Online Now 2317

Off-Topic

On this Board 401
Record: 1825 (5/20/2013)

Online now 1186
Record: 11761 (2/27/2012)

Boards ▾

Inside Scoop

The Web's No. 1 forum for coverage and discussion of Terps sports

Terps Sports

Visitor discussion of University of Maryland and college sports

General Sports Water Cooler

A place for lively discussion for all other sports unrelated to Maryland athletics

Off-Topic

Test/Feedback Forum

Feedback for IMS and 247Sports

The Ticket Exchange

Reply

Best Way to Take money to Europe

  • maxmet 2.1, teen daughter, going on group trip to Euro zone in the summer. What is the good way to have her take some money.

    She will be with a group, most meals, bus travel etc covered - but will no doubt need to have some money. She will have some actual currency. But for the rest views on

    prepaid VISA card?

    debit card or ATM card linked to her savings account?

    debit./ATM linked to a new separate checking account that we open just for this purpose?

    other better, safer ways to handle this?

    and do I make her watch "Taken" before she goes on this trip.....dont answer that,.

    maxmet

  • Get 100 Euros at the airport to keep with her at all times, then use a credit card of some kind whenever possible (which should be easy if she's in cities). But no matter what leave the cash alone. 100 is enough for an emergency and nothing to cry about if it's stolen somehow.

    PaulUMD

  • You can use a credit card pretty much anywhere in Europe except for rural areas.

    If you're worried about lost/stolen cards, my bank sells a couple of options. One is a Visa prepaid card that works exactly like a regular credit card, excpet it's limited to what you initially add. They also have a similar card that you can recharge via your bank accounts. Might want to look into that.

    I usually take a couple of hundred bucks of local currency whenever I travel, just to have it. I lock up the majority in the hotel safe and use cash as needed.

    bkmalik ●

  • What bank do you have? Just get an account with some bank like Bank of America that has branches/affiliates in pretty much every country (and where you can withdraw money at ATMs without any fee). Major banks also have excellent fraud protection etc. Just give her a credit card linked to this type of account, and tell her to make sure she always has some cash available for emergency. She shouldn't be carrying more than 100 Euros at any time (since any large purchase greater than that will be for something that can be paid via a credit card).

    terps99

  • Use a credit card with no foreign transaction fees if that's going to be her primary purchasing method. 3% per swipe adds up.

    High Noon

  • bkmalik said...

    You can use a credit card pretty much anywhere in Europe except for rural areas.

    If you're worried about lost/stolen cards, my bank sells a couple of options. One is a Visa prepaid card that works exactly like a regular credit card, excpet it's limited to what you initially add. They also have a similar card that you can recharge via your bank accounts. Might want to look into that.

    I usually take a couple of hundred bucks of local currency whenever I travel, just to have it. I lock up the majority in the hotel safe and use cash as needed.

    You'd be surprised how many restaurants either don't take Credit Cards or only take one of the big three. Cash is still king in Europe

    gotech06

  • bkmalik said...

    You can use a credit card pretty much anywhere in Europe except for rural areas.

    If you're worried about lost/stolen cards, my bank sells a couple of options. One is a Visa prepaid card that works exactly like a regular credit card, excpet it's limited to what you initially add. They also have a similar card that you can recharge via your bank accounts. Might want to look into that.

    I usually take a couple of hundred bucks of local currency whenever I travel, just to have it. I lock up the majority in the hotel safe and use cash as needed.

    Yup, same.

    As for the other stuff, no one should worry about lost/stolen credit cards these days. Visa/Mastercard, as well as all the major banks, have excellent fraud protection services when it comes to that stuff.

    Oh yeah, one last thing, tell her to make sure she always knows where the US embassy is in any country she visits.

    terps99

  • bkmalik said...

    You can use a credit card pretty much anywhere in Europe except for rural areas.

    I thought I had heard somewhere that Mastercard was more widely accepted than Visa (or was it the opposite?) unlike here where both are always accepted. Is that true?

    julester

  • If movies have taught me anything, it's that Jason Statham should definitely be involved.

    strOterp

  • Take some cash, use a credit card to withdraw $$ where she is (accessible most places) and be sure to tell your credit card/debit card company in advance that the card will be used in other countries (they may think it was stolen if used in places that are out of your ordinary charges). And always carry some cash because as said b4, some places will not take a card.

    terp81

  • I have been living in Rome this entire semester and credit card acceptance is not all that common. Everywhere else I traveled (Prague, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam) was no big deal with the credit card. But here in Rome very few places accept credit card except restaurants on occasion and supermarkets all the time.

    wbonnington ●

  • I'd recommend a credit card and a debit card. Capital One didn't hit me with a bunch of overages for withdrawing money at an ATM, so I kept taking money out that way. Just make sure to put your credit card in a place that the Gypsies can't reach. F***ing Gypsies.

    TwiggaTerp

  • I just came back and was only in major cities but CC's were pretty much taken everywhere, but they should never need to carry that much cash because you can use the ATM.

    My Chase CC has no international fee's, so if you can find a card that has that it will save you $$$. My statement has the amount I paid for each item and that is it. No extra fee and I got the actual conversion rate for that day. You can also still do some travelers checks from amex or whoever as an emergency backup if that would make you comfortable.

    ColbertRepor

  • ATMs generally give you the best exchange rates, too.

    Phatboy if you had any balls I'd meet you at the AFA Boxing gym and have Coach Weichers put some gloves on us.

    phatphelix

  • How is your daughter about swallowing balloons?

    HumphreyBogart

  • phatphelix said...

    ATMs generally give you the best exchange rates, too.

    Yup, great point.

    terps99

  • Apparently everywhere else in the world has "chip and pin" on their credit cards. There are a lot of places where they will treat you like a savage because your mastercard does not have a "chip and pin." Stupid sexy forners.

    MisterSmiley ●

  • MisterSmiley said...

    Apparently everywhere else in the world has "chip and pin" on their credit cards. There are a lot of places where they will treat you like a savage because your mastercard does not have a "chip and pin." Stupid sexy forners.

    yeah my card has it, but most US cards do not. Why the hell don't we have this here yet btw?

    ColbertRepor

  • ColbertRepor said...

    yeah my card has it, but most US cards do not. Why the hell don't we have this here yet btw?

    How did you get a card with it? My first trip to Jersey (Channel Islands) I ended up finding out that (a) my cash card had expired, (b) cabbies there don't take credit cards, and (c) half the bars won't let you buy a round on mastercard unless you have chip&pin. It's also annoying that our corporate HQ are on the island and all US employees get an Amex... which 99% of the island won't accept.

    MisterSmiley ●

  • maxmet said...

    maxmet 2.1, teen daughter, going on group trip to Euro zone in the summer. What is the good way to have her take some money.

    She will be with a group, most meals, bus travel etc covered - but will no doubt need to have some money. She will have some actual currency. But for the rest views on

    prepaid VISA card?

    debit card or ATM card linked to her savings account?

    debit./ATM linked to a new separate checking account that we open just for this purpose?

    other better, safer ways to handle this?

    and do I make her watch "Taken" before she goes on this trip.....dont answer that,.

    Just make sure to rehearse the speech from Taken so you're ready later on.

    multiple awards

  • MisterSmiley said...

    How did you get a card with it? My first trip to Jersey (Channel Islands) I ended up finding out that (a) my cash card had expired, (b) cabbies there don't take credit cards, and (c) half the bars won't let you buy a round on mastercard unless you have chip&pin. It's also annoying that our corporate HQ are on the island and all US employees get an Amex... which 99% of the island won't accept.

    I use it on the JP Morgan Palladium card.

    I think their select card, hyatt, and british airways cards have it now too.

    This post was edited by ColbertRepor on 5/15/2012 at 1:32 PM

    ColbertRepor

  • What bank does she have? BOA has been giving me the market exchange rate at Barclays and DB ATMs with no fees.

    beantowntigah

  • Only places I encountered that didn't take cards were in like rural Luxembourg or small local markets/boutiques. Most restaurants took cards.

    bkmalik ●

Maryland
247Sports
Features
Resources
Connect

247Sports In partnership with CBS Sports