SarSophie12

I'm leaving for an 11 day trip to Paris, the UK and Ireland. I'm taking a LOT of money with me and I do NOT want to carry all of it around and also don't want to pay a lot of fees for using a credit card or my Bank Of America card (though they have no ATM fees for Global ATM Alliance machines, they have a LOT of other fees). I found a prepaid MasterCard from Western Union that doesn't charge for anything. Only thing I'll have to pay is a 1.95 for ATM withdraw plus applications ATM operator fees. My concern: is Debit MasterCard as widely accepted in Paris, UK and Ireland as a Debit Visa? I will be carrying around *some* cash but I plan on using that only for food. It's an educational tour that I am going on with my friend who is a school teacher so we are mainly doing the tourist places but at night we plan on doing our own thing which is when I would be using the card. I can't find a prepaid Visa that is as good as this so does MasterCard carry the same acceptance as the Debit Visa?

jkbritt

Visa and Master card are accepted everywhere. American Express, not so much. Personally, I would take a body safe and take cash. No fees, no exchange rate, no withdrawl fee,etc. I get cash from my State Employee Cr. Union, at the daily rate, plus .50 for the letter to request it. Money comes in about a week.

Michel_Paris

NO NO NEIN NON NYET

The hidden charges and rules on those types of cards are attrocious.

Why are you taking a lot of money? An ATM withdrawal, with fees will be cheaper than getting GBP at home.

There is no reason whatsover to carry large amounts of cash, ecepting, maybe, to pay in full an apartment rental

My last trip to England I got on the plane with 0 pounds or dollars, used ATM everywhere, CC not at all

Michel_Paris

JK,

There is no way to take cash (not $) to europe and not pay fees. Banks/credit unions are not charities, they charge for foreign exchange. No fees means nothing, they simply give a poorer exchane rate.

Plus..the security risk of carrying large sums of money...

janisj

"<i>I can't find a prepaid Visa that is as good as this so does MasterCard carry the same acceptance as the Debit Visa? </i>"

Quit looking for a pre-paid card. They are generally much more expensive than a regular ATM card through your bank or credit union. I assume you use an ATM card at home -- take the same card on your trip . . .

kybourbon

>>>I found a prepaid MasterCard from Western Union that doesn't charge for anything.<<<

Prepaid cards typically have some of the worst rates and hidden fees. You have to buy the card, pay to load money on the card at a lousy exchange rate and pay to withdraw the money.

Use your regular ATM card from your bank or credit union to get cash when you get to Europe. Use your regular Master Card and Visa Card to charge things while you are in Europe (don't ever get cash with a credit card as it's considered a loan with high fees kicking in).

Here's a chart of fees charged by various banks/credit unions.
http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index...reign_Exchange

StCirq

<<I found a prepaid MasterCard from Western Union that doesn't charge for anything.>>

No you didn't. This is one of the worst deals around. Even worse is walking around with a load of cash.

Use an ATM debit card to get cash once you arrive. Use a credit card to pay for large purchases (and pay it off before interest accrues). If you belong to or can join a credit union, you'll get better rates than from a bank, but no matter what, an ATM card is the way to go.

Tony2phones

All you need is a visa/Mastercard issued by your local credit union. They give the best rates all round and there are more than enough ATM's.

qwovadis

Pre Paid travel cards usually have lots of fees and an atrocious exchange rate. Correct rate today is $1.32 per
euro www.coinmill.com Visa taken more widely than MC

No fee foreign VISA CC smust give you that by law.
capitalone.com Venture Visa double miles my fav generally but
Chase.com has a 62500 point deal for Sapphire CC
that is a good one 2. Recently cashed 2 of those in for
$625 each for my wife and myself.So Visa CC no foreign fee only for me.Back up USD in my money belt just in case

ricksteves.com lots of good newbie info

SarSophie12

I'm taking a large amount of cash because this will be the only time I'm going to Europe and I want to buy stuff to bring back w/ me that isn't a shot glass or key chain lol. I would just take my ATM card but since it's a prearranged tour I don't know if I'll be around an ATM that has an alliance with my bank. If I don't use an ATM that is in an alliance in my bank they will charge me with insane fees. I can't get a credit card from capitalone or chase (already tried that. I won't be carrying around ALL the money with me. What I don't take with me I will leave in the hotel room safe. I bought a Pac Safe purse which is like Fort Knox to get in to. The only way someone can steal my money is if I leave the purse just laying there. What is a body safe btw and where can I get one?

uhoh_busted

I have never had a problem finding an ATM that wasn't in Bank of America's network. You should be able to find out which banks to look for in every city you are visiting before you leave when you call BofA to tell them you will be traveling to those locations out of the country. We used our debit card in restaurants with out a problem. Get several hundred euros out at a time when you visit the ATM to reduce the fees BofA charges. The nice thing about Europe is that they use the Euro most everywhere so you don't have to worry about too many different currencies, except maybe £ in the UK.

jent103

Taking all your money in cash is just asking for trouble, not to mention the fees to change dollars to pounds *and* euros. Unless things have changed very recently, Bank of America's alliance in the UK is with Barclays, and there are Barclays ATMs all over the place. It's like finding a BOA ATM here.

I use BOA and my international travel is infrequent enough that I haven't bothered with a Capitol One card or anything like that. I just use my debit card to make ATM withdrawals, at partner banks if possible (otherwise I think it was a $5/withdrawal fee last time I traveled), and use my regular Visa for everything else. There is an international conversion fee. It is not enough for me to stress over, and carrying hundreds or thousands of dollars' worth of cash would cause me a lot of stress. I try to get a decent amount of cash with each withdrawal for whatever I'll need.

For an 11-day trip where your main out-of-pocket costs will be souvenirs, the cost of the PacSafe purse will probably be as much or more than the combined total of your ATM and conversion fees.

Tony2phones

Great Blog on the subject of money

http://irelandyes.wordpress.com/2011...10-money-tips/

janisj

<B>SarSophie:</B> definitely DO NOT take all that cash -- really bad idea/dangerous, and not the least bit necessary.

And if you think you'll avoid fees that way, just wait until you see how much extra you pay to get those €€€ from your bank. (and IF you meant taking $$$, believe me, finding ATMs will be a LOT faster than trying to exchange currency.

A 'body safe' is just a money belt really . . .

PLEASE don't take a lot of cash (or any cash for that matter)

allisonm

Put the money in the bank and get a debit card. Why would anyone take cash? This sound "off" to me.

joday

If you are a first time traveler to Europe, it's kind of hard to wrap your head around the whole money exchange thing. Please take the advice of experience from janisj and Michael_Paris. I followed their expert advice several years ago on my first trip to Europe, and now that I've been back many times, I know they were spot on! Do some research on exchange rates. Have a great time and be safe...do not take tons of cash.

texasbookworm

I would assume that the students on the tour will also need to be accessing ATM's for their spending money. Any good tour director/guide will be helping the participants find ATM's as needed, including before leaving the airport perhaps. If you follow all the (good) advice above and just go with an ATM Debit card, remember these things: Be sure it's tied to a CHECKING not a savings account; be sure you know the pin and have used card successfully here before trying it overseas; and look into a credit union to set up an account as they often charge less for "stuff" than banks. When we travel, we take ATM cards from two accounts, one a bank and one a credit union, so that if for some reason we can't use one at a particular ATM we can probably use the other. You just look for the type (Cirrus, Plus, Pulse, etc.) of network for your card--the logos on the back--and find that type of ATM. Trying to figure out all the different fees and hidden charges and exchange rates and such can be daunting, but in general the cheapest way to get cash is to have an ATM card (from a credit union) account and withdraw a sizeable amount as soon upon arrival as you can (and then secure it safely). Don't get Euros or pounds before leaving the states, and don't take dollars with you planning to exchange them there. Just have dollars in your account/s available and let the ATM's do the exchanging for you. (for a fee of course but less than other options.)

kybourbon

>>>I would just take my ATM card but since it's a prearranged tour I don't know if I'll be around an ATM that has an alliance with my bank.<<<

What makes you think you will be somewhere to exchange the cash you take? ATM's are much more readily available than exchange businesses.

>If I don't use an ATM that is in an alliance in my bank they will charge me with insane fees.<<<

Those fees will be less and the exchange rate better than the fees and rates to exchange cash.

daveesl

I'll jump on the don't bring a ton of cash or get a pre-paid bandwagon. I have been traveling in Europe for a very long time and to be honest I cannot think of anyplace I've been that doesn't have ATMs. From little Irish villages, to almost every corner in Rome. Firenze may be one of the few places I've seen that has maybe more of the rip-off currency exchanges than ATMs, but then the American students in Florence are crazy anyway (ha ha), but there were still a ton of ATMs. If you work with any decent bank, they will be part of a global ATM network.

Oh and another negative on pre-exchanging money. Say you have your bank get you 1,000 euros which would cost you maybe 1,380 dollars where the ATM rate might be 1,320 dollars. You also get whacked on the return exchange, where you give up 1,000 euros and only get back maybe 1,200 dollars (or less), so that double-ended transaction just cost you about $160.

dave

SarSophie12

Yeah taking cash wasn't my first choice at all. It was just a last resort. The reason I was thinking prepaid was because the EF Tours had their own prepaid card that my friend said students in the past used. Unfortunately, EF Tours isn't offering the card anymore until after I leave lol. She was going to get the card too but now is just taking cash and storing it in the hotel safe. I really didn't want to carry a lot of cash so from reading everyone replies; the ATM is the best way to go even if I have to use an ATM that isn't a Barclays or Paribas and pay the $5.00 fee. I'll bring some cash with me though but probably just 200 euro and 200 GBP. I'd really rather not deal with cash at all (thus the beauty of getting a prepaid card) because if I don't use it all by the end of the trip I have to exchange it (like Daveesl stated) but I don't see any way of getting out of that.