Take money out at the ATM in the airport. Also have never had an issue using my Amex. Keep some US dollars on hand just in case.

Whatever you do, just make sure you contact your banks and let them know you'll be travelling so they don't shut down your card thinking it's fraud.

Anonymous wrote:Frequent traveler here. Take out Euros from an ATM there. Pay for everything in cash, except large purchases where that's not feasible.

Also "no foreign transaction fee" credit cards doesn't mean you're getting a deal.. you're getting a poor exchange rate.

+1

Frequent traveler here. Take out Euros from an ATM there. Pay for everything in cash, except large purchases where that's not feasible.

Also "no foreign transaction fee" credit cards doesn't mean you're getting a deal.. you're getting a poor exchange rate.

I have never had a problem with using my ATM card and credit card (Capital one-no transaction fees) in France. We travel every summer to visit my parents in a very small village. Sometimes we have to remind merchants to swipe our credit card (if no chip) but this is less of a problem now that most cards have chips (you may still need to remind the merchant that you will need to sign instead of using a pin). The only time we had trouble was trying to buy gas early in the morning from unattended gas stations (which only accepted chip credit cards-no longer a problem since we now have chip cards). With our ATM card we try to take out larger sums of cash to cut down on ATM fees.

Anyone found a way to get euros cheaper? Atm fees are high. Wells Fargo would charge me and the atm in the country charged me too. So every $250 I took out cost me $10 in fees. And the exchange rate wasn't great...

Lol. Very few places in Europe take credit cards and if they do, they're very rude about accepting it.

I take out $300 in euros at an atm when I arrive and then find another atm when I run low.

Fwiw in Italy even though I booked and paid for my hotel on hotels.com, they wanted cash and would refund my credit card. Ugh. I'm not sure if this is a tax dodging scam or what but it's annoying.

ATM upon arrival for cash (sometimes the airport ones have crappy exchange rates so I don't always get much there) and a no transaction fee Visa for everything else. Some countries, like Italy, are more cash based. On our last trip I was needing to go to the ATM every other day.

ATM for Euros, and a Credit Card much as you can (Capital One = no foreign transaction fees)

Anonymous wrote:I usually take out a few hundred euros at the atm at the airport when I arrive and use my cc most of the time. If you have a chip card with a pin remember your pin.

This. And if the first atm doesn't work, try again. Sometimes only some of them work. Don't panic. I also bring USD cash for emergencies.

bartering

Get a Visa card with no foreign transaction fees. Amex is not widely accepted. You will get the best rate by paying witha credit card.

CCs. A small amount of cash for emergencies.

I usually take out a few hundred euros at the atm at the airport when I arrive and use my cc most of the time. If you have a chip card with a pin remember your pin.

I was wondering how experienced travelers pay for meals and purchases overseas.

I am going to France in a couple of months, I can buy Euros from my credit union (SDFCU) at a reasonable rate and can return unused currency at the original exchange rate. I could also use ATMs in Paris but last summer, the ATM ate my card even though I entered the correct PIN, luckily I had cash in USD which I was able to deposit in someones postal account and get a great exchange rate. Or I could use credit card. None of my CCs or debit cards charge foreign transaction fees.