Currency Exchange

We are going on our first river cruise in 3 weeks on Emerald Waterways from Budapest to Nuremberg. Do each ports have a place to exchange your Currency or should we do this at home? Also do most cities take credit cards?

 

TIA

Most placed in Europe take Master Card or Visa. Amex not so much and I have never seen a Discover card sign. Check your bank to find out what the foreign transaction fees is, if it has one. With that said, some small markets and shops may only take cash. I am told the funicular in Budapest only takes cash too.

 

As for currency exchange, your best bet is to use an ATM, they are usually easy to find and you won't get changed as much as at a Currency Exchange . Also the exchange rate will be better. I find FT to have the best currency converter: http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Currencies

Knowing the approximate rate ahead of time is a good idea.

 

Hungary uses the Forint (HUF), Germany, Bratislava and Austria use the Euro (EUR).

I am doing a similar cruise in October and added a few extra days in Prague. The Czech Rep uses the Koruna (CZK).

 

My bank has a "world wallet" and I have already purchased, EUR, HUF and CZK currencies and picked them up at the bank. I only purchased enough for minor expenses and tipping.

 

Have a great trip!

oops correction, I meant Slovakia... Bratislava is the city in Slovakia which I will be visiting. :-)

everything I read said I'd need Forint in Budapest and I got some at the airport ATM when we arrived.

 

Everyplace we went gave me a price in Euros .....

 

I guess we looked like out of towners .....

I always just withdraw cash from an ATM once I arrive at my destination rather than try to get foreign currency from a US bank. I've never had a problem finding an ATM at an airport or train station.

 

You do have to pay attention to the exchange rate though otherwise in some countries you may have a heart attack when the ATM asks if you want to withdraw what appear to be huge numbers. $100 for example is about 28,065 Hungarian forints. :)

Hi everyone, we are going on our first river cruise on Viking in Nov. I was going to open up a savings account with Capital One and get an ATM card so I can use it to withdraw money in Budapest and in Germany. Is that the best way to do it? My bank charges foreign transaction fees and I read where Capital One does not. I appreciate your help in this matter. Thank you.

Hi everyone, we are going on our first river cruise on Viking in Nov. I was going to open up a savings account with Capital One and get an ATM card so I can use it to withdraw money in Budapest and in Germany. Is that the best way to do it? My bank charges foreign transaction fees and I read where Capital One does not. I appreciate your help in this matter. Thank you.

 

Hi, the best way varies person to person:)

 

I use a Capital One VISA when I travel overseas because of the reason

you just mentioned....no foreign transaction fees:) but as for "cash",

well, for me the best way is to get it here at home before I leave. Yes,

it may cost me a bit more to do it this way but it is the way I prefer to

do things.:)

Oh, I took my first river cruise last month and it was FANTASTIC:) it was in my

top 2 cruises ever:):)

Edited May 21, 2016 by Lois R

Have a plan ahead of time regarding how much you want in the foreign currency. You will be getting off a very long flight and may have a hard time concentrating. Having this figure in mind with all the zeros written out will help when you put in the desired amount.

ATMs are easy to find throughout Europe. Just make sure that you use one with a Bank logo, not one of the currency-exchange companies like Travelex [they use bad exchange rates and/or add high fees]. If CapitalOne doesn't charge foreign transaction fees or ATM fees on their debit card, that would be a good thing to get [we have a Schwab Bank debit card like that]. While you are at it you should also get a CapitalOne Quicksilver credit card [no fees plus 1.5% cash back on all purchases].

I'll second the CapitolOne Quciksilver card. No foreign transaction fees, 1.5% cash back, and it has always worked in all of our travels.

 

I can't speak to the CapitolOne debit card - probably best to contact CapitolOne directly about it. We use a cash management account at Fidelity and their debit/ATM card because there are no foreign transaction fees AND Fidelity reimburses us for the ATM fees charged by US and foreign banks.

I'll second the CapitolOne Quciksilver card. No foreign transaction fees, 1.5% cash back, and it has always worked in all of our travels.

 

I can't speak to the CapitolOne debit card - probably best to contact CapitolOne directly about it. We use a cash management account at Fidelity and their debit/ATM card because there are no foreign transaction fees AND Fidelity reimburses us for the ATM fees charged by US and foreign banks.

We have the CapitalOne credit and debit card. We'll be taking the credit, but leaving the debit at home. Our branch quoted us a $2 fee for the ATM plus a 3% conversion fee. I think there are better debit cards to use.

I'll just add that you need to be careful about terms when getting your card. There are at least three kinds of fees. As I understand it, foreign transaction fees are added to purchases made out of your home country. Out-of-network ATM fees may be added to withdrawals made from an ATM that's not owned by your bank. Cash advance fees are often added when using a credit card rather than a debit card for a cash advance.

 

We use our bank's debit card for ATMs overseas. They add an arbitrary $2 per transaction, but give a very good exchange rate. We use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees for purchases. The one time we used the credit card for cash, we had a large cash advance fee added to our cost.

 

FuelScience

I'll just add that you need to be careful about terms when getting your card. There are at least three kinds of fees. As I understand it, foreign transaction fees are added to purchases made out of your home country. Out-of-network ATM fees may be added to withdrawals made from an ATM that's not owned by your bank. Cash advance fees are often added when using a credit card rather than a debit card for a cash advance.

 

We use our bank's debit card for ATMs overseas. They add an arbitrary $2 per transaction, but give a very good exchange rate. We use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees for purchases. The one time we used the credit card for cash, we had a large cash advance fee added to our cost.

 

FuelScience

 

Absolutely right: NEVER use a credit card to get cash. It's always treated as a cash advance and interest charges of ~18% start immediately. :eek: Even a debit card with a fee is better than that. But a debit card that refunds ATM fees [i have Schwab; someone else mentioned Fidelity] is the best for cash advances.

Absolutely right: NEVER use a credit card to get cash. It's always treated as a cash advance and interest charges of ~18% start immediately. :eek:...

Not only do credit cards charge higher interest rates (versus purchases) on cash advances, they almost always charge an additional immediate cash advance fee which typically might be the greater of 5% of the cash advance or $5-$10. The Schwab savings account that we set up specifically for foreign travel not only does not charge a fee from them for use, it covers fees imposed by the ATM you use (there may be some limitations on that, but they have always covered them for us). Additionally (and importantly) it is not tied to our main bank accounts, so that in the event of compromise it only affects this "travel account" and there is no danger of our main bank accounts being drained. Prior to travel we generously estimate how much cash we might use and make sure that the Schwab account has twice that amount. This works well for us, but does require that you have the liquidity to fund various accounts.

 

Thom

I want to thank you all for your responses to my question. Where did you purchase Euro when you were in Austria and Germany? I like to carry some Euros in case we want to buy something or have a quick bite to eat. Did you buy them at a Bank in Austria and Germany or did you get them from ATM in those countries. Sorry if I ask so many questions. It has been over 30 years since we were in Germany and Austria

I want to thank you all for your responses to my question. Where did you purchase Euro when you were in Austria and Germany? I like to carry some Euros in case we want to buy something or have a quick bite to eat. Did you buy them at a Bank in Austria and Germany or did you get them from ATM in those countries. Sorry if I ask so many questions. It has been over 30 years since we were in Germany and Austria

I always use an ATM machine, as that will almost always give you the best rate (only a small fraction higher than the inter-bank exchange rate). If I don't already have Euros (I go often enough that I make no attempt to spend down any overage), I'll hit an ATM at the entry airport. In any commercial area of cities, there are usually ATMs not over a block or two away. IMO the major reason for CruiseCritic is to answer questions, so no need to apologize. Questions like this sure beat tipping / smoking / chair hog rants:rolleyes:

 

Thom

Just be aware that you need to use a bank ATM, not an exchange machine that looks like an ATM, such as Travelex. Also don't accept the exchange rate at an ATM, it will cost you more. Similarly, do credit card transactions in the local currency, not US dollars.

used ATM in Nuremberg and Hamburg with no problem .. easy to spot. Just like in US there was one outside just about every bank I saw . . .

Ask your local guide - or someone on the boat - they always know where the ATMs are. If you need change (ie: have a large bill, but want smaller bills or coins for tips) ask at the front desk. They won't do currency exchange, but will usually make change.

 

We are lucky in that our bank has articulation agreements with a number of banks around the world. As long as we use one of those ATMs, we are not charged a bank fee.

 

We always take a small amount of cash, and then get money out of an ATM.

 

For credit cards, always do the transaction in local currency. If they ask you if you want to complete the transaction in your "home" currency (ie: USD, CAD) say no... it always costs more.

 

Fran

Edited May 25, 2016 by franski

Taking our first river cruise through Viking in July and doing on the Switzerland to the North Sea trip. Can you confirm that Discover will not be accepted in Amsterdam, Kinderdijk, Cologne, Koblenz, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Breisach, Basel?

 

Thank you!

Taking our first river cruise through Viking in July and doing on the Switzerland to the North Sea trip. Can you confirm that Discover will not be accepted in Amsterdam, Kinderdijk, Cologne, Koblenz, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Breisach, Basel?

I can't guarantee that you won't be able to use Discover BUT locations will be slim to none. VISA & MC are used many places.

 

Thom

I can't guarantee that you won't be able to use Discover BUT locations will be slim to none. VISA & MC are used many places.

 

Thom

Thanks, Thom!

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Just be aware that you need to use a bank ATM, not an exchange machine that looks like an ATM, such as Travelex. Also don't accept the exchange rate at an ATM, it will cost you more. Similarly, do credit card transactions in the local currency, not US dollars.

 

Thank you for that tip!

Thanks for all the tips and information.

 

I know my MC has an international transaction fee. I need to look at my "emergency" card to see what the fees are. I will probably stop at the ATM before heading out of the country to just have some cash and can exchange if needed.