Originally Posted by Rebelyell

Airport exchange booths are terrible, but many banks sell euros for five percent over the spot rate. So with the euro trading at 1.05 they would sell them at 1.105, or thereabouts.

Many people do not have a no-fee ATM card and don't have a servant available to spend the time to open such an account and manage it. So they have to just use their regular ATM card, which often will have a three percent foreign transaction fee plus a $5 ATM fee.

So for many people there will be no savings from waiting until they get to Europe to get euros. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be any compensation scheme to reimburse people for time spent waiting for an ATM, since getting money already in your hand is instantaneous. Who is to pay the person who has their card eaten by an ATM? Everyone talks about how wonderful it is to take risks without acknowledging the risks involved with relying solely on an ATM card.

Certainly one should carry an ATM card, but one should never be without a few hundred dollars or more worth of the local currency prior to arrival.