U.S.?
-----------------------------------------
Better to get Euros in Ireland. I've gotten them here before through a bank and it took a long time, a bunch of forms to fill out and the exchange rate was no better or worse.

Are there American Express offices in many locations in Ireland?
-----------------------------------------
According to my Frommer's Guide there are 2 AE offices in Ireland; one in Dublin (41 Nassau St, ph: 01/617-5597) and the other in Killarney (East Avenue Rd, ph: 066/35722). You can however report stolen TCs by calling 00-1-336-333-3211 (to the US) Having a photo copy of all your important documents is, needless to say, a must.

Any suggestions of how much U. S. $ I should change into Euros?
-------------------------------------------------
When we go we try to put as much as we can on the credit card. You get the best exchange rates this way. We bring our ATM cards but have not used them as we also bring about $500 in cash and about the same in Traveler's cheques. Of course we also go to Ireland for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. You will not need as much cash on hand if you are only going for, say, a week or 10 days.

If you are going to bring cash to exchange into Euros, do not bring many or mostly $100 bills. Some banks will not accept them due to conterfeiting. Bring smaller demoniations. I think that you can get away with no TCs if you'd like and just go with cash alone but I am a worrier and bring some myself. So if it makes you feel more comfortable to have TCs and exchange only what you need when you need it then I say Go For It!

Hope this helps some! Have a great time.

Wendy
[email protected]

Great info from everybody here. I quick note. The Shannon Airport ATM is notorious for being out of order. I have found it out and others have mentioned it also. If you are going towards Bunratty, there is and ATM there and there are ATMs in Ennis also. At last check, there were no ATMs in Doolin.

If you land in Dublin and following the M50 around, be sure to leave the airprt with euros in your pocket. Ireland's only toll booth is on that road and it can be a big problem to get there with no cash.

Bill

Bringing cash to exchange is just as expensive as bringing checks, and the riskiest way to carry money -- if you lose it, it is gone. When you exchange, you will pay through the nose, something like 5%.

The way to fly is to use a credit card for the big stuff, and ATM for everything else. If you want the comfort of a reserve supply of money on your body, take a few dollar denominated traveler's checks so you can easily convert the unused ones when you get back. Chances are you will not use any of them.

Interest rates are so low now, I just kept the few I have for an emergency.
They serve as a reserve over here as well.

The only time I was comforted to know I had the a reserve supply of money was on 9/12 when airplanes were stopped and I could not get home for a week. If everything else was being shut down, who knew what would happen to the banks?

In the end, I cashed none of the checks!
I just looked them fondly.

The only time using one of my checks was to my advantage was in the airport in Zurich immediately after arrival. My train was leaving shortly, I wanted to buy some items before boarding, and the bank aTM was not functioning.
The man in the window was happy enough to take his fee for cashing a $100 check, for about $5.00
I had enough spending money until I could get to a bank with an ATM that worked.

On the credit card, do not do what one friend of mine did. Turns out he did not know the difference between a credit card and an aTM card. All over Europe he stuck his credit card in the machine to get out spending money. Of course it was all treated as a cash advance at usurous rates of interest and fees.