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jillee03
LIF Adult
Member since 8/05 953 total posts
Name:
Jill
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exchange rates, getting foreign currency
I am going to Italy in July and was wondering if anyone knew the process of exchanging currency. This is the first time I will be out of the country.
TIA
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Posted 5/13/08 3:25 PM  |
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bicosi
life is a carousel
Member since 7/07 14956 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
They have an exchange office in the airport or any railway station. there are also ATMs throughout Italy, so you would use it the same way you use the ATMs here.
Good luck and have an excellent trip!
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| Posted 5/13/08 3:28 PM |
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
My only advice besides what Bicosi said is try and not to exchange all your money. Sometimes you might get a better deal on something if you pay in dollars because they can exchange it at a higher rate.
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| Posted 5/13/08 3:35 PM |
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GioiaMia
Let's Go Rangers!
Member since 1/07 14818 total posts
Name:
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
the exchange rate at the airport STINKS so i would only do a minimal amount there if you need to and then look for an ATM
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| Posted 5/13/08 3:36 PM |
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bicosi
life is a carousel
Member since 7/07 14956 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
Posted by Seles81
My only advice besides what Bicosi said is try and not to exchange all your money. Sometimes you might get a better deal on something if you pay in dollars because they can exchange it at a higher rate.
Ditto. The Euro fluctuates daily.
And as Tilde said, I DEF would not recommend that you convert all of your money. (apart from it not being the safest thing to do). You can use your CC there just like you would here.
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| Posted 5/13/08 3:39 PM |
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melbalalala
Little Lady
Member since 5/07 5014 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
Bring $100 or so in American $$ to use only for an emergency.
Use your ATM as soon as you get there and get your money that way. Try to estimate how much you'll need for your trip to avoid going to the ATM multiple times and incurring a fee each time.
Try not to use your credit cards over there as most companies are charging ridiculous conversion and finance charges nowadays.
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| Posted 5/13/08 4:25 PM |
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JenBenMen
party of five
Member since 9/06 11343 total posts
Name:
Jen
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
Posted by melbalalala
Bring $100 or so in American $$ to use only for an emergency.
Use your ATM as soon as you get there and get your money that way. Try to estimate how much you'll need for your trip to avoid going to the ATM multiple times and incurring a fee each time.
Try not to use your credit cards over there as most companies are charging ridiculous conversion and finance charges nowadays.
i didnt know this about the credit cards
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| Posted 5/14/08 8:57 AM |
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CityNYGirl
My everything!!!!!
Member since 5/05 2324 total posts
Name:
Betty
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
Never exchange money before you leave the US!!! I work with the stock market and foreign exchange and trust me, you will get the worst rates at an exchange counter....
You should only use your ATM (to get cash) or credit cards (purchases) when traveling abroad since all big banks have an agreement with the foreign exchange trading and only charge a certain surcharge (banks use the exchange rate on that day and cannot a charge a higher amount just because they want to) where an exchange counter (since they are private) can......
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| Posted 5/14/08 3:24 PM |
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melbalalala
Little Lady
Member since 5/07 5014 total posts
Name:
Melissa
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
Posted by JenBenMen
Posted by melbalalala
Bring $100 or so in American $$ to use only for an emergency.
Use your ATM as soon as you get there and get your money that way. Try to estimate how much you'll need for your trip to avoid going to the ATM multiple times and incurring a fee each time.
Try not to use your credit cards over there as most companies are charging ridiculous conversion and finance charges nowadays.
i didnt know this about the credit cards
yeah, it suucckks  we go on about 2-3 international journeys a year and last year decided to call all of our CC companies to see who had the lowest fees abroad. We were shocked to hear that they charge 2-3% (Amex was the highest!) as a foreign currency charge. They also give you their exchange rate for the day, who knows where they get that from.
This past trip in April DH used his card because he HAD to in Morocco. They slapped on a "fianance charge" as if we had a cash advance!! $40 in charges had a $7 fee! 
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| Posted 5/14/08 4:02 PM |
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klingklang77
kraftwerk!
Member since 7/06 11486 total posts
Name:
Völlig losgelöst
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
Posted by MrsGreek
Never exchange money before you leave the US!!! I work with the stock market and foreign exchange and trust me, you will get the worst rates at an exchange counter....
You don't get that bad of a rate if you exchange money at a bank. Most banks have Euros and you can exchange money there as long as you call ahead of time to make sure they have Euros there. Much better than to exchange at the airport and good to use for a small amount of money.
ATMs are the way to go and credit cards aren't that bad. Check with your bank and make sure you won't have any problems with your ATM card while in Europe. Sometimes you can get no charges depending on your bank. I use one bank in the US which works well all over the world. We also belong to a bank which gives us free or cheap withdrawals in many parts of the world.
Check rates at www.xe.com
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| Posted 5/18/08 7:51 AM |
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jillee03
LIF Adult
Member since 8/05 953 total posts
Name:
Jill
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Re: exchange rates, getting foreign currency
thanks for all the responses
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| Posted 5/20/08 12:08 PM |
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