Honestly, beware the false economy of finding the "Best Rate Possible". If you are going for a week of shopping and using your credit card for most things, you'll find the difference in rates for changing say £1000 might not amount to all that much, which may or may not be worth the effort and time to get to a different place to make the exchange. No point in spending an hour and £10 in cab fare to find a rate that offers you £5 in savings.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going somewhere where ATM's are plentiful (especially if there's a deal like BOA/Barclay's where you don't pay fees) I get just a little cash, equivalent of $150-200, in local currency ahead of time. I order it through AMEX to be picked up at a Travelex location for the best exchange rates I could find. This last trip I ended up needing to go to the ATM only one time the whole trip (a week) because everywhere we went and everything we did accepted credit cards.

Should note, though, that you should get a pin card if you haven't got one already, because nearly everywhere I've been in Europe uses this plus your pin instead of the mag strip readers.

We have been to London and Rome in the past two years and my husband has been to Paris and Brussels for business, and we have had no problem using our CCs anywhere. We have cards with the chip, but not the pin and they work fine.

Depending on where you go, you may not need a lot of cash. I went to London over 10 years ago (and got traveler's checks before I left), and literally used NONE of them. I just used my credit card everywhere I went.

I haven't used travellers' cheques or exchange places in years. Even in developing countries ATM machines are now commonplace. Probably the last place I used an exchange facility was in Kyrgyzstan. Whenever I arrive at an airport I take out a nominal sum from the airport ATM machine to use for the taxi/train to the center and later get more money from a proper bank in town.

You might pay a bit more for an airport ATM but I just factor that into the cost of the trip. What's an extra $10 versus the time/hassles/low exchange rates of getting money in advance?

I used the ATM in the customs area at Heathrow and felt like I probably got the best rate I could. My bank didn't charge any fees and I had cash immediately upon arrival (more or less.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Change a bit prior so when you get off of the plane you can quickly buy lunch or coffee or a taxi. Then use an arm card with chip in it.

They usually feed you so much on the plane I can't imagine lunch at the airport would be most people's first concern, unless they were a total fatty.

You are weird. And that's the nice word that came to mind.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Going somewhere where ATM's are plentiful (especially if there's a deal like BOA/Barclay's where you don't pay fees) I get just a little cash, equivalent of $150-200, in local currency ahead of time. I order it through AMEX to be picked up at a Travelex location for the best exchange rates I could find. This last trip I ended up needing to go to the ATM only one time the whole trip (a week) because everywhere we went and everything we did accepted credit cards.

Should note, though, that you should get a pin card if you haven't got one already, because nearly everywhere I've been in Europe uses this plus your pin instead of the mag strip readers.

We have been to London and Rome in the past two years and my husband has been to Paris and Brussels for business, and we have had no problem using our CCs anywhere. We have cards with the chip, but not the pin and they work fine.

I was in Europe last year, as well as Turkey. Back then my car didn't have the chip, and I had issues in about half the places I tried to get cash or pay. It was a big pain in the butt. Now that my card has the chip, I don't expect to have any trouble.