Paris exchange rate / bank fees, need help!
 

Quick question about bank fees in Paris. I need to come up with 1200 euros at the end of our week in Paris to give to the owner of the apartment in Barcelona the next day. We were wondering what the best way to do this was. I prefer not to carry that much cash, so I don't want to get in here in the States before we leave and then have to worry about it for a week.

So my two choices are:
1. Withdraw a little bit each day off of our credit card by ATM, so that we are in Paris so that by the end of the week we will have 1200.

2. Buy traveler's cheques here in the amount of 1200 and take it to the bank in Paris and cash it the day before we fly to Spain.

What I am trying to determine is which one is cheaper? The credit card charges 3% to withdraw off the ATM and gives the best exchange rate. I also know that the banks charge a percentage to cash money orders too, does anyone know if it's more than 3%. How is the exchange rate at the bank compared to off a USA based credit card?

I like to use the credit card for the miles, but if it's cheaper to cash a TC at the bank, that would be SO much more convenient than having to remember to go to the ATM every day. Also, if we max our credit card withdrawl limit each day we might cut into our daily spending money.

Any thoughts? Anyone use traveler's cheques anymore? I always thought this was an antiquated method these days, but the apartment owner suggested it?

Any advice is appreciated.

Every debit or ATM card I know of gets better rates than TCs (some of them <u>far</u> better). Some of the card issuers don't even charge any markup on the currency exchange. Mine (Schwab Investor Checking) doesn't, and it rebates any fees charged by the ATM I choose. It also absorbs the 1% International Service Assessment charged by the networks.

The net effect of all of this is that it doesn't cost me anything <i>at all</i> to get cash when I travel.

Many French banks, with the euro, don't change money anymore IME - not sure about Paris but you may have to change checks at the train station or streetside Change booths that pay dismal rates and can charge for each cheque cashed.

Not sure but do more investigation about how to cash cheques without a seriously low rate - even in banks you'd get a much lower rate than the ATM

I'd let your local bank know that you need to get that many euros out of the ATM and i believe your local bank can arrange to up your normally daily limit of $250 or so so you would not have to do it every day

You could also investigate having a major bank in the U.S. wire the money into the bank account of the Barcelona apt owner

Giulia,

You wrote &quot;Withdraw a little bit each day off of our credit card by ATM, &quot;.

I want to verify that you meant to write &quot;Withdraw a little bit each day off of our debit/ATM card associated with our checking account at home.&quot;

You do NOT want to get money from an ATM with a CREDIT card. Such a withdrawal will be considered a loan and you will be assessed a high finance charge as soon as you make the withdrawal--no grace period.

I've paid large expenses before using bank drafts. In my case I mailed the draft.

Essentially a &quot;cheque&quot; that is in euro, drawn from a bank in Paris. My bank happened to use Societe Generale as its french clearing bank. No fee for the person to cash, and only cashable by that person. Cost for me was ~$7.

I cash traveler's checks in Paris all of the time. Have been cashing them at the AmExp office on the rue Scribe(across from the old opera house) since the 70s. I was just in Paris in March and cashed them there again.
I'm aware that most people prefer using an ATM card. I'm one that prefers not to. One reason is that my bank charges $5.00 per transaction and there are other reasons that I don't care to go into.
As for cashing traveler's checks at AmExp, in Paris, the exchange rate isn't all that bad...not nearly as bad as some make it out to be. I got a quite decent exchange rate in March. I posted this info on one of the threads. You can do a search and maybe can find it.

Now, if you're nervous about the exchange rate, then you can use the ATM card. But, I'd also take the traveler's check,too....just in case there's a problem with the plastic...like the machine eats the card, the machine doesn't work, or the card is declined for some reason, or fraud has been committed on the card...I won't even go into that one.
I could have been stranded in Bangkok last summer on a declined piece of plastic...credit union cash card/Visa that doesn't charge exchange fees. Thailand happened to be on the high fraud list which my credit union didn't tell me even though I told them...was there in PERSON... that I was going to Bangkok and they had even okayed the card to be used there. But, thank goodness I had lots of cash, traveler's checks...which are very easy to cash there, my ATM/check card issued at my bank in that country and a credit card. So, I was able to pay my rent.

For me personally, using traveler's checks in Paris, is headache free. I like to cash most of my money at the beginning of my 7-8 day stay and not have to worry about it the rest of the stay. I also take along a credit card for big purchases. And on the last trip, I actually did take along the credit-union ATM card in case of a dire emergency, but never used it.
Happy Travels!

the trouble to me with cashing all you money for the week at once upon arrival means you have to carry around a large sum of cash

But yes the AMEX may well pay better rates - used to be they did not charge commission on their own cheques but not sure about now

Hi GP,

&gt;Withdraw a little bit each day off of our credit card by ATM,

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

That is a loan and will cost you.

If you have a DEBIT/ATM card, that is ok.

It will be cheaper than cashing USD TCs or buying Euro TCs.

((I))

Pay for anything you can however with a Credit Card as in most cases it seems these days you will get a better bottom line rate than with an ATM

it depends on what you local bank charges you and what your credit card charges for for foreign transactions - call each and ask and then compare which is the better to use - credit card or cash from the ATM

I limit my credit card use to large vendors like department stores, rail, air, and hotel.

Reason: the fewer &quot;mom &amp; pop&quot; stores you entrust it to, the less exposure to fraudulent use.

Are there many Amex offices around Paris?

only one that i know of - opposite the Opera rue Auber i believe

I am calling the AMEX office in my town to find out what fees are involved, I will post any info for anyone else.

I see there are many AMEX exchange offices in CDG, in both arrivals and departures, so that's great if AMEX turns out to be the best option.

I totally agree about the mom and pop shops, in Italy some little shops still print your entire credit card number on the receipt!

The only AMEX office I know about in Paris is the one on rue Scribe opposite the Op&eacute;ra.

AMEX offices in CDG? Really?

It says &quot;American Express Foreign Exchange Services&quot; is that not the same thing?

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 2B - Customs Zone
Paris , France 95741 +33 (0) 1 48 164 840

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 2E - Arrivals
Paris , France 95741 +33 (0) 1 48 166 381

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 2E - Arrivals (near terminal F)
Paris , France 95741 +33 (0) 1 48 166 381

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1 - Transfer level - Satellite 3
Paris , France 95713 +33 (0) 1 48 161 326

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1 - Arrivals - Customs Zone - Exit 34
Paris , France 95713 +33 (0) 1 48 161 326

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1 - Arrivals - Customs Zone Carrousel 16
Paris , France 95713 +33 (0) 1 48 161 326

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1 - Arrivals - Customs Zone - Exit 2
Paris , France 95713 +33 (0) 1 48 161 326

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1 - Arrivals - Public Zone - Gate 16
Paris , France 95713 +33 (0) 1 48 161 326

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 1 - Departures - Public Zone - Gate 10
Paris , France 95713 +33 (0) 48 161 326

American Express Foreign Exchange Services Paris Airport - Roissy Charles de Gaulle
Terminal 2A - Departures - Public Zone - Gate 5
Paris , France 95741 +33

As I previously posted, the AmExp office is on rue Scribe, across from the old Opera house. For me it's very convenient to go there as I can take a direct bus there from the 6th where I stay. Plus, it's less than a half block from Galerie Layfayette's Maison store and a block from Galleries Layfayette and Printemps department stores where I go on each trip to window shop anyway.

As for carrying a lot of cash around, I don't. I get my money, put it in a money belt, and then when I get back to where I'm staying just lock it in my safe. This system has been working fine for me, almost annually, and for over 3 decades and without any problems. And it doesn't leave me plastic dependent and having to keep track of ATM expenditures...which personally for me is...priceless. Happy Travels!

Ok, I just got the scoop. I can go to AMEX here in my town, buy 1200 euro's worth of TC's for a 1% currecny conversion fee. There's no &quot;per cheque fee&quot; on top of that it's just the 1%.

Then, it's SO perfect, we can cash the TC's at any of the AMEX offices at CDG, right before we get on the plane to go to Barcelona for no additional fee.

Problem solved! That's so much better to me than carting around that much cash or having to deal with ATM's. And heaven forbid it get lost or stolen, then I wouldn't be in such a panic.

Hope this info can help someone else too!

GiuliaPiraino: The 1% fee isn't bad, but what exchange rate is AMEX giving you?

Get your daily limit raised by your bank at home first off. Make it, say $500 (350E) or maybe more. Anyway, get money in Paris the day or two before you go and the final amount in Barcelona. Maybe your bank (like BofA with Parabis ) doesn't charge a fee. As others have said, NOT a credit card--an ATM card.

I see on the Amex web site that I would have to pay $147.70 for 100&euro; if I ordered right now. Plus a $15 order fee and $5.95 for shipping. That adds up to $168.65

Today's exchange rate (what I would get at an ATM in Europe) is $1.38, so your AETC would cost you about $30 (about 21%) more than they should.

Traveler's Cheques are an idea whose time has gone.

I would imagine it's the going exchange rate since it's here in the U.S., even if it's a few points less, the convenience of being able to do it this way is unbeatable. I will have to call and see what they are giving for the USD today.

AMEX exchange rate as of today is 1 Euro = 1.40894 US Dollar

I am thrilled to see this so low, when my husband was in Ireland it was over $1.65 and that was only a couple of months ago!

Hooray for US travelers!

Just as a matter of interest: where is that rate posted? I went in through americanexpress.com/travellerscheques/ and clicked &quot;Order now.&quot;

I'm confused when someone says willing to pay more for Amex TCs because so convenient...but is there anything more convenient than an ATM machine? &quot;Having to deal with an ATM?&quot;...explain, please?

I agree with Michel Paris. I can't think of anything more painful than dealing with TCs.

I was going to ask for a comparison of the relative hassle between:

o Obtaining traveler's cheques (by whatever means necessary)
o Signing them
o Finding a place to cash them (I'm not always in the vicinity of Rue Scribe)

- OR -

o Tapping any of a million ATMs wherever I am whenever I need to

Traveler's cheques are 19th century - their usurious expense aside.

I would not want to carry tons of money around - cash in Paris and especially street crime ridden Barcelona.

Get TCheques in euros and either send them ahead to Barcelona thing or give them to them when you arrive - if they are in euros the place should take them.

I just checked the AMEX website and it shows $1.45 per euro. My ATM rate today would be 1.38 plus 1% or 1.394.

So the AMEX rate for TCs costs an extra 4% plus any &quot;convenience&quot; fee. About $68 more for 1200 euros, plus any AMEX fee. The extra won't break the bank, but why pay it? ATMs are easy to use.

I've used AMEX TCs in the past, so I understand how they were convenient, in their day.

Now, when I travel, I don't want to have to plan being somewhere, during business hours, where I can get eonugh money for the next few days. Assuming you are not wanting to carry mch money around, you coudl possibly need to make more than one trip to an AMEX office.

I'm touring, I'm not interested in having to make a side trip, to rue Scribe or elsewhere just to get money.

I'm walking down the street, realize I need money so I stop at the next bank machine and take out a couple of hundred euro. And I won't have to search for a machine. They're as common as back home. They take several of my bank cards. Language is not an issue.

Why pay more and need to make a detour when you can pay less and never detour?

According to my local AMEX office, there's no fee to buy the TC's just a 1% conversion fee.

There's also no fee to cash them if they are AMEX TC's cashed at and AMEX office.

Too me it's less hassle to cash TC's right at the airport before getting on the plane. I don't prefer to carry that mush cash around.

Also, I'd like to use the ATM's for my daily cash.

To me, IMO, since this 1200 is for Barcelona a week after Paris, it makes no sense to cart around all the cash in Paris, when I can just cash the TC's right before getting on the plane, hand them over to the apartment owner 3 hours later and be done with it!

RufusTFirefly, I'm not sure where you got the $68 fees from, my local office said if I just walk in, there's no other fee other than the 1% conversion. Maybe that's a fee to order online?

As far as it being a few points off between withdrawing from the ATM and the TC's, we're talking about a couple cents on the dollar. For the convenience of doing 1 transaction at the airport vs. multiple ATM transactioins, I'd glady pay a few extra dollars for the convenience. That's just me though. I realize everyone has different opinions.

Thanks for everyones help and advice!

Michel-Paris: I see your point and I agree, totally, I wouldn't want to have to go out of my way either. But, since the AMEX office is right in our departing terminal, and we usually have a bit of time to kill anyway before boarding, I'm just thrilled that this option is available. If it were any other scenario, or if the airport terminal offices weren't around, I would absolutely agree that ATMs are the way to go!

GiuliaPiraino - After you buy your Euro TCs at your local AMEX office, could you please come back and tell us how much you paid for them?

Based on what you wrote, you are implying that IF you go to the AMEX office in person, they will give you a better exchange rate than what they sell via their website (a 4% markup). I'm surprised to see that.

I guess anyone could give misinformation on the phone, it happens all the time. It would be worth another phone call to confirm. I'll let you know.

I'd be interested in the final cost also...fees AND exchange rate differential (i.e. rate versus what you'd pay at ATM).

Unless AMEX has registered as a charity, they are making money on the exchange rate.

For big payments, like an appartment, I still think a bank draft would be cheaper and as safe as carrying that large amount in TCs.

Have a nice trip!

Mike

PalenQ: The apartment owner wont take a TC, he will only take cash, so that's where the dilema came in. Luckily we were able to pay for the entire paris apartment by credit card.

Bank draft, bank draft, bank draft......SO much easier (and cheaper, unless AMEX is having a special promotion on euros, and that'll be the day...).

But do let us know what your experience is, and have a great trip!

Giulia, your mind is made up, so facts will only confuse you.

The easiest and cheapest way to transfer a large sum of money from one country to another is to deposit it in a separate checking account, and send the recipient an ATM card in the mail and its PIN in an email. If you plan this right, you can move into another currency with no foreign exchange markup.

I used to work at Amex. They make money on every dollar they touch. Your idea that you can buy TCs without a markup is a pipe dream.

StCirq: I tried to get them to let me do a bank wire, which I've always done to rent apartments in Italy, but no dice here. I was really bummed because we paid the deposit of 400 by credit card, I was so hoping to do the rest by credit card to get the best rate. I guess the credit card deposit was the agency's commission so they are two seperate things. :-(