I’m leaving soon, I got a wad of cash, but where should I exchange them for euros? I’ve heard that the exchange rate is a nightmare in airports. Is it better to excahnge it over in Europe?
Leave your cash in the bank and take an ATM card with you. When you need EUROS, go to the ATM where you will get the best rate.
An article from Frommer’s on this topic.
Ask your bank beforehand if they’re charging a fee for providing the local currency via the ATM.
I’ve found that foxwoods(casino) is the best place to exchange currency. Some banks arepretty good about it.
I’ll second robcaro’s advice. You won’t have any difficulties in larger European cities to find ATMs or shoprs which accept major credit cards. The ATM rate is significantly better - change offices in the cities or banks will charge you a pretty low rate of euros per dollars. ATMs usually charge you a better rate which equals, of at least comes close to, the interbank rates for non-cash currency transactions, plus usually a fixed fee per withdrawal. So it would be a good deal to withdraw a big sum at once from an ATM.
Ths is gonna sound dumb, but do European ATM’s work in English? (specifically Italy + the Netherlands)
Yes. When you put your card in, you’ll get a selection of languages to choose from.
And agreed with everyone who said use ATMs - even if you get a charge from your bank, the better exchange rate will most likely compensate for it. Be aware that if using credit cards, Amex isn’t as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard.
There are ATM’s all over Europe, not just the cities. It’s a good idea to alert your bank ahead of time as to where you will be travelling to be sure that they don’t lock the card due to “unusual” activity.
Also, if you will be using a credit card find out what the currency exchange fee is. For many cards it is 3%. This is a total rip-off by the banks but they get away with it. You can find a card with an exchange fee at least as low as 1%.
You should also check if your CC company will charge you a flat rate for using the ATM or a percentage. With flat rates, you’re gonna get screwed if you’re making many smaller withdrawals. Also, you’ll be able to use your charge card almost as freely in EU as in the US, meaning hotels, gas, restaurants and shops will readily honor it. with the exception that AMEX and Diner’s aren’t as common. In some countries, you can buy a newspaper with a CC, in others, they will charge you for using your card on smaller amounts (since the local bank will charge them a flat rate for every transaction.
My advice, and how I do it myself, woould be to have about €500 in small bills and coins and charge larger things (hotel, car rental) directly to your card.
Another benefit to using ATMs and credit cards is that you’re not carrying a wad of cash around. It sucks if your wallet with your card gets nicked (though, of course, you’re being a responsible traveller and not carrying them all in one place, and have the emergency phone numbers written down seperately). It’s a hassle and you need to call, cancel the cards, and get them reissued.
If your wallet with a few hundred euros cash in it gets nicked, then you have to deal with cancelling your cards, and you’re out however much cash you had on you.
One word of warning: My parents were in Europe this summer visiting my brother. They had no problems with using their ATM card in Italy, but when they got to Budapest and Romania, they were not able to get any money. They had checked with their bank ahead of time and had been assured that they would be able to use their cards everywhere on their itinerary. Unfortunately, the week they were there, some sort of block was placed on several countries in Eastern Eurpoe due to some sort of fraud problem. Their bank (and many others , I’m sure) stopped accepting any transactions from those countries. I ended up having to wire them money so they could get through the rest of their trip. Now this was unusual, I’m sure, and not too likely to happen in Italy and the Netherlands, but you should probably keep some money on you.
I just got back from Germany, and beware that banks may charge you for using the ATM. Of course, they don’t charge you very much (mine charged 1%), but there is a charge, check with your bank. For all non-cash transactions, I used my Capital One credit card (I called to make sure there was no charge before I left), and for my initial cash I converted at the hotel.
As an aside, I was really surprised at the number of restaurants and stores which didn’t accept credit. I mean, I don’t even carry cash in the states… ever.