Where to get Euros in the Chicago area

[rickdeni]

I went to my bank yesterday to order euros to hear that they do not have this service. Does anyone know a bank in Chicago or the south or west suburbs where you do not need an account but will order the euros for you. Is there any place in the Loop (downtown Chicago) where you can exchange dollars to euros?

[6rugrats]

You will get a much better rate if you wait until you get to Europe and simply use an ATM. If you must have them before you go, try ordering online. You can do this many places, here's just one:

 

http://www.travelex.com/us/for-individuals/foreign-currency/euro-exchange-rate/

 

You will pay a premium to do this.

[Hlitner]

For what its worth (probably not many Euros) we go to Europe quite often, having been doing it for many years, and have never concerned ourselves with getting Euros (or other currencies) in advance. When we arrive at either an airport or cruise port we simply get Euros from the nearest bank ATM machine (they are everywhere in Europe).

 

Hank

[rickdeni]

Thank you for your replies. I would like to find a bank that will order or has on hand euros for purchase. I have been to Europe and have used the ATMs for most of my needs for euros. However, I have scheduled some expensive private excursions that they require euros at the end of the trip. I would like to start off with the majority of the tour money and then use the ATMs as I need them. I do not have nor do I want a high limit on my debit card. I have used American Express Travel to secure euros. They are cheaper than Travelex but I am told more expensive than a bank.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

First of all your local bank rate is probably comparable to the rate in the airports at either end of your journey. You can check them out.

 

http://www.explorechicago.org/city/en/travel_tools/foreign_currency_exchange.html

 

Just a word of caution... you can never get cash back in Europe. If you are pickpocketed (which happened to me- thankfully I only had 28 Euros in coins on me) you are out of luck.

 

I usually take a minimal amount of cash. I get about 100 Euros at the airport on the US end because I am well rested and have time to kill but people say you get a better rate at the other end and use credit cards and my ATM when needed.

[texancruzer]

I too had a lot of expenses that I knew way ahead of time......apartment deposit and rent, transfers and tours etc..... so I did the same thing you are doing.

 

I got euros from my bank ahead of time.

 

We have also used ATM's for the everyday small stuff but when you have large sums like that and you know them ahead of time it is much easier to get the euros and have them ready (I even had envelopes with amts and tips for each tour etc)

 

It was so nice not to have to worry about having to find multiple ATMs since I couldn't get enough out of just one.

 

As for carrying it around, that is what safes are for. Yes, I had to carry it while flying but once at destination, in the safe it went. And once on the ship -same thing. Each morning I took out the envelope for that tour and voila' = no worries.

 

So please, when someone asks how to get euros ahead of time and they know this is how they want to do it....... just offer the answer or move on.

 

rickdeni: sorry can't help you since I do not live in Chicago. I googled buying euros in Chicago and lots of links came up. Here is one from trip advisor altho it is from 2009 but it might help

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g35805-i32-k2711318-Buy_Euros_in_Chicago-Chicago_Illinois.html

[euro cruiser]

If you are a member of AAA you can buy Euros from them.

[KirkNC]

For what its worth (probably not many Euros) we go to Europe quite often, having been doing it for many years, and have never concerned ourselves with getting Euros (or other currencies) in advance. When we arrive at either an airport or cruise port we simply get Euros from the nearest bank ATM machine (they are everywhere in Europe).

 

Hank

 

Ditto

[chipmaster]

+1, my bank BofA did it, the ratre wasn't as good as ATM, but like you I needed a few thousand euros :eek::D Well worth paying a little extra to not have to worry about going from ATM to ATM, in the end we spent more than we expected and had to hit ATMs earlier than I had expected :o

 

Thank you for your replies. I would like to find a bank that will order or has on hand euros for purchase. I have been to Europe and have used the ATMs for most of my needs for euros. However, I have scheduled some expensive private excursions that they require euros at the end of the trip. I would like to start off with the majority of the tour money and then use the ATMs as I need them. I do not have nor do I want a high limit on my debit card. I have used American Express Travel to secure euros. They are cheaper than Travelex but I am told more expensive than a bank.

[jdm]

I ordered mine from Chase bank. Took about three days.

[Fblack]

I get mine at my local Wells Fargo Bank. My understanding is that most major cities have at least one Wells Fargo Bank money center branch that carries foreign currency. Luckily for me my local branch is one such bank. So call you local banks and ask around.

[Ashland]

We used Travelers Cheques in Euros to pay for our private tour in Italy with RomeInLimo which I ordered over the phone from my B of America they were at my local branch in 3 days..just signed them over to our driver..very easy.

[corkpopr]

My neighborhood wells fargo branch approx. 30 employes always has euros and pounds available. I usually order 200 pounds or 300 euros depending where i am going. if i am ashore i take u.s. dollars into a bank and convert there. also use atms in switz. italy, france, spain, and portugal.

[lisiamc]

We used Travelers Cheques in Euros to pay for our private tour in Italy with RomeInLimo which I ordered over the phone from my B of America they were at my local branch in 3 days..just signed them over to our driver..very easy.

 

It is worth adding that you can usually cash these on the ship also, but almost no one else will accept them or cash them, and that includes banks. So be careful of getting more than you need for the tour.

[TMLAalum]

Thank you for your replies. I would like to find a bank that will order or has on hand euros for purchase. I have been to Europe and have used the ATMs for most of my needs for euros. However, I have scheduled some expensive private excursions that they require euros at the end of the trip. I would like to start off with the majority of the tour money and then use the ATMs as I need them. I do not have nor do I want a high limit on my debit card. I have used American Express Travel to secure euros. They are cheaper than Travelex but I am told more expensive than a bank.

 

My BIL lives in Wheeling. He ordered his euros from Wells Fargo via phone and picked them up a few days later at a WF branch. We also ordered ours from WF but since we don't have a brick & mortar branch near us, we had them delivered to our house. Very good exchange rate that was better than ordering them from a local bank or triple A. We were able to charge them to a credit card (NOT a cash advance, but a charge that earned us some extra ff miles).

[texancruzer]

We were able to charge them to a credit card (NOT a cash advance, but a charge that earned us some extra ff miles).

 

Hmmm, interesting - I LOVE FF miles !!!!!!

[rickdeni]

Thank you for your replies. I will contact Wells Fargo as I also love points for purchases.

[cruisemom42]

I suggest you check with whatever credit card you plan to use to purchase your euros through Wells Fargo. Although WF claims that they do not treat the purchase as a cash advance, some credit cards reportedly do so anyway. I've read some posts on CC about it and on other sites as well. For example:

 

http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=45450698&postcount=9

[sr5242]

I ordered from wells Fargo but thru a link on AAA website. Word of advice, watch the exchange rate and order when it drops. I ordered and a week later my order would have been $12 usd cheaper!

[Hlitner]

I ordered from wells Fargo but thru a link on AAA website. Word of advice, watch the exchange rate and order when it drops. I ordered and a week later my order would have been $12 usd cheaper!

 

Can you please give me advance notice when the rate will drop? If you are accurate with your prediction I can quickly make a lot of money :)

 

Hank

[sr5242]

Can you please give me advance notice when the rate will drop? If you are accurate with your prediction I can quickly make a lot of money :)

 

Hank

 

if you had actually read my post you'd see I meant when you check one day and the rate is lower than the other days, buy. But I'm sure your clever wit and witticism is much more helpful than my advice.

[texancruzer]

I ordered from wells Fargo but thru a link on AAA website. Word of advice, watch the exchange rate and order when it drops. I ordered and a week later my order would have been $12 usd cheaper!

 

I think what Hank was trying to say is...... you can watch it all you want but it can just as easily go UP as drop......... there is no way to know which way it will go so waiting for it to drop is not always a good idea.

 

Buy when you need them and then just forget it.

 

Its like booking your cruise. If the price goes up you feel like you got a great deal........if the price goes down - you feel like you got cheated (unless you manage to get a price reduction before final payment ;)

 

And $ 12.00 ???? Really ???? If you are worried about $12.00 don't go to Europe. There is a saying: Take half the clothes and twice the money for Europe !!!! It is expensive.

[pollux]

Go to Yahoo Finance there you can follow the euro rate everyday.

The stock market on TV shows the rate everyday.

Yesterday it was 1.23 and a couple days ago 1.21.

[Gordo]

There are two places we use in Chicago for exchanging to foreign currency. One is Chase bank. If you go to the main branch on Dearborn, you can normally get euros the same day. If you go to another branch, or a location in the suburbs, it will probably take a couple days.

 

There is also an exchange place on the second floor at 203 N LaSalle. We have exchanged money there as well. I normally use this location because my office is right across the street.

 

When we cruise we normally do private tours as well and the operators request cash payments. We get the money in advance and keep it in a money belt and place it in the safe in the hotel/cabin. We don't want to spend vacation time looking for ATMs.