(question is for trip to Europe this Sat.)
I realize from searching the archives using an A.T.M. appears to be the favorite (best) choice. However, I'm one of the old school who doesn't use them. I carry cash and credit cards. We have a 5 hr layover in FRA before flying into FCO. What about converting US$ to Euro at the airport? Or is there a better place once we get to Rome? Our trip takes us to Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and UK, so we should be able to use Euro's everywhere. (right?) Thanks in advance for the advice.

[This message has been edited by Road King (edited 04-10-2003).]

EURs are not used in the U.K.

There is great differences between exchange rates at various points of conversion -- buyer beware. Often European airports have reasonable exchange rates and fees (but not always). Almost all US airports have terrible exchange rates (10% markup is typical, which is an outrageous charge). European street locations vary tremendously, usually a bank is better for any amount over $100 (they often charge a flat fee per transaction but give a better exchange rate). The "no fee" places are usually the most expensive and the worst deal.

My advice is to become "new school" on ATM's....you'd benefit on this trip because 1) you get the best conversion rate, and 2)I didn't pay any ATM fees in AMS on my card.

But since you couldn't get a card by Saturday, even if you wanted to, here's the next best thing....go on Yahoo Finance or similar and find the exchange rate for the last business day before you leave. Then you can tell which exchanges are giving you the best deal.

In AMS at least, there were plenty of exchanges in town. If it's like the U.S., the airport ones won't be your best bet.

You have several first class banks at FRA airport: Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank, Deutsche Bank. You can change $ to Euros there and get a good rate; however, ATM would be better.

When looking for a lost colleague, I found a several percentage points difference between the upstairs kiosk and the downstairs kiosk in BRU. These were actually THE SAME COMPANY! I normally would never "shop around" but the colleague and I were going to change our $$$ together to save a couple bucks on the fees. The points were significant but I can't remember exactly by how much, now.

(And no, I didn't find her until we got to the hotel in Waterloo, seperately... but that's another story).


------------------
"Ummm... just decaf for me, please."

I hear ya'all loud and clear about the A.T.M! We did have a card one time, a looooong time ago that I cut up, because we never used it. I will check with the bank in the morning to see if anything is possible, but if not, sounds like we should use the banks there to exchange. Thanks to all of you for the responses! We travel a lot domestically but this is our first trip to Europe and the answers to questions posted on F/T has been a great help.

Are you a AAA member? If so they offer a prepaid ATM card (I believe they call it the passport card now) which I think you can get at any of their offices on the spot. You can also get a PIN number for your credit cards and use it to get advanced from ATM's.

Most US banks will give you a new ATM card right away. They keep blanks in every branch, so they just need to be encoded. They will work fine in European ATMs.

A couple of points.

make sure your pin is only 4 digits for use in Europe, and remember it by number not by letter.

if you use exchange services, you lose 10% or so on the exchange, and then risk getting too little or too much cash changed. You'll probably err on the high side so you don't have to make a second trip, and then will end up with extra foreing currency you have to convert back and lose another 10%

Credit cards charge an outrageous cash advance fee if you use them as an ATM card.

For purchases, credit cards charge 1% FX fee plus another 1-3% depending on the issuing bank. This fee is hidden in the exchange rate harge when the currencies are converted. So if you use ATM's, you'll save 1-3%.

The best route is to use ATM's as much as possible and credit cards for large purchases. Don't want to carry too much cash and be a crime victim.

If you absolutely refuse to have an ATM card, look into travelers checks. AAA issues them for free I think. You'll save on the conversion cost if they are issued in the local currency. I would expect the fees for these and the applicable exchange rate would be better than exchanging cash at the airport, plus they probably could be cashed in more places than would exchange foreign currency and are probably safer to carry.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cordelli:
[B]Are you a AAA member? If so
This is a good idea. I gave one to a friend who went to the Netherlands. He had no atm card from his bank and used the one from AAA.

I have also brought $100 bills and exchanged them at a bank right in the airport, when in Europe. The banks open early at the airport.

Another thought if you're an AAA member and Amex cardholder--they sell Amex Foreign Currency travelers checks fee-free. You can exchange them for cash with no/low surcharges at any Amex Travel office in Europe.

Okay, here is where I say UNCLE. I've called the bank and as Kitty Hawk suggested, they do have "blanks" and can issue a new ATM card for us this afternoon. My kids will be proud of me as I'm dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Many thanks to all who have answered numerous questions about our trip. We leave at 5:10AM tomorrow morning much more informed because of all of you.

Well, into the 1980's anyway...

Good for you! It really is the easiest way to travel.

One caveat: Make sure your bank and credit card companies know that you'll be traveling abroad so they don't freeze your accounts because of what might look like "suspicious activity" (e.g., someone having stolen your card and using it to charge abroad).

Enjoy your trip!

(edited to fix HTML problem)

[This message has been edited by iff (edited 04-11-2003).]