Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best rate of exchange is at an atm in country. I never buy foreign currency in the USA.

really? I've had to pay up to 20 dollars a withdrawal overseas between the local ATM fee and my bank's ATM fee, plus the 3% surcharge from my bank, plus you get whatever rate is the rate of the day. Foreign currency orders at my local bank only charge the 3% fee.

Just checked BofA- they are offering a rate 5% above the current exchange rate, plus a $7.50 shipping fee, if you order euros from them. So if ordering 200 euros, it would be about $17.50 in extra charges.

It's normally pretty easy to find an ATM overseas which doesn't charge withdrawal fees. So you would have to pay your own banks 3%- say $6, plus the $5 your bank ATM fee, so total of $11.

Again, if you have time and willingness, a number of banks have checking accounts which don't charge anything for foreign ATM withdrawals- TD has one with minimum holdings of $2500 to avoid fees. Charles Schwab checking is completely free and even reimburses you if the ATM has it's own fee.

Capital One also doesn't charge anything to withdraw from foreign ATMs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best rate of exchange is at an atm in country. I never buy foreign currency in the USA.

really? I've had to pay up to 20 dollars a withdrawal overseas between the local ATM fee and my bank's ATM fee, plus the 3% surcharge from my bank, plus you get whatever rate is the rate of the day. Foreign currency orders at my local bank only charge the 3% fee.

Just checked BofA- they are offering a rate 5% above the current exchange rate, plus a $7.50 shipping fee, if you order euros from them. So if ordering 200 euros, it would be about $17.50 in extra charges.

It's normally pretty easy to find an ATM overseas which doesn't charge withdrawal fees. So you would have to pay your own banks 3%- say $6, plus the $5 your bank ATM fee, so total of $11.

Again, if you have time and willingness, a number of banks have checking accounts which don't charge anything for foreign ATM withdrawals- TD has one with minimum holdings of $2500 to avoid fees. Charles Schwab checking is completely free and even reimburses you if the ATM has it's own fee.

Anonymous wrote:The best rate of exchange is at an atm in country. I never buy foreign currency in the USA.

really? I've had to pay up to 20 dollars a withdrawal overseas between the local ATM fee and my bank's ATM fee, plus the 3% surcharge from my bank, plus you get whatever rate is the rate of the day. Foreign currency orders at my local bank only charge the 3% fee.

The best rate of exchange is at an atm in country. I never buy foreign currency in the USA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always just go to an ATM after I land. But if you are paying cash for your VRBO (?!?!?! That's a red flag to me. I thought that wasn't allowed under VRBO terms?) you will probably need more than you can withdraw in just one day.

Your bank might be able to exchange it for you with proper notice. I know my brother (who lives in Texas, and went to Italy last month) did that just through his normal bank, but it took about a week.
I looked into doing it with our bank for a spring break trip my kids went on, but ours (Navy Fed) does not offer that service.

It’s not the whole vrbo fee. It’s a supplemental cleaning fee and the local occupancy tax that they say need to be paid in cash when there. It totals about 200 euros for the stay. Is that weird? We typically do not stay in VrBOs.

I have the local tax collected in cash before, but it was very minor- like 5 euros/day or a bit less. Never a cleaning fee. I wouldn't be happy about it, but if disclosed at booking I'd say it's okay.

Definitely pick up cash at an ATM after arrival- much cheaper than changing actual cash before or after landing, and cheaper than getting euros from your bank before departure.. Airport obviously the easiest, but sometimes the ATMs in airport charge exorbitant fees. If so, just stop at a bank near where you are staying. When using ATM, make sure you DO NOT use the "use US dollars for this transaction" option- they give you an awful conversion rate for that option.

What's your bank? Some banks' premium checking accounts have free withdrawals in foreign currencies and possibly might refund the ATM fee- but in my experience most bank-based ATMs in Europe don't charge ATM fees on their end.

Anonymous wrote:I always just go to an ATM after I land. But if you are paying cash for your VRBO (?!?!?! That's a red flag to me. I thought that wasn't allowed under VRBO terms?) you will probably need more than you can withdraw in just one day.

Your bank might be able to exchange it for you with proper notice. I know my brother (who lives in Texas, and went to Italy last month) did that just through his normal bank, but it took about a week.
I looked into doing it with our bank for a spring break trip my kids went on, but ours (Navy Fed) does not offer that service.

It’s not the whole vrbo fee. It’s a supplemental cleaning fee and the local occupancy tax that they say need to be paid in cash when there. It totals about 200 euros for the stay. Is that weird? We typically do not stay in VrBOs.

We always get cash at an airport ATM.

I always just go to an ATM after I land. But if you are paying cash for your VRBO (?!?!?! That's a red flag to me. I thought that wasn't allowed under VRBO terms?) you will probably need more than you can withdraw in just one day.

Your bank might be able to exchange it for you with proper notice. I know my brother (who lives in Texas, and went to Italy last month) did that just through his normal bank, but it took about a week.
I looked into doing it with our bank for a spring break trip my kids went on, but ours (Navy Fed) does not offer that service.

you can order foreign currency from your bank. it may take a day or two to arrive. you may have to go pick it up in person if it's over a certain amt, like $1000.

I'm assuming that the airport is not the best place? Where does one go in NW DC or MoCo to change money? I haven't done this in forever, but our VRBO requires a cash payment upon arrival for the cleaning fee, and I suppose we should also have some local cash on hand in case credit card workers or apple pay don't work.
Thanks!