US $ exchange to Euros question

[stardust]

My last time in Europe was before everyone used Euros, and we exchanged money upon arrival in each country. We are taking a Western Med. cruise and upon disembarkation, the hotel we are staying at gave us a great rate for paying cash. So my question is, would it be better/easier to bring Euros with us or have a taxi take us to exchange money before we reach the hotel? We will be paying by credit card for most things during our cruise, but we would have some euros with us. I know a lot depends on the exchange rates, etc., but I am just wondering convenience is better than possibly saving money. We sail in October 2018 from London to Rome and are spending a week in Rome.

Thank you

[Ine]

Better to use an ATM to get Euros, they give the best rates in general. Often less costs when using a bankcard instead of a creditcard.. Most european airports also have a place to change money. Since exchange rates change often it is difficult to tell whether it is better to bring euros or change them upon arrival.

[gnome12]

Is the hotel in London? They do not use the Euro; they use the British Pound. If you are talking about a hotel in Rome, the question is whether you would want some Euros during the cruise. If so, I would exchange for some Euros before you depart; then you won't need to worry about finding a bank machine at your first Euro stop.

[stardust]

Thank you. This is for Rome.

Got a reply from the hotel. No need to carry the cash. Can use a money order.

[Bob++]

First I ever heard of a hotel giving "great rates". I am not sure what a "money order" is but I bet you have to pay for it and then pay again to change it into money you can use. At the moment $10 buys you around 8 Euros.

 

As stated above, ATMs give the best rates and all you need is the right plastic - debit not credit card of course, and in Euro-land you will need a PIN. All larger amounts, like your hotel bill and restaurant bills, should be paid on a credit card and paid off when you get home to avoid interest charges.

[kctwinmommy]

We actually got all our money through our bank before we left. We guesstimated what we would need in each port and then got those currencies. We figured with the amount we were getting, the exchange rate was good enough, and it was a good rate for that time. We had to get Norwegian krone, British pounds, and Euros. We just didn't want to have to worry about using an ATM while there. We came back with just a few "dollars" back from each of the countries, so it worked well.

[gnome12]

We actually got all our money through our bank before we left. We guesstimated what we would need in each port and then got those currencies. We figured with the amount we were getting, the exchange rate was good enough, and it was a good rate for that time. We had to get Norwegian krone, British pounds, and Euros. We just didn't want to have to worry about using an ATM while there. We came back with just a few "dollars" back from each of the countries, so it worked well.

 

 

 

I also prefer to have some cash before I travel (not necessarily all). I have an exchange place with reasonable rates (pretty good on popular currencies and less so on exotics) that charges a reasonable fee. If I need more money I’ll use an ATM. I don’t really care how many Euros I come home with as I’m sure I’ll use them again. Other currencies I try to use up. I do have a credit card that doesn’t charge a foreign exchange fee so I use that when I can.

 

So this year Burmese kyat; next year Danish kroner, Norwegian kroner and UK pounds. It sounds like mostly use CC in Denmark and Norway.

 

 

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[VMax1700]

I have never heard of a hotel offering 'great rates for cash' either. Seems very strange and I would be kinda suspicious!

Who offered the rate? Did you ask or did the hotel 'suggest' cash?

[gnome12]

I have never heard of a hotel offering 'great rates for cash' either. Seems very strange and I would be kinda suspicious!

 

Who offered the rate? Did you ask or did the hotel 'suggest' cash?

 

 

 

It costs a hotel to accept credit cards. I have seen them offer lower rates for cash but it isn’t usually a huge discount.

 

 

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[Sauer-kraut]

Just use an ATM your exchange rate will be much better than using the bank from home. In Europe there are no extra fees for using an ATM like in the states (when using a different bank's ATM) it is also safe.

[Ashland]

We actually got all our money through our bank before we left. We guesstimated what we would need in each port and then got those currencies. We figured with the amount we were getting, the exchange rate was good enough, and it was a good rate for that time. We had to get Norwegian krone, British pounds, and Euros. We just didn't want to have to worry about using an ATM while there. We came back with just a few "dollars" back from each of the countries, so it worked well.

We just came back from a cruise to Ireland, Iceland & Scotland and we did the same thing. I actually got a little too much Krone but easily took it back to my Bank and got my US$'s back....easy .

[Globaliser]

I have never heard of a hotel offering 'great rates for cash' either. Seems very strange and I would be kinda suspicious!

It costs a hotel to accept credit cards. I have seen them offer lower rates for cash but it isn’t usually a huge discount.

Yes, I'd be extremely suspicious. The cost to the hotel will be less than 5%, so there's really no incentive for an honest place to give a bigger discount than that for cash. In addition, you may lose some of the protection of a credit card if you pay cash.

[GrJ Berkshire]

Most hotels discourage cash, due to handling costs, security, max note size in the UK anything above a £20 is viewed with suspicion, you would not be welcome using a roll of £50notes anywhere, which you will need for a hotel bill of several hundred. Equally you usually have to register a CC on booking in for incidental costs against the room anyway .European hotels are the same and above €100 notes are not wanted, indeed hard to spend. Europe is rapidly becoming cashless

[stardust]

I have never heard of a hotel offering 'great rates for cash' either. Seems very strange and I would be kinda suspicious!

Who offered the rate? Did you ask or did the hotel 'suggest' cash?

The hotel offered several different ways to get a discount. A cc was used for the initial deposit. The biggest discount was paying cash for the balance.

 

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[Langoustine]

Hotels in the UK probably report all their income; this is certainly not the case in some other countries. I have been offered discounts frequently in Italy and Greece if I pay the hotels in cash...

[Bob++]

Looking back at this thread I realise that I misunderstood the original question and thought that the OP was suggesting that the hotel gave a great rate for exchanging cash.

 

When we stayed a week in Istanbul in 2015, the cash rate was around 10% less than the credit card rate. They told us that this was because Turkey has high CC charges (Or maybe it was a tax thing - I didn't care).

[Globaliser]

Hotels in the UK probably report all their income; this is certainly not the case in some other countries. I have been offered discounts frequently in Italy and Greece if I pay the hotels in cash...

Of what kind of order? If you're offered 5% off or thereabouts, that would be legitimate.

 

On the other hand, if there's a much larger discount because the hotel is defrauding its tax authorities, then I'd be asking myself whether I really want to stay in an establishment with little integrity. After all, as a hotel guest you have to place a lot of blind trust in your hosts about all manner of things.

[stardust]

Of what kind of order? If you're offered 5% off or thereabouts, that would be legitimate.

 

On the other hand, if there's a much larger discount because the hotel is defrauding its tax authorities, then I'd be asking myself whether I really want to stay in an establishment with little integrity. After all, as a hotel guest you have to place a lot of blind trust in your hosts about all manner of things.

This hotel has a rating between 4.5 and 4.9 on at least 5 travel/hotel booking sites. They give discounts of 5% to 12% based on using cash and/or how far in advance you book.

My main concern was if we didn't carry the cash, how hard would it be to get some?

 

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[Langoustine]

if there's a much larger discount because the hotel is defrauding its tax authorities, then I'd be asking myself whether I really want to stay in an establishment with little integrity. After all, as a hotel guest you have to place a lot of blind trust in your hosts about all manner of things.

 

Defrauding the tax authorities is considered a game in some countries, and is quite common. In 45 years of travel. I have frequently been offered larger discounts in shops for not requesting a receipt, for example. This doesn't happen in Germany, where I lived for several years or, I suspect. in the UK, but around the Mediterranean....well....

[Globaliser]

Defrauding the tax authorities is considered a game in some countries, and is quite common. In 45 years of travel. I have frequently been offered larger discounts in shops for not requesting a receipt, for example. This doesn't happen in Germany, where I lived for several years or, I suspect. in the UK, but around the Mediterranean....well....

Of course, you'd have to be very inexperienced or naive not to be aware of the countries where it's not just a game but more like the national sport.

 

But if you're staying in a hotel, you're also reliant on the hotel to comply with its obligations under fire safety regulations, for example. If it's cheating on its tax, why do you think that it will necessarily be fully compliant with rules that are intended to save your life?

[ORD1166]

My last time in Europe was before everyone used Euros, and we exchanged money upon arrival in each country. We are taking a Western Med. cruise and upon disembarkation, the hotel we are staying at gave us a great rate for paying cash. So my question is, would it be better/easier to bring Euros with us or have a taxi take us to exchange money before we reach the hotel? We will be paying by credit card for most things during our cruise, but we would have some euros with us. I know a lot depends on the exchange rates, etc., but I am just wondering convenience is better than possibly saving money. We sail in October 2018 from London to Rome and are spending a week in Rome.

Thank you

 

Over the years of traveling, I have used Traveler Checks, CC and cash. I no longer use Travel Checks a pain to cash and use at different places. Lately I try and pick up cash before I head to Europe. I check with my bank(BOA) and TravelEx for rates. BOA usually has a better rate than TravelEx. When I checked the other day BOA was $1.24 for a Euro (Ft. Worth paper listed Euro as $1.16). TravelEx at DFW is about .10 more than BOA. BOA charges me $6 process fee. I try not to use an ATM when I am overseas. And will prepay for a lot of hotels and tours. Also,buy what rail passes and local transit cars ahead of travel. We will use cash for food and cabs.

 

Hope this info helps. Everyone has their ideas and ways for getting cash and paying for things. I find this works the best for us.

 

Vic

[chatdad]

1. Never Ever go to a money changer/exchange. You will get ripped off.

2. Use ATMs (be sure you have a chip card and PIN) to get your Euros IF you don't bring some with you.

3. While the exchange rate may not be the best, for your pre-cruise hotel stay, get those funds from your local bank before leaving. Get a variety of denominations, perhaps a couple of 100 euro notes, but everything else in 50 euro notes or less. Do not bring anything over 100 euro note, you will have a hard time getting anyone (including some banks) to break that for you.

4. Credit cards (again with chip and PIN) are accepted more widely than before, but not everywhere so having some cash on hand is good.

 

As Vic noted, Cashier Checks are out of vogue and you won't find anyone who takes them anymore. Found a few old ones from a prior trip years and years ago that we took to our local bank and they kind of chuckles when they saw them. They don't even sell them anymore.

 

Obviously if you do bring cash, make sure you split it up and have it secured in an inside pocket when not in a safe. Since most hotel room safes aren't secured to the shelf they sit on, I always wear my ScottE vest and keep the cash in one of the many inside zipped pockets with the vest zipped as well. Before that I wore a money belt though it was a bit of an inconvenience.

 

Enjoy your cruise. BTW, if you're flying in to FCO, train is a cheaper and fairly convenient way to get to Rome versus taxi. Plenty of video tutorials on how to get tickets and get around if you haven't done it before.

[gnome12]

I’ll add one more. If using an ATM make sure it is a bank one not a third party machine. You will get a better exchange rate.

 

 

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[stardust]

Thank you everyone. You have given me good advice

 

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[lisiamc]

I’d also bear in mind that it’s difficult to shift €100 bank notes unless you’re spending close to or over €100. Our local Bancomats (Italy) don’t even dispense them.