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where's the best place to buy euros in usa

J

JPETERS

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I will be traveling to France in the fall and would like to purchase Euro's before I leave. Any suggestions as to where I may buy euro's in the states?
The 2 banks I checked with seem to be giving me less for my dollar. Thanks.
 
Use a ATM

I would wait to get there and use an ATM. Buying Euros is usually more expensive. Check for those who have a relationship with your bank or use a Credit Union which seldom charge any fees.

Cheers
 
You will indeed pay more for Euros in the US. I wouldn't exchange more than $10-20 worth for incidentals until you get to an ATM. There will be bank rate ATMs at the destination airport. European ATMs are multi-lingual. Use a debit card- not credit card- as cash withdrawals from CC are charged the max % rate. Make sure your PIN # is 4 digits. Many ATMs won't take more. Get enough Euros to last you a couple of days at a time or the fees will add up (same 2-3 euro fee to withdraw 200 euros as 20).

Mostly, have fun. I saw that you were going to S. France. Lots of Brits holiday there, so you'll have no trouble using English- even if the French may say otherwise. A 'bonjour' or 'merci' will go a long way with the locals.

Look through a couple of tour guides for suggestions of stuff to see.

Jim Ricks
 
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ATM's over there are indeed your best bet in France for €. I would never exchange in the US. You need to watch fees on the ATM over there, as well as from your US bank. Many charge 3% plus $2-5. If you have CapOne, they have no fees. Most credit unions are 1% plus 50-75 cents.

For some countries, one can use local exchange houses at a good rate, but that went out the window in France when they went from the franc to the €. Where I am at, for example, I frequently put my $ that I get paid in to € using local exchange houses. Even doing a three currency transaction by way of local currency ($ to local currency to €), my exchange loss in such a conversion is usually under 1% all-in for both exchanges combined.
 
Please learn what each euros coin stands for in spending power.
 
thanks

Thanks to all for your input. I will bite the bullet, pay the high cost for a little pocket money till we arrive at the airport. I knew my fellow Tuggers would know the answers to my travel questions.:)
 
JPETERS said:
Thanks to all for your input. I will bite the bullet, pay the high cost for a little pocket money till we arrive at the airport. I knew my fellow Tuggers would know the answers to my travel questions.:)
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Most places, pocket money at the airport is simply not necessary. You can usually get into town with plastic on a train or airport van. If you need some, most airport vendors will take dollars and give you change in local currency, usually at no commission and at a rate that is not that bad although not the best. Don't use airport exchange houses which are ripoffs most places (Zurich, Mexico City, and Chisinau are exceptions that come to mind), use airport vendors. A newspaper at a newstand or a coffee or coke at McDonalds will give you pocket money when you get your change.
 
Carolinian said:
Most places, pocket money at the airport is simply not necessary. You can usually get into town with plastic on a train or airport van. If you need some, most airport vendors will take dollars and give you change in local currency, usually at no commission and at a rate that is not that bad although not the best. Don't use airport exchange houses which are ripoffs most places (Zurich, Mexico City, and Chisinau are exceptions that come to mind), use airport vendors. A newspaper at a newstand or a coffee or coke at McDonalds will give you pocket money when you get your change.
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Totally agree! why go through the hassle of getting Euros in the States when it is not necessary. You should also hang on to some change from the trip to use next time so you can avoid all the unnecessary worry.

Cheers
 
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Are there ATMs at the terminals in Heathrow airport to get money? Flying Continental next month. FIrst trip to London then on to PAris.
 
Carlsbadguy said:
Are there ATMs at the terminals in Heathrow airport to get money? Flying Continental next month. FIrst trip to London then on to PAris.
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I would imagine there are. It's been a long time since I've seen an airport without ATM's. You'll just want to see that the ATM is a bankATM, the private ones charge waay too much. And, of course Great Britain uses pounds, not Euros, so you will need both currencies, unless you are just passing through Heathrow on the way to France.

Jim Ricks
 
Carlsbadguy said:
Are there ATMs at the terminals in Heathrow airport to get money? Flying Continental next month. FIrst trip to London then on to PAris.
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I am sure there are but if you do not find one being in fog from jet lag, just take the Train/Tube into London using a credit card and there are plenty in the Train Station(s) or right outside thge Tube Station(s).

Cheers
 
I avoid money changing in airports. The fees are usually higher at the ATMs. The card you use makes a difference. My credit card does not charge a 1% surcharge when making cash advances at ATMs. Between that and my bank card, all is good when I land in Europe.

If Europe is going to be a regular thing for you, open a bank account there. Buy a bunch of euros when the rates are good and stash them in your account, earning a little interest. You can do the leg work via computer (comparing fees/wire costs/atm charges/etc), then open an account there (or here, if they have a branch in your area).

Besides, nothing like telling the person in the airplane seat next to you, "Euros? I'll just withdraw them from my bank in Florence." (Although Deutsche Bank has more branches, and are generally easier for people who go to lots of different countries.)

It's getting to the point where it really makes no difference where your money is stashed. But I like having a few Euros parked across the pond, at a small bank where people know my name. It also gives me a "go-to" vacation. Someday I'll return to Florence to spend the last of my Euros. That's cool.
 
Do you belong to AAA? They do not charge a fee and we were able to get euros by the next day.
 
jeg said:
Do you belong to AAA? They do not charge a fee and we were able to get euros by the next day.
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They may not charge a commission, but you had better check the exchange rate. I am a member of AAA, and the last time I checked, their exchange rate was awful. They also sell travellers checks denominated in foreign currencies, and many years ago when they were in marks, guilders, and francs and such offered good rates and no fees for them, but as soon as the euro came in, their exchange rate became awful. Travellers checks are hard to use in Europe, and generally not a good idea. I did it when the dollar was falling against those currencies and I had some trips planned, but generally had to find the local AmEx office to trade them in for folding money, so few merchants in Europe would take them.
 
JUst compared my local AAA rates with Wells Fargo banka nd Wells Fargo offered much better rates.
 
x3 skier said:
I am sure there are but if you do not find one being in fog from jet lag, just take the Train/Tube into London using a credit card and there are plenty in the Train Station(s) or right outside thge Tube Station(s).

Cheers
Click to expand...

In the UK, many of the ATM's attached to banks do not charge any local fee for use, so those are the ones you want to find. They often tell you right on the screen that they do not charge you a fee. Some of those in train stations are private ATM's that do pop you for a signifiacant fee, as are those at motorway rest stops. Always try to find one attached to a bank.

There are also some good exchange houses just outside of Victoria Station if you are coming from London's best airport, Gatwick, but avoid those inside the station which have high commissioners, bad rates, or both. I wish more countries would be like Bulgaria and simply outlaw exchange houses charging commissions. The differntial between buying and selling rates is enough to make a profit without adding in confusing commmissions that make it difficult to compare between exchange houses.
 
We're heading to Greece in May and are also curious where to buy Euros. We're landing in Athens, then on to Crete or Santorini. We've bought from AAA and Wachovia in the US in the past.

Anybody have any suggestions?
 
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gresmi said:
We're heading to Greece in May and are also curious where to buy Euros. We're landing in Athens, then on to Crete or Santorini. We've bought from AAA and Wachovia in the US in the past.

Anybody have any suggestions?
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All ATM's in Greece charge a local fee for their use, something you avoid in some other European countries like the UK. The last time I traveled to Greece from the US, I found one of the travel guidebooks (I think it was ''Let's Go'') gave the ATM fee for each of the major banks in Greece, so I was able to use the one with the lowest fee.

Neither AAA nor Wachovia have been good about foreign exchange rates in the past. Maybe that has changed at Wachovia since their takeover by Wells Fargo.
 
Carolinian, thanks. I will check with Wachovia today. I just checked the xe.com exchange rate. We should have bought 4 times what we needed for our trip on 2008.
 
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ATM's all the way, one word of advise, particularly if you are using a bank debit card, call first and make sure you can use it over seas. Alot of them lately are limiting where you use, no biggie, just tell them what dates you are traveling and the open it up for that period. Nothing worse than getting over there and not being able to use and not being able to get a hold of your bank till the next day. Do the same for your phone also, yes, if you have a world phone you can use it, but they will ding some astronomical charge, AT&t for example, you call them, tell them where you are traveling and they will charge a small fee, something like $5 bucks a month, that will give you a greatly reduced rate, and you can cancel it when you get back. One phone call and it will pay for it self. I travel to Italy a lot and have learned the hard way to do this.
 
Also keep in mind, that if you are just worrying about Money in the airports, a lot of the places take the USD as well as the Euro. It is just when you actually walk out of the airport that it becomes the issue. And also, I want to stress, not all places in airports take both, just some.
 
And make sure that you know what your password is in numbers because many, if not most, of the keypads at ATMs in Europe do not have letters on them.

Sue
 
riperoo said:
Do the same for your phone also, yes, if you have a world phone you can use it, but they will ding some astronomical charge, AT&t for example, you call them, tell them where you are traveling and they will charge a small fee, something like $5 bucks a month, that will give you a greatly reduced rate, and you can cancel it when you get back. One phone call and it will pay for it self. I travel to Italy a lot and have learned the hard way to do this.
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Cheapest is to get a SIM Card to use in an Unlocked phone (GSM Quad Band) or buy a PAYG Phone from a local provider. Another alternative is a calling card.

Cheers
 
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