Need large cash exchange in the U.S.
 

I leave in 10 days, and will need to take a 1200euro payment to the landlord for my apartment. I have been doing research on the board, and have read about the prevailing wisdom of bringing minimum cash and using ATM in Europe. However, I don't feel comfortable doing that because I can't take out more than $500 on the ATM plus if it doesn't work, it'll be awkward explaining my lack of $$$ to the landlord.

Anyhow....for those of you with experience: what's the best of the worst? My bank account? Bank of America (I have their Visa card - not sure if I can even use) - AAA (I'm a member) - AMEX (not a member) - or someone mentioned Wells Fargo overnight shipping? Any other choices/thoughts?

YOUR HELP WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED!! Thanks in advance.

I would just exchange US$ for Euros in the US right now and bring it with you. You will probably not get as favorable an exchange rate as if you withdrew from an ATM straight into Euros, but IMO any exchange rate "loss" will be a wash with the cost of overnight cash shipping, the % Visa will charge you, wiring yourself money via Western Union, buying traveler's checks or another method if you really think you won't be able to get that much cash out of a European ATM. You could also just bring it in US Dollars and exchange it at a bank in Europe, you may get a slightly better exchange rate in Europe.

1200 isn't a huge amount to carry in cash - though if you are concerned, just get it in travellers cheques and change it when you get over.

You're there for an entire week, right? I can't see why a landlord would be unwilling to "hold" your $1500 (USD) in cash (American dollars), while you withdraw the euro from an ATM over a series of days. But maybe you don't want to carry around a lot of cash.

As others have said, you could simply get the euro before leaving and mentally factor itinto the cost of the rental - - if it's $1600 instead of $1500, is it going to ruin your trip or make/break your budget - - most likely not. Still, if you can save $100, I would likely do it.

Best wishes,

Rex

Hi G,

>I can't take out more than $500 on the ATM ...<

Ask your bank to raise your daily limit.

You could even have them raise your daily limit on a given day.

You might have to go to more than one ATM machine, as they usually limit you to about 300E per transaction and might not have 1200E when you get there.

You could also ask your landlord to hold a check for $1450 while you collect the euros.

Today's rate is $1.18/E.

((I))

The daily limit is the lower of your bank's limit and the Italian bank's limit.

Presumably €1200 is the rental for the whole week, not just a deposit, isn't it ? We've certainly withdrawn at least 2 x €300 from Italian ATMs in one day; so couldn't you pay half on arrival and half later if you can't get any more ?

>The daily limit is the lower of your bank's limit and the Italian bank's limit.<

The banks in Italy don't care how much you withdraw as long as your home bank accepts the transaction.

There will be a maximum per transaction, but as long as there is money in the machine you can keep taking it out.

((I))

Sorry, Ira, but that's not my understanding - and I do work for a European bank.

Hi CE,

On our last visits to Italy and to France I found ATMs that had a max as low as 200E. Since my bank's daily limit was higher than that, I made two or more transactions from the same machine.

Perhaps it was a different bank?

Perhaps the banks had a higher daily limit than my bank?

((I))

Hi Gam

This reminds me.

Open another account. Get another ATM card.

Ask the bank(s) to raise your daily limit to 600E ($750).

Take out 1200E in 2 transactions.

If the bank won't raise your daily limit, open 2 new accounts.

I have 2 accounts, one of which I use only for travel.

((I))

My wife & I both have ATM cards with different account numbers on the cards for the same checking account. Our limit is $500 each -- so, that's $1,000 per day.

Additionally, it would be cheaper to take a cash advance on your credit card thru the ATM and then pay it off immediately when you return to the States. The interest will be "peanuts" compared to the cost of obtaining Euros in the States with all the fees/lousy conversion rates.

I think that might be your cheapest alternatives. ((b))

Brilliant! I had an AHA moment when Rex and several others mentioned bringing the cash in dollars, and worst case scenario, the landlord can hold the dollar quantity while I run around looking for an ATM machine. SMART! I'll be in the Jardins de Luxembourg area, so there must be oodles of banks to choose from either northwest of where I'm staying (St. Germain) or south (Montparnasse)

Also the suggestion about opening a new bank account -- Husband could belong to a credit union - we've been on the fence about doing that. Well, this tips the balance. Having an extra ATM card would be good. I wonder if they have a better exchange rate/ATM fees...Ive read here that some people found that to be the case.

Finally, I will call my bank today to cajole (or threaten) them into raising my ATM limit to the max. Hey, it's my money, I should be able to take out as much as I want, right?

Thank you...this was so helpful!! I'll be swinging a few other questions your way before I go....

Don't give up if the bank customer service agent you talk to on the phone says they can't raise your limit. They often give incorrect info. You can go into the local branch and they will do it for you.

Just got back from Italy where we rented an apartment and needed the balance of 1,000 in Euro's when we arrived. We bought the Euro's through our bank in the US (within 2 days) and brought them with us. We then used the ATM for Euro's upon arrival for spending money.

By the way, our bank only charged us the exchange rate for the day and no extra fees.

Agreed, Ira, there are many possible combinations. But I believe that both the customer's bank and the 'host' bank can (but may not) apply both a transaction limit and a daily limit. Not even getting into unusual patterns of use... :-)

Another idea,

Most major US banks have cooperating agreements with one or two european banks. Call your bank and ask for the name of the coop/affiliated bank in country X, ask about the transaction costs.

If you do the transaction 'over the counter', then it is outside of an ATM limits etc.

I'm not sure what the cost/exchange rate will be, but it's worth a look:

<b>http://www.foreignmoney.com/Drafts/InternationalMoneyOrder.aspx</b>

maybe it will work for you.

Why not go to AAA and get the traveler's checks in Euros for the amount of rent you need-they are usually free if you are a member. Then open the ATM account at your husband's credit union. My mantra is ALWAYS have TWO different ATM accounts and TWO different credit cards when traveling overseas. Reason-theft,overspending on one and the one thing that always seems to happen on a trip...the machine spits out the card and won't work.

AAA travelers checks in euro are definitely not &quot;free&quot; if you are a member. They charge a percentage over the official exchange rate to make a profit when you get them in euro. It is quite high (at least 7% as I recall). They are free if you get them in USD.

Can't you just get a cashier's check made out from your bank? I would never carry around that much cash myself, but I know the odds of anything happening are slim. Even if you can't get your bank to get one made out in euro (and I think they need some affiliation with a european bank to do that), you could have this landlord hold that check while you got ATM cash, and then just give it back to you. I get cashier's checks free from my bank, but I have a premium account.