ATM'S in Europe

[pacheco18]

This may work in many parts of the world but not very likely in Europe.

They don't want to go through the hassle (and 'loss') of exchanging $ to Euros any more than you do :)

 

I have done it in Europe

It just depends on the tour company/guide

Some companies/guides will give quotes in multiple currencies

Of course, THEY determine the exchange rate equivalent but it is just another option.

 

I need several thousand Euro for my farm stay in Tuscany in September. The owner only takes cash (Euro). I am just bringing more USD than usual and going to a bank to exchange currency for the major part of it. I am not running to a series of ATMs. LOL

[robbie21]

I have done it in Europe

It just depends on the tour company/guide

Some companies/guides will give quotes in multiple currencies

Of course, THEY determine the exchange rate equivalent but it is just another option.

 

I need several thousand Euro for my farm stay in Tuscany in September. The owner only takes cash (Euro). I am just bringing more USD than usual and going to a bank to exchange currency for the major part of it. I am not running to a series of ATMs. LOL

 

Laraine - I know from experience that all banks, anywhere in the world, charge significant fees for exchanging money and often use an unfavorable exchange rate. Since you are a customer at Wells Fargo and you are exchanging a lot they might give you a favorable rate :). Worth checking out.

 

Ron

[pacheco18]

Laraine - I know from experience that all banks, anywhere in the world, charge significant fees for exchanging money and often use an unfavorable exchange rate. Since you are a customer at Wells Fargo and you are exchanging a lot they might give you a favorable rate :). Worth checking out.

 

Ron

 

Hi Ron --

 

will do -- but it is usually preferable to exchange money in the country whose currency you are buying. Even if I got a preferred rate at Wells Fargo I cannot imagine it would be better than the exchange rate in Italy. Can anyone comment on this?

[orchestrapal]

Having multiple personal and business accounts with large balances the rate at Wells Fargo with no fee is always higher than European or British ATM withdrawals.

Just our experience for the last many years.

Edited June 27, 2014 by orchestrapal

[Fairfield Nana]

We save our left-over Euros to try avoid some of the exchange rate pain, and pre-purchase more from our Wells Fargo branch if we fall short of our cash plan to travel with 1000Euros for a two week trip. Otherwise we try use our USAA MasterCard to the max for local expenses. After experiencing an increasing number of establishments who refused to accept our card on last years two week drive about in Ireland, we got the new USAA "pin & chip" card which is the new standard in Europe. We'll see how it works on our Sep cruise on the Marina.

[Pet Nit Noy]

DH spent most of his 40+ year career in financial services data processing, much of it in electronic funds transfer, so he is my ATM expert.

 

He says that it is primary your own home bank that sets the withdrawal limit; it is less common, but does happen on occasion, for the bank "owning" the ATM to set a limit.

 

I agree with your statement that the bank owning the ATM sets a limit, but I disagree with the description that this is an "occasional" issue. Our experience has been that ATMs routinely set an upper limit in the 350 Euro range, although I've seen an upper boundary as low as 200 Euros kick in on a Saturday night presumably to conserve money until the bank reopens Monday.

 

Happily, there's an easy work-around strategy for people needing more money. If your US bank has given you a higher limit (and people contributing to this thread have mentioned numbers ranging from $1500 to $5000) simply withdraw money from several ATM machines, making sure you are using entirely different banks and not branches of the same bank.

 

In Bayeux, Normandy recently, we needed 1000 Euros to pay our private guide for several days worth of guiding. We had always planned to withdraw money from local ATM machines for this purpose and we did. We walked along the main street, stopping at various banks and withdrew the total amount we needed within a ten minute span. We also noted the pre-set withdrawal amounts of each of the banks we used to identify the bank that the highest internal limit since we were going to be in Bayeux for four days at the beginning of 12 days in France. (FWIW, the ATM which allowed the biggest withdrawal was a credit union.)

[Pet Nit Noy]

I am just bringing more USD than usual and going to a bank to exchange currency for the major part of it. I am not running to a series of ATMs. LOL

 

Why are you averse to going to a series of ATMs from different banks? Are you staying in such a remote location in Tuscany that the town is unlikely to have more than one bank? If so, that's a really valid concern. From a financial point of view, however, there's no way the conversion of US currency to Euros will match the exchange rate you'll get from withdrawing from an ATM.

[pacheco18]

My time is money

 

 

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[pacheco18]

Just got small amount of British pounds at Wells Fargo where I am preferred customer. Rate stinks. Lol

 

 

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[Bowie MeMe]

It doesn't matter what your personal limit is in your US bank. The foreign bank sets the limit. Not all ATMs will be the same.

 

Jan -- I have multiple ATM cards (to skirt the limits and in case one or two malfunction)

 

I also carry multiple ATM cards and now have some credit cards with chip technology. Visa and MasterCard seem to be more accepted than Discover or AEX. Also be aware of those symbols on the back -- Cirrus and Plus and others. They are like alliances and some machines will take one set and others another -- most ATM's belong to a bank and only take that bank's alliances. Our only problems have come when one bank seems to monopolize the ATM scene (especially in the airport -- lots of machines but all one bank!) and our card is not favored by that bank. You can go to Visa site and look up ATM locations -- also MasterCard or ask your bank what system is used in the country you are visiting (American bank where can I use my bank ATM card in Madrid Spain). You might have to go around a bit as international banking is not most bank's strong suit.

 

Be sure to call in your travel plans as it is miserable when a fraud alert is put on your card and blocked until you can call in and tell them you are using the card. I usually scan my cards front and back so if lost I still have the magic phone number to call and report missing (yeah I once had wallet stolen and all the card phone numbers were stolen because they are on the back of the card:eek:. ) Generally using a foreign ATM is exactly like using it here at home-- I have gotten local currency even though I could not read the prompts -- at least worth a try. Most seem to offer English for ATM's especially in airports or large hotels. Really is easy to get local currency in foreign airports or hotels or even on the street from a bank. Be aware that some of the ATM's in convenience stores or shopping malls etc are private ATMS and not a bank ATM. Can have additional fees -- just like in USA,

[Pet Nit Noy]

My time is money

 

I spent a total of 10 minutes acquiring 1000 Euros from a couple of ATM machines. If you go into a bank to convert your US dollars to the local currency, you'll probably spend 5 minutes. We're only talking about a five minute difference.

 

You've come to the conclusion that you'd rather carry large sums of dollars until you convert them to save five minutes. I've come to the conclusion that I'll devote 5 extra minutes for the privilege of not holding on to large sums of money until immediately before I need it.

 

We'll agree to disagree.

[pacheco18]

I always carry large sums of money when I travel. Not concerned about doing do. There are safes everywhere I stay

 

Why would I spend time in Tuscany running around to ten ATMs to save a few bucks? I 'd rather enjoy myself , drink wine, eat pasta , take cooking lessons ..... Different priorities

 

 

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[JimandStan]

I've come to the conclusion that I'll devote 5 extra minutes for the privilege of not holding on to large sums of money until immediately before I need it.

 

Forgive me, but the inherent financial advantage would be minuscule at best; let's be generous and estimate the loss of 2% annual interest on €1,000, pro-rated for two or three weeks. None of us would walk to the corner in order to save that kind of money.

 

Secondly, the security of leaving the Ship with ones' pre-purchased Euro's safely tucked away certainly trumps walking from ATM to ATM, in a strange city, in order to withdraw the money in dribs and drabs... all the while hoping that one's PIN is to the liking of the foreign Bank and that some local Fiesta hasn't prompted a run on Cash in that vicinity.

 

The advantage to using an ATM then, lies entirely within the exchange rate and it's attendant fees's.

 

[Pet Nit Noy]

I always carry large sums of money when I travel. Not concerned about doing do. There are safes everywhere I stay

 

Why would I spend time in Tuscany running around to ten ATMs to save a few bucks? I 'd rather enjoy myself , drink wine, eat pasta , take cooking lessons ..... Different priorities

 

This is definitely a case of "you pays your money and you takes your choice." However, for the sake of other people benefitting from our different points of view, let's at least get the facts straight. I did not need to go to 10 ATM machines and I never wrote that I did. I wrote that it took me 10 minutes to go to multiple ATM machines. Your trip to a local Italian bank certainly took you no less than 5 minutes. So we are talking about a five minute difference for these different approaches.

 

I'm not persuaded anyone would notice how extra five minutes one way or the other will a substantive impact in his/her level of enjoyment in a total vacation. Making a wrong turn on your way to a destination will chew up more time than that!

 

(For the sake of novice travelers who are reading this thread, I'll point out that there are no safes in flight and en route to a hotel and/or ship. I'll echo the frequent advice on this board: please consider carrying the majority of your money in a neck wallet.)

 

I began my posts by commenting that if a person is visiting a remote place, he/she may not be able to access multiple banks to withdraw large amounts of money. Anecdotally, I'll add that in our years of traveling, the only time we've been stressed about easy access to money was a trip to Russia more than a dozen years ago. We were taking a river cruise with additional time pre- and post-cruise in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

 

That lone that occasion was a unique combination of events. In Moscow, the restaurant where we dined could not establish a connection to the bank that handles their charge purchases, so we had to pay cash. This was on a Saturday night and the next day, the ATM machines were largely exhausted. To further complicate the matter, the next day was the US Fourth of July. I can't remember specifically how this fact impacted our access to our money, but it did. Even our worst-case scenario had a work-around solution. We arranged with our private guide to pay for both our lunch and the car we hired to visit Lenin's estate outside the city. We added that amount to her fees when we paid her the next day. By then, the Moscow ATMs had been replenished and it was a work day in the US.

 

With the current political situation, the Russia board is reporting that people are having some problems charging things. The US government has frozen the assets of some Russian banks in the US and the Russian government has retaliated by doing the same. If a visitor happens to want to charge something at a store which uses a bank that is not accepting US charge cards, he/she will be unable to do so. Unless a traveler directly contacts the place where he/she expects to make a charge purchase -- and cruisers are contacting their tour providers -- there is no way of knowing which stores/restaurants/hotels are using these now-inaccessible banks.

[pacheco18]

Forgive me, but the inherent financial advantage would be minuscule at best; let's be generous and estimate the loss of 2% annual interest on €1,000, pro-rated for two or three weeks. None of us would walk to the corner in order to save that kind of money.

 

Secondly, the security of leaving the Ship with ones' pre-purchased Euro's safely tucked away certainly trumps walking from ATM to ATM, in a strange city, in order to withdraw the money in dribs and drabs... all the while hoping that one's PIN is to the liking of the foreign Bank and that some local Fiesta hasn't prompted a run on Cash in that vicinity.

 

The advantage to using an ATM then, lies entirely within the exchange rate and it's attendant fees's.

 

 

Astute analysis

Many thanks

[Pet Nit Noy]

Secondly, the security of leaving the Ship with ones' pre-purchased Euro's safely tucked away certainly trumps walking from ATM to ATM, in a strange city, in order to withdraw the money in dribs and drabs... all the while hoping that one's PIN is to the liking of the foreign Bank and that some local Fiesta hasn't prompted a run on Cash in that vicinity.

 

"Security of the ship...." Our cruises represent only a small fraction of the total time we spend in Europe. Even when we're taking a cruise, our time on the ship is at least equaled by, and typically exceeded by, time spent in independent travel. We're prepared to accept the minor challenge of "hoping that one's PIN is to the liking of the foreign Bank and that some local Fiesta hasn't prompted a run on Cash in that vicinity." After all, we'll have many more days in a city or country to solve whatever minor hiccup we encounter along the way. Most significantly, we'll have more time to see the sights, drink the local wine, and eat the local food. Definitely a worthwhile trade off for us.

 

The advantage to using an ATM then, lies entirely within the exchange rate and it's attendant fees's.

 

 

These issues are very easily managed by experienced travelers. A bit of research will identify cash and charge cards with no fees for foreign transactions. Some banks have international partners or branches further minimizing the chance of fees for access to one's own money. The charge cards that waive fees for foreign purchases represent significant money that is better spent on a nicer bottle of wine or a stay in a more elegant hotel, but this is a slightly different topic than ATM use.

Edited June 28, 2014 by Pet Nit Noy

[BillPizzaiolo]

I think I should sum up some of the best points, using a multiple secure approach.

 

1. Carry cash in a secure neck wallet or money belt in transit. Use hotel or ship safe.

 

2. Use ATM's where and when if needed.

 

3. Carry multiple Credit cards in a secure place have at least one chip & pin.

 

4. Keep an ATM travel account apart from regular household $$$ account.

 

5. Carry small amount of local currency for day to day transactions.

 

Additionally my travel partner and I split up the "load" between us so all the eggs are not in one basket.

[Hambagahle]

I think I should sum up some of the best points, using a multiple secure approach.

 

...

Additionally my travel partner and I split up the "load" between us so all the eggs are not in one basket.

 

This is, I feel, the BEST advice. Whoever you are travelling with make sure that you have CCs and ATM cards with different numbers. I was once pickpocketed when boarding a train right here in Martigny, Switzerland where I live. We were en route to San Francisco to start a US pre-cruise California driving tour and then take the Regent Mariner through the Panama Canal to Florida.

 

At that time my husband and I shared one CC with the same number. I had two others and - luckily - he had one other that I did not sign on. ALL my CCs were taken and I stopped them all immediately. If he had not had that separate card we would have been stuck for some time with no CCs and no ATM card. As it was I had to re-do the rental car contract with Hertz using his separate card number. (And then ask him to sign for things I bought - not great!) But that was it. We could still get money, still charge a hotel room and meals etc. It took about 4 days for me to get my VISA card re-issued and Diners Club could not get it to me in CA at all - it was waiting in Florida when we got there two weeks later!

 

This piece of advice is SO important! Thank you for stating it, Bill Pizzaolo!!

[pacheco18]

Agree -- but it's not only pickpocketing that requires this strategy

 

ATM Machine could "eat" your card

 

Card could stop functioning - become unreadable

 

Bank could put a stop/fraud alert on your card

 

Multiple cards are critical.

[Paulchili]

Multiple cards are critical.

 

But only carry one on you at a time - leave the others in the safe of the hotel or ship (whenever possible).

[Bowie MeMe]

But only carry one on you at a time - leave the others in the safe of the hotel or ship (whenever possible).

 

I carry more than one ATM card because of the fact that different banks use different ATM systems -- cirrus and Plus and Star are common ones. If your bank card is from a "different" system it won't work.

 

Do call the bank of each card and tell them your travel dates and countries. Forget this step and often a fraud alert is on the card and you will have to call the bank to have use of the card -- not easy to do from a foreign country. Take a scan of the card front and back and email it to yourself. If cards are lost you need the phone number of the bank to report the missing card and to arrange for new ones.

 

I now carry 3 credit cards (Visa x2 {different issuing banks} and MasterCard) and 2 different bank ATM cards. Never use the credit card money advance or use credit card for ATM. Puts you into cash advance procedures and interest rates as high as 25%. Cash advance also causes all purchases to be immediate interest bearing.

 

Different cards on my person from my husbands -- and I now have several cards on my own number. I carry the "extra" cards in a cloth pocket that goes around my neck. We often now use a travel vest (our cheap version is fishing vest from Bass Pro Shop --25$) because with TSA you can not have your stash on your body in security.With everything in the pockets of the vest you slip the vest off and place in bin and replace on body after security. No one can observe the placement of wallet/passport/money etc. We have had a carryon bag stolen with all money/valuables/etc and it is just better to have it in pockets of the vest.

 

Read your own bank and credit card rules. They can be very different than what you think they are. The rules on the letter that came with opening of account or modifications that come on credit card bills are binding and can cost you. Philidelphia lawyers needed.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Bowie MeMe

[JimandStan]

Our cruises represent only a small fraction of the total time we spend in Europe. Even when we're taking a cruise, our time on the ship is at least equaled by, and typically exceeded by, time spent in independent travel.

 

That's perfectly charming, but you seem to be mixing apples and oranges in your response to my Post. As Passengers, our time in a cruise port is necessarily linked to the ships' sailing times, thereby bolstering my "buy ahead" strategy. Time spent searching for and using ATM's might seriously eat away at invaluable touring time.

 

A bit of research will identify cash and charge cards with no fees for foreign transactions. Some banks have international partners or branches further minimizing the chance of fees for access to one's own money. The charge cards that waive fees for foreign purchases represent significant money that is better spent on a nicer bottle of wine or a stay in a more elegant hotel,

 

I readily agree that money saved vis-à-vis foreign exchange might easily amount to a considerable savings, but in reading the responses to this thread, I am floored by the shear number of people whose Banks are not waiving those fee's as a courtesy.

 

We are by no means wealthy, but haven't paid Exchange Fee's in years.

To be frank, there are a number of people who have responded here whom I suspect would be able to buy and sell us, several times over, but are apparently still paying the fee's by virtue of the fact that they have never even asked that they be waived.

 

A word to the wise: Before you go the complicated route, TALK TO YOUR BANK OFFICER, you may find out that the most convenient way is ALSO the least expensive.

[pacheco18]

The problem is the not the FEE (I am not charged one by my bank) in the US. The problem is the exchange RATE. That is set by corporate. Nothing your local branch can do to change it.

 

For that reason I only changed enough USD yesterday to cover my transfer from the airport to the hotel and the bellman. I will use ATMs this trip but it is still better to go to a bank in the country you are visiting than a bank in the US to exchange larger sums of money.

[Pet Nit Noy]

 

That's perfectly charming, but you seem to be mixing apples and oranges in your response to my Post. As Passengers, our time in a cruise port is necessarily linked to the ships' sailing times, thereby bolstering my "buy ahead" strategy. Time spent searching for and using ATM's might seriously eat away at invaluable touring time.

 

Yes and no. If you track this thread, the whole debate emerged because I was making a legitimate inquiry of a person who was bringing thousands of US dollars to convert eventually to Euros for a post-cruise stay in a Tuscan farmhouse. That poster is in my exact same situation. If she needs the money to pay private guides during the cruise, we don't know. Based on what has been posted, her great need for substantial amounts of Euros is post-cruise.

 

She will have the opportunity to find the ATM machines and withdraw money after the cruise with no impact on her cruise-related touring time. Nevertheless, she intends to cart enough US currency to cover a bill of "several thousand Euro" with her on the trans-Atlantic flight and en route to her farmhouse stay.

 

I thought I was being helpful by posting accurate information about how long it took me to acquire 1000 Euros from multiple ATM machines in Bayeux: Ten minutes. Unfortunately, there has been little dispassionate conversation about my recommendation. Inaccuracies and condescension, but little rational response.

 

I would not have bothered to respond to the OP if she had talked about needing several thousand Euro for her port call tours, but that is not the case here. I realize other folks arrive for an international cruise without a pre-cruise stay. Obviously, those cruisers have less -- but not zero -- chance to use a foreign ATM. However, that is not the specific situation being discussed. In this case, I am still not persuaded that your "buy ahead" strategy is desirable.

[rallydave]

Yes and no. If you track this thread, the whole debate emerged because I was making a legitimate inquiry of a person who was bringing thousands of US dollars to convert eventually to Euros for a post-cruise stay in a Tuscan farmhouse. That poster is in my exact same situation. If she needs the money to pay private guides during the cruise, we don't know. Based on what has been posted, her great need for substantial amounts of Euros is post-cruise.

 

She will have the opportunity to find the ATM machines and withdraw money after the cruise with no impact on her cruise-related touring time. Nevertheless, she intends to cart enough US currency to cover a bill of "several thousand Euro" with her on the trans-Atlantic flight and en route to her farmhouse stay.

 

I thought I was being helpful by posting accurate information about how long it took me to acquire 1000 Euros from multiple ATM machines in Bayeux: Ten minutes. Unfortunately, there has been little dispassionate conversation about my recommendation. Inaccuracies and condescension, but little rational response.

 

I would not have bothered to respond to the OP if she had talked about needing several thousand Euro for her port call tours, but that is not the case here. I realize other folks arrive for an international cruise without a pre-cruise stay. Obviously, those cruisers have less -- but not zero -- chance to use a foreign ATM. However, that is not the specific situation being discussed. In this case, I am still not persuaded that your "buy ahead" strategy is desirable.

 

You are spot on with your assessment. Others are certainly mixing apples and oranges with all of the talk about money exchange fees which even if they are charged amount to pennies. The extremely high charges are the difference in the exchange rates as was recently pointed out by Pachco18 are assessed by the bank home office and no matter your relationship with the bank, they can and often do result in approximately 10% more than using the ATM's which like credit card exchange rates gives the buyer the best available million dollar exchange rates. These exchange rates exist in all in bank transactions except at the ATM so taking large amounts of US dollars to exchange at the teller for this discussed $5K could result in costs in the neighborhood of $500, a not insignificant sum of money.

 

As to wasting time while on the cruise, for Europe, most everyone is flying in and there are many ATM's in the airport where you can get your money while waiting for your bags thus wasting zero time!!!!