Saving some money in the Baltics

[orchid72]

From what I've seen it seems to be difficult to get Estonian Kroner in advance. If I get any I will probably wait until I get to port, or maybe just try to use Euros for everything.

 

I was able to get Estonian Kroner, but in case you can't, most of the places we went to in Tallin automatically gave us the conversion to Euros on the bill/check, so I am assuming they are accepting Euros widely. Same thing in Stockholm.

[defaultet]

@Giantfan13,

 

I haven't exchanged anything at Wells Fargo yet, will wait til a couple weeks before our cruise. I think their rates change daily, but this is what they are right now. https://www.foreignexchangeservices.com/cfx/todaysrates. If you gave them $200 they would give you 135 Euros. I compared this with TravelEx and others, and you do fare somewhat better.

 

There is no additional charge. You can order online and have it shipped to you (there are shipping costs) or you get from certain retail locations. I did a search for locations in Seattle and there seem to be quite a few here.

 

I'm sure you may get better rates at the local ATMs in each country, but I do not want to spend my time waiting in line and trying to do conversions in my head, etc. I would rather have it taken care of beforehand.

[Giantfan13]

Thanks for the info.

[Got2Cruise]

Did anyone use the Wells Fargo Currency Exchange recently? I don't have a Capital One card, and don't plan on opening one. I am thinking with the 3 percent that my credit/debit card company will charge me, it would come to about the same if I order some currency from Wells Fargo?? I don't need a lot, just some to use in flea markets, small shops and restaurants. I need Danish Kroner; Russian Rubles; Swedish Krona; and Euros for Helsinki and Tallin.:confused:

[KirkNC]

You would be much better off getting currency from ATM's in the mentioned countries. That is what we will do this June.

 

Kirk

[Giantfan13]

You would be much better off getting currency from ATM's in the mentioned countries. That is what we will do this June.

 

Kirk

 

Kirk

 

that is fine, but some of the ports do NOT have ATM machines right there. Where we docked in Helsinki, there were no ATM's to sue as we needed Euro's to get on the bus. Gosh, memory is not good today, but I also think there was another port with no handy ATM, maybe Stockholm.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[cruisingfyra]

Did anyone use the Wells Fargo Currency Exchange recently? I don't have a Capital One card, and don't plan on opening one. I am thinking with the 3 percent that my credit/debit card company will charge me, it would come to about the same if I order some currency from Wells Fargo?? I don't need a lot, just some to use in flea markets, small shops and restaurants. I need Danish Kroner; Russian Rubles; Swedish Krona; and Euros for Helsinki and Tallin.:confused:

 

I know this is a little late, but I did just recently use Wells Fargo for their exchange. From what I found, they give the best rates I could find. Easy to get and very fast.

[janina]

Giantfan - I'm sorry I didn't post this here sooner, or I could have saved you a lot of homework.

 

Here is a link to a recent thread that I posted in the Money Saving Tips forum: Current information on using credit cards/ATMs in foreign countries

 

It gives detailed information, by bank, as to what they charge for foreign currency exchange fees and/or ATM charges. I personally validated all of these numbers, either by calling the banks themselves, or verifying on more than one online resource.

 

You are correct that Capitol One is the ONLY major credit card that charges ZERO currency exchange fees.

 

Wamu (now Chase) seems to have the best ATM situation - ZERO fees, 1% exchange fee.

 

All the others are higher to some varying degree.

Great info..thanks. We have used Capital ONe for a few years while traveling overseas, and have had no problems and no fees.

[SJ27]

On excharging money before you go. We inquired about just exchanging money before we travel and have it handy when we do go to countries that we need it for. There is a company called TravelEx where is you exchange $1000 in whatever currency you wish, there is NO fee at all, and they will convert what you bring home, back to US dollars, also for no fee. The problem I have with this compnay is their exchange rate seems way out of whack. On their web site, just for example, I asked for $100 in Euro's, and they had a figure that was about 5 Euro's below what the current exchange rate seemed to be.

 

No matter where you are in the world, always be wary of bureaux that claim "no fee" as they will always have the worst exchange rates - they make their money this way rather than via fees. No-one is doing the business out of altruism, after all! :D

[chica]

Okay, just to throw my input in here. Last year I opened a Capital One money market account for my travel account. I paid no fees for any transactions (we were in Germany) and the exchange rate was based on the daily exchange rate---in other words the best possible rate, not an inflated/deflated rate as charged by my "regular" bank, Chase. It is worth it to me, because no only do I get the best possible exchange without fees, I now have an account that is specifically set up for travel money. No worrying about losing my regular bank card or exposing those accounts to fraud or other risks which would be a hassle to straighten out and could end up bouncing regular transactions, at least temporarily (like the phone, elect, etc.), either.