capital one direct banking online only offers an ATM card with accounts. I have told all my traveling family to put some dollars intheir moneymarket account. Then use the ATM all over Europe and China and Asia with no fees whatsoever. You can get checks also for the account if you need those. I have used this method for years to pay apartment rentals etc.

Ah yes...the French ATM strike. Of course, what happened is the metro began taking credit cards for single tickets, everybody waived minimum charge amounts and if this should happen again, you simply take a few crisp US $20 bills and exchange at the change booth in the airport. Not an overwhelming problem.

But then again, everybody is entitled to their own opinion on this.

Best way to handle money.

Pay for as much as you can with cash. We leave from Venice today after two months, and have put nothing on our credit cards.

Obtain cash using a debit card at an ATM.

Operate a Euro denominated bank account of some sort.

Peter...Just curious. Why do you feel that way? Perhaps, I'm guessing from your posting name you're from the Land of Oz and may have a different view on this....but using cash is becoming more and more obsolete (I'm not saying it's like that movie where you have a life timer built into yourself and must never let it get to 0 or your existence is terminated but...

1. Cash must be continuously obtained or else you have to walk around with a lot of it something very tempting to thieves.

2. From a merchant's vie point, cash can disappear in the sticky fingers of employees.

3. Cash transaction take longer.

4. Cash passes through many hands and can be dirty (well I suppose credit cards can too but not as many).

Of course, as I said earlier, you're entitled but I most respectfully disagree.

>>.but using cash is becoming more and more obsolete<<

That <i>entirely</i> depends on which country(s) you are talking about. Does not apply everywhere - not even to all of western Europe . . . .

Correction noted and logged as Captain Kirk would say...it is a bit of an over generalization but it does apply in most touristy type places at least in Western Europe although a bit less so in some countries!

IME it is all too easy on holiday to lose track of your spending if you stick it all on the credit card - the act of having to go to the ATM reminds one of how much us being spent.

OTOH for paying a hotel bill or for a dinner for several people, it's very useful. AND if you're spending more than £50 you get the c/car company's guarantee which may be worth having.

There is one other thing to consider on whether or not walk around Europe with just 50 cents or so in your pocket. How would you have liked to be in Cyprus a couple of months ago when the ATMs were either shut off, out of money, or else had day-long lines to get money?

We all know that the economy of Greece is a basket case and soon it will be like Cyprus. We all know that Slovenia, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, among others are in dire straights. I just wouldn't want to be in these countries with no currency and no way of getting any.

I realize that many of you believe that housing prices will never decline and that ATM machines all over the world will always be full of cash with no line or problems. You are welcome to believe these things. But I personally think these is a chance, however small, of economic problems while on vacation, and just think it prudent to have some Euros on hand.

You can convert this to mathematical equation if you wish. Certainly the risk-cost should be added to any foreign exchange fee that exits on an ATM card, or to zero for those having no-fee cards.

annhig...Assuming you are from the USA but you can substitute your own country, what would happen if the ATM's in the USA ceased to work due to some unfortunate thing for a brief period. What would you do at home?

Everything can happen and again let me emphasize you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I respect it but what you are suggesting, in mot places, is kind of rare, n'est ce pas, and doesn't go into my thinking on this.

Of course, if it should happen for a lengthy period of time at home, god help us all!

And I don't walk around with 50¢ in my pocket...looking in my wallet right now, I see I have $12, €15 and £10 with a whole bunch of coins in different envelopes. So I'm ready!

xyz123,

The United States can print currency with wild abandon. It might cause some pretty terrible things but it's not going to cause the kind of banking crisis facing much of Europe.

Following the Cypress bailout it was made clear that any future bailouts might involve seizing money from peoples savings accounts. This applies especially to Spain, Italy, Portugal, Hungary, Slovenia, and a few other countries. So when people are faced with even the possibility of money being snatched out of their savings they will rush, rush, rush to the ATM to get out as much as they can. That's what happened in Cyprus.

I agree the chances of any of this happening while one is on vacation is very small. But there is a tendency to underestimate systemic risk. That's why the world economy is in such a shambles today. The risk is real. If you ignore the risk the chances are you will get away with it just fine. But the cost to insure against this risk by getting a little cash up front at low cost is negligible.

xyz: >>annhig...Assuming you are from the USA <<

Nope - she lives in Cornwall.

FHurdle - all your what if's still don't make carrying huge amounts of cash a good idea.

Definition of "huge amount" please.

Janisj...thank you didn't read through the whole thing....

Peter...anything more than $10 or £10 or €10 to me is a huge amount!

annhig...Assuming you are from the USA but you can substitute your own country, what would happen if the ATM's in the USA ceased to work due to some unfortunate thing for a brief period. What would you do at home?>>

as jj says i live in Cornwall in the UK not that i really see the relevance of where I live to the point you make, which I have to confess that I don't really understand. I'm not saying that I won't use c/cards [or indeed a debit card] if I have to, but my preference is for a combination of cash and c/cards as set out above.

and I can tell you what happens if ATMs stop working, as it's happened in the UK twice recently:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...failure-outage

chaos and outrage in equal quantities.

which is why it's a good idea to have a variety of means of obtaining and spending money available when you travel.

because, just to make it clear, you can't bring with you all the cash you're likely to need on anything but the shortest trip, which means that you HAVE to use an ATM/credit card eventually.

don't you?

FHurdle, I like your thinking, it was interesting to see the various reactions
1) in the UK, despite warranty from the government, some people queued around the block, but most stayed home and there was no problem
2) in Cyprus the government just closed the banks and set a daily limit on individuals withdrawing money. It worked ok

The interesting thing was Cyprus tried to take money from people's bank under the Euro100k mark. This was soon stopped by the EU who pointed out that level is the standard safe deposit within the EU. This also explains why so many Europeans have so many bank accounts (100k here, 100k there etc). What of course is not see is how much of the money staying everyone's accounts is being devalued by the QE, still we hope to see that in the next 4 years as they unwind QE though I suspect Japan will be a more exciting crash before then). As a wise man once said, "don't hold any assets in things that the government can print".

Glass beads anyone?

ann...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to offend you or anything like that. When discussing things like banking regulations and credit cards, I almost always add that phrase as banking regulations are different throughout the world. Until very recently, just as an example, US banking regulations prohibited merchants from adding surcharges to credit card purchases (although cash discounts are allowed) and prohibited merchants from setting minimum charge thresholds (as a slap in the face of consumers, these protections were taken away a few years ago). Banking regulations in other countries did not have these consumer protections. Perhaps you did mention earlier you were not from the USA. If so, I lost track of it. Please forgive.

ann...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to offend you or anything like that. When discussing things like banking regulations and credit cards, I almost always add that phrase as banking regulations are different throughout the world>>


of course you didn't offend me, xyz. I was just puzzled, as you can't take all the cash you'll need on any trip, therefore you HAVE to have some means of getting more.

Even a brit can't be insulted by someone wrongly thinking they are american.

So one advantage that doesn't seem to have been mentioned here for using credit cards is frequent flyer points. My Chase United card gives me 2 points per $ on hotels and car rentals and 1 point per $ on everything else. That adds up, and contributes to the airfare for the next trip!

We arrived in Venice with a few hundred euros, retained from a previous trip. We had a few plastic ATM cards between us. We hit ATMs for 500 euro at a time, and depending on which card we used, we incurred a 2 euro fee (ANZ Bank Travel Card) or no fee (Citibank).

Paid for everything with cash - I don't have a problem carrying several hundred euro in cash. Sometimes you will receive a dsicount for paying with cash, and in Italy we see far fewer credit card transactions than we do in Australia.

We did not use credit cards at all (exception being vending machines for rail tockets).
I don't worry about cash being dirty. So are handrails on bridges, door knobs, all sorts of things are dirty.
If employees of a trader pilfer cash, that's not my problem.
Paying with cash is quick, once you are familiar with the currency and the coinage. There's no risk of skimming with cash.

Merchants have to pay the fee that Visa charge for a credit card transaction. It's probably not much for large organisations, like hotel chains. But for small traders, it will hit their margins - so many traders in Italy do not accept credit cards. There's no good reason why a trader should lose part of their margin just for my convenience - and I like the concept of completing a transaction by handing over currency, rather than transferring a debt to a credit card company. Also, if I buy something for 300 euro, and pay cash, I know exactly what it has cost me.But if I put it on a credit card, I don't know for sure, because I can't be sure of the exchange rate used.

Peter_S_Aus - If you're more comfortable with cash I totally get it - but personally I like to maximize my travel dollar as much as possible - it allows me to travel more, and therefore patronize more traders in the long run. Win, win.

Also, the exchange rate used is precisely the rate on the day - same as when you withdraw cash (assuming a card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees). I always have a smart phone with me so finding out the current exchange rate is always a few seconds away - but I rarely bother - mostly the changes aren't that large from day to day, and you have no control over them anyway.

Schwab Bank High Yield Checking--reimburses all ATM withdrawals no matter where, no foreign transaction fee.

Chase Sapphire Preferred--no foreign transaction fee. Many other travel benefits including 20% off airfare booked through Ultimate Rewards site (did it myself for upcoming Spain trip and saved $220--pays for the 2nd and 3rd year when they charge for the card.) Spend $3000 in first three months and get 40,000 points toward travel booked through their site ($500 toward another trip say). I don't work for them, by the way.

I have not read through all so I hope I am not repeating something that was already said. I thought you'd like to hear about my past experience with carrying no euros from home (US). I arrived in Paris and had to withdraw euros to pay my transport to the hotel. ALL the ATM machines were out of commission because of a strike.

mibrownidgirl: >>ALL the ATM machines were out of commission because of a strike.<<

No big deal really. In the eventuality of something like that . . step a few feet over to an exchange bureau and buy enough € to get you by for the day. It will cost more than the ATM would have, but is still usually cheaper than buying € back home.

mibrownidgirl... thanks for that info. I'm heading to Paris tomorrow, ATM cards in hand, as well as $$ to exchange! You've helped to make a point here, that relying totally on ATMs is not being realistic! Be prepared with other options!! Use the hotel safe, if available, if you don't want to walk around with lots of money. Oh, and I've also got a good supply of euros left over from my March trip!

<< It will cost more than the ATM would have, but is still usually cheaper than buying € back home.>>

Not likely, although in an emergency, I think you just do what gets you by. But it probably will cost you more at the airport as they have very high markups (usually 10-12 pct). And banks in the US often charge 7 pct to get you foreign currency. I know a few people have said their banks charge less than that, but I think that is typical. But airports are usually more, if you are counting every percentage.

Most banks where I live charge up to 10% PLUS a fee. So the Exchange bureau would very likely be cheaper. But I don't play the 'what if' game. If I hear a strike is planned I might buy a few €/£ in advance. But probably not. Except for having to pay cash for a flat on arrival, one can manage just about everywhere w/ credit cards if necessary.

Don't know about the rest of Europe, but the B&Bs we use in Ireland much prefer cash and many don't take credit cards at all. Even those who do, I pay in cash as a courtesy to them so that they don't have to pay the credit card fees.

My bank, a local of many years' standing (well over 100 years in same spot; we have been customers for 37 years), uses the interbank rate and charges only $1 per withdrawal from a foreign ATM. Cost me $8 last trip, or a dollar per day.

While preparing for the trip I prepaid some tour costs and lodging at Trinity College, and Citibank shut down my MasterCard; very embarrassing at the grocery store. At least I know the Fraud Department is on its toes.

The only place I used the credit card on the actual trip was to purchase some overpriced burgers at the Toronto Airport. They would have taken American dollars but I wasn't inclined to go into my emergency bra wallet stash.

>>Don't know about the rest of Europe, but the B&Bs we use in Ireland much prefer cash and many don't take credit cards at all. Even those who do, I pay in cash as a courtesy to them so that they don't have to pay the credit card fees. <<

I always pay B&Bs in cash too. But . . you don't pay a B&B when you check in, you pay them when you check out. So one would generally have lots of opportunities to get cash in time.

>>My bank, a local of many years' standing (well over 100 years in same spot; we have been customers for 37 years), uses the interbank rate and charges only $1 per withdrawal from a foreign ATM.<<

That is very unusual. Now my credit union doesn't charge me for withdrawals . . . but they also don't sell foreign currency. But w/ good terms like it seems you can get, it makes more sense to get some currency ahead of time. That doesn't work for most people.

It certainly happens that all ATMs in a destination might not work on a given day, though it's exceedingly rare. So that in itself doesn't suggest to me that relying solely on ATMs for foreign currency is a bad strategy. In all my travels, that has never happened to me, though I've certainly had problems finding a working ATM.

Nevertheless, it does underscore that traveler must always have a contingency: mine is a new, uncreased $100 bill that I can always use in an emergency. I carry that on every trip in the lining of my luggage. But I usually bring some US$ in cash and will change that, but only if I need to.

Normally, one would know in advance if cash were needed for lodging, also a rarity except in some specific locations (a B&B in Ireland, a sobe in Croatia, etc.), but it's a useful tip for specific places.

Doug...I hate to tell you this....many travelers have reported difficulties in various countries getting banks to take US$100 bills because they have proven to be a prime result of counterfeiting. You would be better off with two US$50.

I take $200 to Europe that is for emergency use only, which I have never had to use. I use foreign currency from the ATM machines and my Capital One credit card which has no international fee.

<<many travelers have reported difficulties in various countries getting banks to take US$100 bills because they have proven to be a prime result of counterfeiting. You would be better off with two US$50.>>

No, five $20s. The $20 is ubiquitous in the US, the $50 is not.