Where to exchange my money?
 

I am traveling to Paris on Wednesday, for 7 days, and I was looking for some advice.

At my bank, the exchange rate today is 1.39 (for some reason, the woman gave me euors to dollars.) There is a $3 fee.

If I use my ATM internationally there is a $6 fee charged by my bank, plus a 3% exchange fee.

There is a Travelex Kisosk nearby, with a .67 (dollars to euros) exchange rate.

There is an Am Ex Travel Center in a neighboring town, but I haven't been able to get a hold of anyone to see what there rates are. Are they typically good?

I've heard using your ATM is the best bet, but it seems to be a wash in this situation. I'm sadly a bit overwhelmed by all these percentages and conversion rates, and just want to be sure to get the best rate.

Thanks everyone!!

How much money do you think you will need to exchange in a 7 day period? $500? $1000?

My advice is don't worry about the few dollars that you might "lose" through currency exchange. It's not worth it when you consider how much you have already spent for airfare, hotel, etc.

If you maximize your ATM withdrawals (get your bank to increase your daily maximum) and get cash a couple of times during the week, it shouldn't cost you more than $30 - $40. Is that worth worrying about?

What bank you have your debit card matters a lot when it comes to using ATMs. Which bank issued your card?

Use the ATM in Europe.
Any bank or service will be taking 8 to 10%--just look at the 1.39 rate--that is an 11% preminum.

The rate you'd get at an ATM today is 0.78 (dollars to euro, using your terminology), which equals 1.28 (euros to dollars).

ATM: So if you get 200 euros, it would cost you the total of

$257.2 (based on exchange rate) + 7.50 (3% foreign exchange fee) + $6 from your bank, for a total of about $271.

If you buy 200 euros at the TravelEx booth at 0.67, it would cost you $300.

At the bank, the same 200 euros would cost you $278 + 3, or $281.

As you can see, TravelEx is the worst, followed by your local bank, with ATM in Europe at the best total cost.

We have been in Paris 10 days now and have found the best approach is to use a debit card (we use a Key Bank issued Master Card Debit card) and withdraw ATM money each day for purchases. It is the best deal after doing comparisons with credit and debit charges. Today my withdrawal was posted at a 1.27 exchange rate and the bank only charged 1% on top of that. You will find that credit card purchases and debit card purchases will run higher. As previous posters indicated,the ATM is probably your best bet.

winesipper, if your bank changes a transaction fee in addition to the 1%, you would be better off getting more money per transaction. However, if you only pay the 1%, then it makes sense to only take out what you need as you are doing.

If you bring $, the exchange shop on Castiglione is the best; no fees and best rate. Lots of Intl business types stay there, and they are very demanding and picky.

Thank you, all! I really appreciate it!

The cheapest and most convenient way to obtain cash in Europe is via ATM using a debit card. Bar none !!! ALL FEEs ADDED are determined by your card issuer. Most credit unions and some banks do not add any fees beyond the the 1% or less that is added by the network and buried in the exchange rate. Unfortunately you do not have the time to shop around but even at $6 and 3% that is still cheaper than buying in the US or using a currency exchange in Europe.

#winesnipper using an ATM DAILY is not a great idea sine the fees are PER TRANSACTION as far as I know... so why don't you just estimate how much you need and do a weekly or better, bi-weekly if you're there longer..

Miklos_Philips: Welcome to Fodors -- <i>But</i> . . .

1) How on earth did you even find this old thread?

2) winesipper posted a year ago and hasn't been on the forums since.

Yes, I am unsure of the value in resurrecting a thread this old but I can say that many of us pay our banks nothing for ATM withdrawals so there is no fixed fee. If you are paying a fixed fee for ATM withdrawals Miklos_Philips, it might be time to find a bank that provides better services.