Is it best to purchase Euros in the U.S or in the European airport? We're traveling to Spain in November. Thank you.

Use an ATM at the airport for the best deal.

Check with your bank beforehand that your card will be enabled for use in Spain. I understand that different banks have different terms for use of ATM cards for forex and that some impose a fee per transaction, which means it might be better to make fewer and larger withdrawals.

Hi

I avoid currency exchanges at an airport. I would purchase Euros in the US. Check your bank for rates etc. Your bank may even allow you to order currencies online.

This question is asked at least on a weekly basis: Type 'Purchasing euros' into the search function at the top of the page, hit 'Search', and then scroll through the posts that appear on the left hand side of the page.

The exchange rate in the United States is really bad. For this reason, I'd buy roughly $100 worth of Euros over here as an emergency backup and rely on ATM's while in Europe. If you plan on going to Europe again, I'd keep your Euros when you get back to the States rather than exchanging them.

While on the subject of purchasing euros, one silly question : do the euros issued by various countries all look the same, or do they look different? I hope you do not have to exchange the euros issued by say France, when you enter Spain? Have not been to Europe since the Euro started, so just wondering.

http://googolplex.cuna.org/12433/ajs...tml?doc_id=771

Each coin shows a common design on the front. On the reverse the coins show images that represent the country in which the coin was made, or minted.

Euro notes come in denominations of five, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500. Unlike the different coins, all 13 countries print the exact same notes.

Both coins (from whatever country they originate) and notes can be used in all the Euro-countries.

We always purchase Euros at our bank before leaving, then withdraw from an ATM once we're running short. We prefer to have money when we arrive and don't necessarily want to depend on the ATM at the airport or finding one near our hotel.

If you want some Euros to have on hand prior to departure (we did) call your bank well in advance and see about ordering them. They usually must have them ordered through a special department. I work in a bank and you'd be surprised how many people just show up expecting to take the Eruros away n the spot and then are frustrated because they are not available instantly. We got ours delivered to the bank, in 1 day.

This is obviously a confusing subject to many of us, for good reasons. I will be in Italy this fall, and will bring my ATM card to make withdrawls. I'll notify my bank in advance of my travels, and raise my withdrawl limit if necessary.
The tricky part is we rented an apt. for which we have to have $1100 euros upon arrival. I still don't know what I"ll do about that. I could exchange $$ for the apt. payment before travelling and incur the bank's fee in addition to the already poor exchange rate. Or, take my chances with an ATM once I arrive. But what if there's a problem with one or more of our cards and I can't get the apt. $$ that day?
That's the risk. Still haven't decided what I'll do....

I like to bring enough Euros for the first day or so from the US. It's one less thing to do when you land.

Then refresh your cash from ATMs. But make sure that your ATM card is on a system used in Spain. Your bank or card issuer will know.

We just got back from a vacation in Spain so I can give you good advice.

The cabs/taxis do not take credit, and we were unable to find an ATM in the airport, so we recommend at a minimum carrying enough Euros to cover the taxi ride to the hotel and your first 2 or 3 days expenses.

Even if there are ATMs in the airport, they may not be easily accessible to where your landing gate/terminal is, and I'm sure after a long international flight, you don't want to be hauling tons of luggage around looking for an ATM so you can afford a taxi.

Make your life easier and change around 300-400 Euros in the US.

Also realize that many shops do not take credit, so don't rely on using credit for shopping. All restaurants take credit, however.

You can tell which country (including the UK!)printed the notes from the code letter but otherwise they are identical. http://tinyurl.com/2bavjh
It is always interesting to see where your coins come from - here in Holland we seem to get mainly German and French in addtion to the Dutch ones. Rarely get Belgian ones - I guess that just proves that the Dutch drive really do straight through Belgium on their way to somewhere else, as the Belgians are always complaining of.

dperry - We were in the same boat last May re paying for an apartment in Rome in advance. I emailed the rental agency to see if they'd take travelers checks in euros, they said yes, and that solved the problem.

Hi dp,

>The tricky part is we rented an apt. for which we have to have $1100 euros upon arrival. I still don't know what I"ll do about that.<

As noted, see if the renter will take TCs. This is expensive, however.

You could have your bank raise your daily limit for the day you want to withdraw 1100E.

You and your spouse should each have an ATM card.

You could then have your bank raise your daily limit to 600E and extract 1200E on 2 cards.

You could open another account, have 2 cards on each account and withdraw 1200E on one day with a daily limit of 300E.