nancy222

hi - we're going to Germany and will land on a holiday so banks will be lcosed. Does anyone know where in area of Ft. Lauderdale/West Palm Beach one can buy Euros ahead of time? Nancy

Katie

Buy a few at the airport, but you will pay a fee there. Then when you arrive just go to the ATM. There will not be a charge at the ATM you use. My bank also does not charge me for ATM withdrawals in Europe. It is very easy to do.

Marcie

We bought ours free of charge from American Express (a free service if you have an AmEx card) at 1-800-673-3782. You tell them how much you want, they charge it on your card and mail you the currency to your home address. It is so EASY and QUICK! When you return, if you have left over, they'll buy it back as well. They carry virtually all of the currencies in the World. We needed 3 types for our upcoming trip. We always get enough to get us started, then use ATM's in the various countries we visit. We've used their "phone" service always and never had to leave the house or hassle at the airports. Marcie

Jeff

Don't bother. When you arrive at the airport in Germany, the exchange booths will be open if you don't have an ATM card. You will get ripped off big time exchanging currency here either at your local bank or the US airport.<BR><BR>If you have an ATM card with a cirrus or plus logo on its back, check with your bank as to what they charge for foreign withdrawals. The German bank, by the rules of the shared teller networks, is not allowed to charge you. In that way, you get the best rate possible with by far the least amount of hassle.

janis

I agree - don't bother getting any ahead of time. Use your ATM card at the airport and every few days while on your trip.<BR><BR>You could get euro "free of charge" from Amex, etc. - but that is not a great idea since the exchange rate is very bad. Anywhere in the States you will pay too much for euro - either there will be a fee or the rate will be bad.

karen

Nancy,<BR>I too have used the American Express service mentioned above with ease. It will arrive anywhere in the USA within about 4 days so you have just a little currency to begin your trip with in case of an emergency. I've never exchanged $$ at an airport because of the "un-favorable" exchange rate and the commisssion charged. If you return it back to AmEx when you return (they only accept bills, no coins) they will credit it towards your AmEx bill which in my case is usually pretty healthy after my Europe trips. I agree that this is probably the easiest for you (that is if you have an American Express card). Karen

curious

so does anyone know what kind of rate American Express is currently giving for their "no charge" currency exchange?

Patrick

I just called American Express. As of today they are giving an exchange rate of 93 cents per Euro. That's about 3% higher than current credit card rates (including the 3% total charge there, if your card does the usual 1 plus 2%)(or about 6 % total charge for exchanging currency.) This is not a great deal for currency exchange -- probably about what you'd get at an airport, but if you are only looking to get maybe a hundred Euros, I guess it is only costing you about $6, plus shipping charge. I suppose if you are worried about not being able to use an ATM when you get there, it is worth that much for the peace of mind. According to the type of card you have there is a varying charge for mailing the cash to you.

alice

I was KILLED buying EURO's from AAA before I went to Italy. Get 50$ maybe, get the rest there, anywhere... I lost alot getting them here.. in the US..

xxxx

www.bofa.com lets you buy euros online for a 4.95 fee. That is the website of Bank of America.

Barb

Any method you use to get Euros in the US will cost about 3% more than from an ATM in Europe; even so, very few people feel comfortable waiting until they land to do this, so consider the extra few dollars($9 if you get 300 Euros) to be a cost of peace of mind. Rather cheap insurance to avoid worrying about finding an out of service ATM, or looking all around an airport. Most people want to grab their bags, and head for their chosen transportation, so don't feel bad about paying a little more in the States--just be aware that you most certainly are. Some American Express offices sell Euros; just call first to inquire and be sure they have what you need, they sometimes run out.

Patrick

Bank of America currently shows an exchange rate of .93576 per Euro, even worse than the American Express rate. Although they say on their website that there is a $5.00 charge for mailing less than $250 worth, I believe there is no charge if you pick them up at any Bank of America full service bank.<BR><BR>Here's another way of looking at all of this. If you were in Paris and used your ATM to get 100 Euros, it would cost you about $88 US dollars from your bank account. If you ordered 100 Euros from Bank of America and had them sent to you, it would cost you $98.58. You need to decide if the peace of mind is worth the $10.58. (Or the $5.58 if you pick them up instead of having them sent to you.)

tommi

Please explain what this AmEx fee is??...I called the 800 number above today and specifically asked if there was any shipping fee and the lady said "NO"....what is this fee you mentioned?? My husband has done a bit of research on this to have $100 Swiss Francs when we arrive and he said AmEx was the best deal he found....?? Now I'm concerned about some hidden fee. We don't want Euros, just Swiss Francs. Anyone else do this lately and discover a fee that wasn't mentioned to me? I love the convenience of it all and am more than happy to pay a few bucks for the convenience of it all. Tommi

janis

tommi: If a bank says they don't charge a fee they have to make their profit somewhere. They do not provide foreign currency for free. So in the case of Swiss francs - if the "official" exchange rate is .60 to $1 - a"no fee" bank will use a rate of perhaps .70 or .72 to $1. <BR><BR>You end up paying about the same net for your currency - the bank either charges a fee or sticks you with a bad exchange rate. Either way they are charging you a "fee".<BR><BR>If you feel you just must get currency ahead of time - limit it to just $200 or less. I travel overseas several times each year and almost never take foreign currency with me. My bank levies very small ATM fees and most European Banks do not charge any ATM fees - so using ATMs is by far the cheapest way to get money.

tommi

Thank you Janis. This is what I needed to hear. Yes, we're only planning on getting $100. just to feel safe when arriving. We too always use ATM machines and find this is certainly the easiest. We don't mind paying a small commission (or whatever we want to call the AmEx fee). It sure beats standing in line when you're already beat after a long flight. Once we were in Europe and to our surprise, our B of A ATM card didn't work (Barcelona I believe)!! Thank goodness we did have some cash to at least catch a taxi. We never did find out what the problem was because our card worked great in the USA. We've traveled extensively in Europe and this was the ONLY city/problem we ever had with our ATM. Tommi

janis

tommi: I know what you mean. My card just does not work in most Clydesdale or Midland Bank ATMs in the UK even though they have the same symbols. But it does work in every other UK banks' machines. Apparently some European banks are in seperate ATM consortiums with unique systems. Whenever my card hasn't worked, I have always found a nearby machine that would work. In airports there are usually several machines to choose from.

Jeff

I disagree with the poster who said most people feel they should have local currency before arriving. I don't see any need to invest the time and money for searching for something readilly available upon arrival.<BR><BR>The silly argument about queues at the exchange booths or looking all over for ATM's....well it's just that, a silly outdated argument. You're going to have to wait for your baggage anyway. Instead of rushing to stand around the luggage carousel, you hit the ATM's. No big deal. Oh yes, the ATM might not work. Then you use $50 of the $200 in back up money you brought to hit one of the many exchange windows that all international airports have readily available. Why waste all this time calling around just to be ripped off. I travel into a country with not a cent of local currency. I hit the ATM's. Period. Works every time...and if it didn't, I could still use my credit cards to buy whatever I need including local transportaton to my hotel.....

Myer

If you're getting $500. worth and pay 3% more that's $15. Not much if you want to spend your time here before you go rather than waste your time there. How much is the whole trip costing and how much money are you changing?<BR><BR>If you go to Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise (Sunrise just east of highway 75) there is a money change (many tourists go there) booth just outside Books-A-Million. I have found their rates better than banks by far. <BR><BR>Although they do charge a small service charge, they will refund any money you come back with (no change) at no charge.<BR><BR>In the old days (before Euro) I used to call a few days ahead to make sure they had what I wanted. Now with less European currencies you can be sure they have Euros, Pounds, etc.<BR>

Jeff

Let's see...$15 to save waiting on a queue for maybe 2 minutes.....that's $450/hour. I'll take that job anytime.

Myer

Jeff,<BR>If that's what you want to do fine. Nancy just asked for an option.<BR><BR>There are many people who earn a living waiting in line for others. I know of some people who started a business of waiting in line for event tickets. When you have many customers going to the same event there is money to be had.<BR><BR>In this case while you are making a killing waiting in line, others are on vacation and may not want to.<BR>