Hulalady

We will be on an Atlantic crossing cruise from USA to Europe and need advice regarding the best way method of foreign exchange/payment :
1. Should we do our exchange in the US, on the Ship, or in Europe?
2. Use USD, Travelers checks or US creditcards for exchange/payment?
3. At Airport, Banks or exchange agencies?

thursdaysd

Duplicate post, answered on the Europe board.

travelgourmet

Use credit cards wherever possible. Withdraw any cash from ATMs.

gailw

In my experience, the best rate of exchange is to use your debit card in whatever European country you're in at a bank ATM. There are ATMs everywhere, even in small villages, and your bank gets a very good exchange rate.
In my experience, the exchange booths in airports are rip-offs. If you feel the need to have Euros as soon as you land, find an ATM in the airport and skip the exchange booths.
In my experience, nobody uses travelers checks anymore, if for no other reason than banks do not have the kind of hours that our banks have and it's very inconvenient to try to cash the checks.

happytrailstoyou

Withdraw from ATMs using a bank card that doesn't add on extra fees.

When we use our Capital One card at Cirrus ATMs we are charged the ATM withdrawal fee, but no additional fee from Capital One. The savings are substantial.

HTTY

thursdaysd

Hmmm. My Cap One card refunds the foreign ATM fee up to $25/month.

schmerl

AND....capital one cards do not charge any foreign transaction fees on your purchases.

gail

Make sure you notify your credit car company/bank that you are traveling or you risk them freezing your credit card for possible fraud.