Question about Euros

[Demonyte]

Someone said that when you get money in the casino against your shipboard account, you can then cash out in Euros, so no $10 fee to do that.

 

Where have you heard that? The currency of the ship is USD so I doubt that you could cash out Euros from casino as the bets and winnings are all also in USD. Also, when you withdraw money from onboard account in casino, they will add 3% convience fee to the charge.

[MATHA531]

As I said, there is no one answer that fits all situations nor do all banks have the same policies. All I can tell you is that as I write this, the "official" rate is €1 = $1.3526. That is constantly changing in the third or fourth decimal place. No bank will give you that on a cash transaction. Some banks claim to have rates without fees but then put the fee into the rate they give you. So a bank may say, for example, €1 = $1.43 and say it has no fee. Another bank might give you €1 = $1/41 but then adds on fees and in the end you pay the same. Of course, and I will agree, sometimes the convenience of having euro before you leave is more important to some than saving a few dollars in fees.

 

I'm a cheak person so every cent counts and I want the best for my money. The only way to get near the official rate is to use a credit card without a foreign transaction fee. At least in the USA, banks are required to state what their foreign transaction fee is right up front. And be careful. A bank may say it's foreign transaction fee is 3% and that includes even if the charge is written up in US$ (I am assuming one is American; it works the same way for other currencies and countries by and large). For example, just as an example, many have disocvered much to their chagrin if they use say a Chase card with 3% foreign transaction fee, and they go to Orbitz and buy 4 tickets on Aer Lingus for $900 each, a total of $3600 in a transaction that seems never to have left the USA, they will be socked with a $108 foreign transaction fee. How come, you cry to Orbitz. Well Aer Lingus, beieve it or not, processes its mastercard and visa charges in Ireland so the foreign transaction fee applies. Orbitz is just acting as an agent of Aer Lingus. Therefore it's important to know just what each individual bank's policy is regarding credit card charges and the same holds for ATM/debit card withdrawals at ATM's. Some banks charge 3% above the official rate, some don't. Some, like Bank of America give you a "network" of banks where they (the European banks in general do not charge fees for withdrawals from ATM based on shared teller network rules) charge no additional fee besides the 3% currency fee but charge $5 on top if yoou go out of "network". Other banks, like Charles Schwab, charge no withdrawal fees, charge 1% above the official rate and reimburse you if you use a bank that charges a fee. The point being every bank has different rules.

 

Personally, as I said, the easiest way to deal with this is to use a credit card everywhere it is taken, for every purchase loarge or small making sure the credit card you are using has no foreign transaction fee nor annual fee (as I said, for Americans, Bank of America travel rewards meets all these criteria) and be done with the whole thing and pick up a few euro (if you are in a country that uses euro) upon arrival at your first European airport using an ATM with a debit/ATM card which charges no fee. Enough exist that you should be able to find one.

 

Using the ship is just throwing away money (unless you feel the convenience of losing 15 or 20% on each transaction is worth it.)

[PorkChopKid]

For better or for worse, here is what my limited experience has been.....

 

We usually exchange some money at our local bank before we leave. Is it the best rate? Probably not but we liked the idea of having money spread out on us and in our carry-ons before getting on the plane so we aren't flashing money around when we arrive at the European airport.

 

Now we have heard ATM's are the best way so we decided to get 200 euros out of an ATM to try it out while in Greece for a cruise. I used a debit card. Exchange rates and fees from our bank seemed reasonable but the local bank in Greece hit us with a 15% fee!!! Of course we didn't find out about all of this until we got home and saw the transaction on our monthly statement.

 

I'm guessing all of the economic issues in Greece was probably why the ridiculous ATM fee.

 

Last year we traveled to Ireland and again we secured euros from our local bank. I wanted to check out the ATM deal again and this time everything was very reasonable. Just to be clear, I again used my debit card.

 

We use a no transaction fee Capital One card when making major purchases. BTW, our Capital One card does NOT have a chip in it. We've heard that there could be problems using it in certain places but, as yet, we haven't had any issues.

Edited July 19, 2014 by PorkChopKid

[hawkeyetlse]

My question wasn't IF I could use an ATM, it was whether or not it would cost me a LOT more money to get Euros from my bank first.

Depends what you consider "a LOT". As 4774Papa already said, the exchange rate your bank offered you yesterday ($1.42 for 1 €) was much worse than the interbank rate (around $1.35). So buying 100 € from them will basically cost you $7. 200 € will cost you $14, 300 € will cost you $21, etc. For large amounts this is obviously a terrible deal for you.

 

It may be worth it for you to get 50 € or 100 € to have in your pocket depending on how/where you are going to arrive in the Eurozone. But once you're there, the ATMs will be your friend. They might still inflate the exchange rate by 1% or 2%, but that's still nowhere near your bank's greedy 5%. Even with the $3 fee per withdrawal, as long as you take out at least 100 € each time, you'll be getting a better deal. And you won't have to carry around all of your cash for the entire trip from the very start.

[RDC1]

I have had very good luck with a debit card through Ally bank. No exchange fee, exchanges at current exchange rate and reimburses atm fees.

 

The United airlines credit card also has no exchange fee and exchanges at current exchange rate.

 

Use debit for currency withdrawals at bank atms and United card for purchases.

Edited July 19, 2014 by RDC1

[MATHA531]

For better or for worse, here is what my limited experience has been.....

 

We usually exchange some money at our local bank before we leave. Is it the best rate? Probably not but we liked the idea of having money spread out on us and in our carry-ons before getting on the plane so we aren't flashing money around when we arrive at the European airport.

 

Now we have heard ATM's are the best way so we decided to get 200 euros out of an ATM to try it out while in Greece for a cruise. I used a debit card. Exchange rates and fees from our bank seemed reasonable but the local bank in Greece hit us with a 15% fee!!! Of course we didn't find out about all of this until we got home and saw the transaction on our monthly statement.

 

I'm guessing all of the economic issues in Greece was probably why the ridiculous ATM fee.

 

Last year we traveled to Ireland and again we secured euros from our local bank. I wanted to check out the ATM deal again and this time everything was very reasonable. Just to be clear, I again used my debit card.

 

We use a no transaction fee Capital One card when making major purchases. BTW, our Capital One card does NOT have a chip in it. We've heard that there could be problems using it in certain places but, as yet, we haven't had any issues.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong and something else wasn't going on. However...

 

1. Be aware the two major shared teller networks are cirrus (mastercard really) and plus (visa really). Their regulations all prohibit a bank from charging a fee if you have the audacity to use an ATM with a debit or ATM card issued outside the country. Some banks have ways to evade this but in general, those rules apply.

 

2. Banks are supposed to inform customers of any fees they will charge and give you an opportunity to opt out before the transaction is completed. They also in general point out YOUR bank may charge fees for the withdrawal.

 

Now I understand, for example, in Great Britain it is claimed some non bank ATM's do charge fees on foreign debit cards. I've never run into one. Also the debit/ATM cards I use, one from my Fidelity Brokerage account, another from USAA and a third from Charles Schwab Bank all have a policy of reimbursing those fees either intotal or up to a certain amount each statement cycle. Not that I use cash for the most part for anything (I never understand, btw and I don't mean it in a critical way why people are reluctant to use credit cards for ALL purchases not just major ones. That's what credit cards are for).

 

If I was charged 15% by a bank for a cash withdrawal and not informed, I would scream bloody murder both because the fee is contrary to the shared teller regulations and I wasn't notified. Are you sure you used a debit card and not a credit card where banks can and do impose heavy fees on cash withdrawals but again it would be your bank imposing the fee.

[garycarla]

... I am deciding how much cash in Euros I would get exchanged at my bank prior to leaving.

 

And there is the bigger problem. How can anyone figure out how much they need? If you do not get enough, you will need to get more over there. If you get too much, you now have to convert back.

 

I guess some people can figure this out. Probably the same people that know what time and what type of food they want to eat after a day of touring 90 ays in advance... LOL!

[danacline]

Where have you heard that? The currency of the ship is USD so I doubt that you could cash out Euros from casino as the bets and winnings are all also in USD. Also, when you withdraw money from onboard account in casino, they will add 3% convience fee to the charge.

 

Actually I read that here, on one of the Cruise Critic forum postings. And as it was after our cruise, I didn't get a chance to try it. Pretty sure it was mentioned in the NCL forum but it could have been our roll call too.

[Lilystar]

And there is the bigger problem. How can anyone figure out how much they need? If you do not get enough, you will need to get more over there. If you get too much, you now have to convert back.

 

I guess some people can figure this out. Probably the same people that know what time and what type of food they want to eat after a day of touring 90 ays in advance... LOL!

 

I don't presume to know EXACTLY how much I'll need, but I do have a good idea of how much cash I will need for already established things. I know how much my transfers will cost and how much the private shore excursion will cost and an estimate for taxis, so I want to have at least that amount. As for souvenirs and food that I may need to pay for, I do indeed have a budget I'm sticking to so even with that I know an approximate amount. As much as I'd like to have a carefree vacation spending whatever I want, that's not a reality that I live in.

[RDC1]

Another little trick when you come home.

 

If you have a starbucks card, you can visit a Starbucks before you leave the country, use your left over cash to charge your card and Starbucks will automatically convert it to dollars at the current exchange rate. A nice little way for Starbucks customers to not have to deal with exchange fees with left over currency, even change.

[PorkChopKid]

I'm not saying you're wrong and something else wasn't going on. However...

 

1. Be aware the two major shared teller networks are cirrus (mastercard really) and plus (visa really). Their regulations all prohibit a bank from charging a fee if you have the audacity to use an ATM with a debit or ATM card issued outside the country. Some banks have ways to evade this but in general, those rules apply.

 

2. Banks are supposed to inform customers of any fees they will charge and give you an opportunity to opt out before the transaction is completed. They also in general point out YOUR bank may charge fees for the withdrawal.

 

Now I understand, for example, in Great Britain it is claimed some non bank ATM's do charge fees on foreign debit cards. I've never run into one. Also the debit/ATM cards I use, one from my Fidelity Brokerage account, another from USAA and a third from Charles Schwab Bank all have a policy of reimbursing those fees either intotal or up to a certain amount each statement cycle. Not that I use cash for the most part for anything (I never understand, btw and I don't mean it in a critical way why people are reluctant to use credit cards for ALL purchases not just major ones. That's what credit cards are for).

 

If I was charged 15% by a bank for a cash withdrawal and not informed, I would scream bloody murder both because the fee is contrary to the shared teller regulations and I wasn't notified. Are you sure you used a debit card and not a credit card where banks can and do impose heavy fees on cash withdrawals but again it would be your bank imposing the fee.

Wow, guess you know your stuff!! Thanks for the insight. Anyway, that incident in Greece that I referred to was on our very first trip to Europe and our first money exchange experience. The statement I got a month or so later had several entries covering the transaction. If memory serves me it went something like this....

- One line covered the exchange. X dollars for 200 euros. Seemed reasonable to me.

- One line was a VISA exchange fee. $6-$7 as I recall. BTW, my card is a VISA Check Card. It's used like a credit card but money comes out of my account. I'm assuming this is the same as what people refer to as a "debit card".

- One line was another $6-$7 fee from my Credit Union.

- One line was for a $30-$35 fee from some bank in Greece.

Should I have done some screaming about it, probably but, frankly, I didn't know any better and took it on the chin.

Your comment about being notified: I don't recall if anything popped up on the screen and if it had it probably was in Greek. I just wanted to get the transaction done and be on my way. I recall being a bit nervous as I was on a busy street in a foreign country looking like a tourist getting money out of a machine. This was our first time in Europe and maybe I spent to much time reading about pickpockets and robberies...

[welove2cruise*]

This will be our 4th trip to Europe in September. I have found that getting euro from a local bank that deals in foreign currency before our trip for things we feel we will need cash for is totally worth the cost of exchange considering not having to worry about an ATM card getting swallowed by a machine or having problems using one (or worrying about finding one). I make a spreadsheet for our entire trip (I am in accounting so nothing new for me).

 

What I do is find out every option for pre-arranging (and paying in advance) for transportation, event tickets, etc. This helps tremendously in keeping the needed euro to a minimum and I always factor in a safety net figuring it will be money we bring home to take on our next trip!

 

We also have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees (very important) so it has been nice the last few days to purchase transfers, etc. with the euro just a tad lower.

 

I have found that pre-arranging taxis and tickets has been good to do. I will be writing a review of our upcoming trip this fall. I plan to use suntransfers.com for our taxi service in Amsterdam & Paris and will certainly share our experience as I am hoping it will be useful information.

 

 

Happy traveling!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Okmyx]

I've been to Europe a number of times and since the 90s I've never bothered with converting money before the trip and simply use an ATM when I get there. It never fails to work, is very convenient, and there are always a few in the airport near baggage pickup. And, in recent years I've had cabs accept credit cards from the airport so it's been even simpler. This really isn't a big deal, and I wouldn't pay extra to obtain foreign currency in advance.

 

 

Sent from my iPad

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Another little trick when you come home.

 

 

 

If you have a starbucks card, you can visit a Starbucks before you leave the country, use your left over cash to charge your card and Starbucks will automatically convert it to dollars at the current exchange rate. A nice little way for Starbucks customers to not have to deal with exchange fees with left over currency, even change.

 

 

Never heard this before, where have you done it? I had read that a US Starbucks card is only good in US, Canada and Mexico.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

[Skippingaroundtheglobe]

As an American living in Europe I have never had an issue using my American bank card in an ATM during any of my travels. As to the exchange rate. I gave up worrying about how much I lose a long time ago, but I do understand that it matters when you are trying to budget.

 

Europeans have chip cards that are used with a pin, you will find that credit cards are taken in more tourist travelled areas, but not everywhere. It's always good to have cash!

 

and yes......our purses get very heavy with all those coins!!

[RDC1]

Never heard this before, where have you done it? I had read that a US Starbucks card is only good in US, Canada and Mexico.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - Oy, excuse the auto correct ;)

 

Most recently I did this in Australia and New Zealand. I started doing this after reading a travel article that described it. I believe that Starbucks started doing it last year.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Most recently I did this in Australia and New Zealand. I started doing this after reading a travel article that described it. I believe that Starbucks started doing it last year.

 

Just to be clear. If I am in London, I can take my last 10 pounds to Starbucks and they will put the equivalent number of USD on my card to use when I return home. Correct?

[RDC1]

Just to be clear. If I am in London, I can take my last 10 pounds to Starbucks and they will put the equivalent number of USD on my card to use when I return home. Correct?

 

Yes exactly. you give them the pounds to charge your card and when you get back to the US the account will show the value in dollars.

 

Of course you could charge your card in dollars before you leave and be able to use it to buy coffee in pounds while in London as well.