One of the issues all travelers face is having the right currency in their pocket when they travel to multiple foreign countries. More importantly, having that currency when you arrive so that you don’t get robbed at the over-priced airport or hotel currency changing locations. The other big reason for getting the appropriate currency before leaving home is that we were going to be taking local transportation and most of that is done by selecting your train or metro of choice and putting the local currency into the slot. Also, if taking a taxi, their fare machines are calibrated to the local currency so that when they say 35 Francs, you don’t need to wonder how many dollars converts to 35 Francs. You just put the right number of Francs into the slot, take your ticket, and you are set to go.
Some people will say, but I need to know how many dollars that really is. I say why? Do you think the taxi driver will give you a lower fare because you think it takes fewer dollars to make up a Franc? Do you really think a mindless machine that is asking for 9 Francs will accept your $10 bill instead. Don’t add any additional stress to your trip. Don’t waste your time worrying about the exchange rate or the value of a Euro vs. a Dollar while you are bartering for goods or services. Just have fun.
How do you get convert your dollars to Euros, and do it without paying any fees? Well, as usual I went to Google to find out my options. I found that if you bank at Bank of America, www.BankOfAmerica.com/ForeignCurrency, it is as simple as logging in to your account and requesting the funds online. If you are a member of AAA, you can go to their online page at www.AAA.com/Travelmoney and it will take you to a page that talks about a couple of options to consider. If you click on “Order Foreign Currencies Online Now” it will take you to their onlinetravelcurrency.com website which uses TravelEx to allow you to order foreign currency. I found that I got fewer Euros for my money at AAA than I did at Bank of America. If you want to waste more money, you can go direct to www.TravelEx.com and order directly. You will get about 5 fewer Euros at AAA than at Bank of America, and you will get another 30 Euros less if you go direct to www.TravelEx.com. You need to check your bank to see who will give you the best deal.
I was not ready to buy the Euros when I first logged on, I was just doing research, but I did make a note of the exchange rate. The following day, I was ready to do the transaction, and noticed the rate had changed. I figured it was worth checking again every day for a while to see if I could get a better rate since those things change. After following it for a while, I made the transaction and did get a better rate than the one quoted the first time I looked. You should also just Google the exchange rate to see how close the bank is to giving you a good exchange rate.
If the rate is not good, then try a different bank. Keep in mind that the quotes that you see on the Internet, like the one above, is really the rate that banks use between banks. It is never the rate you will actually get when you do it. I was able to get a rate of about $1.38 per Euro. Also, expect to pay a fee to exchange dollars for Euros if you only want a couple hundred dollars in Euros.
I found that my bank would waive the fee if you get at least $1,000 worth of currency. Well, I could not imagine that we would spend almost 3 weeks in Europe without spending way more than $1,000 but since I didn’t want to be carrying a ton of cash, I figured that would be enough to get started. I could not beat the convenience either. Also keep in mind that you won’t see any one euro notes. They come in 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 Euro notes.
The coins are 2 Euro, 1 Euro, 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents, 5 cents, 2 cents, and 1 cent. Always keep a couple of 50 cent coins in your pocket for a Pee Fee. Yes, most public toilets are fee based and you will need to pop a 50 cent coin in the slot to use the toilet.
Since we were landing in Zurich, we needed Swiss Francs and since we were spending the rest of the time in countries that used the Euro, I chose to get 250 French Fancs, in mixed small bills and 650 Euros in mixed small bills.
I filled out the online form and submitted it. I received a call the next day verifying my request and since I did not order one day service, a couple days later I got a call from my local branch that the funds were available.
I stopped by the bank, showed my ID, and I had my Euros and Francs and was one step closer to our vacation.
Now, as you might expect, the $650 Euros did not last for the whole trip. We did use our ATM cards to get Euros and generally we got good exchange rates that were close to $1.38 for each Euro. Keep in mind that your bank will charge a foreign transaction fee to each ATM transaction in addition to any ATM fee that may apply. If I recall, Capital One and HSBC do not charge a foreign transaction fee. I do know that Bank of America and the Golden 1 Credit union do charge a foreign transaction fee.
As for converting my Euros back to dollars, well, I spent it all so I did not have to worry about it. If I did have left over Euros, then I would think that it would be a good idea to plan another trip to Europe.
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Turning Dreams into Memories,
One Vacation at a Time.
Bon Voyage!!!
As you might guess, this document is a compilation of information from our travels as well as from other travelers. I hope it has been of value to you. Check out the important links below.
- Packing Checklist
- Parent Authorization Letter For Unaccompanied Minors
- Medical Treatment Authorization Letter
- Travel With Minors – Permission Letter
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