Traveling to Germany. Any suggestions on the best way to exchange money?

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dbdoit

ZoelnKansas is giving a very good answer and info too! Yes, there may be a fee when you use your ATM card(Check with your bank or credit card), but compared to what you pay when exchanging cash at the Airport or train station there is not that much difference. Now, if you want to save a few cents, or dollars(not sure how much you want to spend?) then you can exchange your dollars at a German bank and get a better rate. But, then you are delaing with carrying cash around. Oh yes, Germany is relatively safe crime wise. But, do you still want to take the chance of having your cash lost or stolen? Ok, I will stop now before I start sounding like Karl Malden(You have to be over a certain age to get that joke).
One other travel tip; Make copies(2 each) of your ATM, Credit Cards, Passport, and driver's license(if you are renting a car). Then leave one set of copies at home or with a family member or friend. The other set of copies put in your luggage or carry on bag, whatever as long as it is not together with your wallet or purse. If you do loose any of these items having a copy of them on hand makes it much easier to take care of.
Good Luck and Have Nice Trip!

TwoDots

Use your ATM card on a regular basis. You will get a better rate of exchange, despite any fee that your bank may charge. There are plenty of them everywhere. Look on the back of your card and get the name of the system... i.e, Visa, Maestro, Cirrus, etc. and then go to the website to get a list of national banks in Germany.

I also suggest that before you take your trip, print out a traveler's cheat sheet to indicate the rate of exchange. A good site for this is www.oanda.com. It will help you know how much money you are spending (compared to your home country) and help you understand if what you are looking at purchasing is a good value... or if you want to lay down your money for it.

Lisa B

Whatever you do, don't get Euro traveler's checks in the U.S. You'll get charged for buying them and charged again for cashing them.

Using credit or ATM cards used to be very good, but on a trip last June, we found that we got double-charged: a user fee plus a "foreign exchange surcharge".

If you are comfortable carrying cash (either because you can afford to lose it or because you are sufficiently careful to make sure you don't), take US$s and exchange them for Euros at the airport you fly into (all airports have exchange windows). You will probably not find a better rate anywhere else. Otherwise, take US$ traveler's checks and exchange them as you go at airports, bus and train stations, or banks. Banks are usually a little more expensive.

chuck

Use your credit card to take money from the ATM. Take small amounts and keep checking the exchange rates. At the end of the day. that will be your best way to go. Do not use travelers chechques as they are hardly accepted anywhere. Most of the time you will have to go to a bank to cash them and that will be expensive.

go to http://www.LouMarTravel.com click the extras tab and under travel resources select foreign currency exchange. good luck and enjoy your trip.

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