Haha – I am afraid that too many tips are turning abasket into a abasketcase!
Fwiw, the tips are technically correct, but many are able to travel back and forth to Europe without being armed with all the “good stuff.” This said, it would be worth to have an ATM (debit or credit) for your trip. One of the difficulties in Europe will be to find an exchange place to convert dollars at a reasonable rate. Western Union is the worst of all.
I have used ATM machines before. But in recent years, we stopped using it.
If we need cash, we walk into a bank and withdraw the money from our checking account in an old fasion way, from the teller!
When we open a checking account, we tell the bank we do not need the debit card. Somehow they still send it to us anyway, and we put it away and never use it.
We do use credit cards though.
We are also weird. (My child is not as weird as us fortunately.)
I just got back from France. If you use a debit card these days for ATM withdrawals or purchases, there is a 3% transaction fee (there did not used to be one for me - Bank of America). You are going to have to have euros for a lot of things so you need to make a choice on whether you are going to get them from your bank in the US at a terrible exchange rate, or you are going to use an ATM card.
MOST IMPORTANT, make sure your credit card has a chip, or it will not work in most places in France. Order one now if you have to. Use your credit card as much as possible because it does not get the 3% transaction fee.
abasket- as I told my sister several years ago- quit acting like you’re Amish! Get an ATM card. It is easy to use. And much safer than cash.
Must be a BoA thing. Neither my US credit union nor overseas bank imposes a 3% fee on ATM withdrawals.
My Schwab debit card in didn’t impose any foreign transaction fee when I used the ATMs in Canada. They also reimbursed the ATM fees I was charged. I prefer to use the ATMs over having to carry large sums of money or go to a teller in another country. It’s much more convenient & we have found the ATMs in the hotel lobbies to be well lit and safe. We also use credit cards with no foreign transaction fees–CapitolOne Visa is usually our go-to card; we get 2% cash rebate on all purchases.
This is all silly because abasket is still going to need some euros in hand for when she walks off that plane. With an elderly mother, she might need to stop and buy her some food or drink, or be boarding transportation to go elsewhere, take a cab, subway, etc. Just get the euros from your home bank and be done. Then you’re fully prepared and one less worry.
Since this is new to abasket, we need to give her tips to make her life simpler, not advise someone who doesn’t use an ATM at home that she should schlep around a city trying to find her bank’s ATM branch, which may not even exist in Marseille.
Just get euros at home and ask your CC company to give you a chipped credit card.
Of course, it’s always convenient to already have the currency in hand. But airports that serve large numbers of int’l tourists ALWAYS have ATMS. So if u don’t already have “yucks” (our family’s slang for euros) in your wallet before u leave home, u should be able to get some from the airport ATMs.
As far as matching up “branch” ATMs is concerned, most US ATMs are either on the Plus or Cirrus network. Most int’l airport ATMs I’ve seen are on Plus and Cirrus.
This may help: http://www.ifly.com/marseille-airport/ATM-banks-currency
You can see where the bank is and where the ATMs are. If there is a Travelex, I would stay away from it as their rates are high. By the way, I just read that Marseille Airport has the first Burger King in France- I know how excited you are now!!
Oh - I won’t ever use an ATM that’s not my branch bank, as the thought of paying a fee to take out my money drives me insane!
Haha on the Amish/ATM card - I really don’t carry much cash - I carry a little, but I use my credit cards for most every purchase! I’ll ask my H - maybe we actually have one and I just don’t know it.
Of great help to us is that we will always be with family once we land in Marseille - they will give the shirt off their back if we need it, so I have no doubt that they will lead us through the $$$ issues. But yes, certainly makes sense to have euros, credit card with chip and MAYBE a debit or ATM card which has as little international fees as possible.
The funny part of all this is that we actually have a cottage in Canada - now I know Canada is not the same, but we just stop in the bank there to exchange money - we do have an account there though - and use our credit card with no chip - although we have been noticing that some of the businesses now use this special device to scan the credit cards - maybe that’s because of the chip???
I really am not a travel knucklehead - just internationally! And, I also want to be prepared but not overwhelmed.
You need the chip for Europe.
Here in the US, you know how you give your card to a waiter, they walk away, run it through a machine and come back with the receipt for you to sign? In Europe, that is illegal for them to take the card out of your sight - so they will scan it in front of you.
To be honest, I don’t get why the rest of you use ATMs at all - I get better exchange rates through Citibank, and I get the foreign currency for free within a day or two, and not a penny in fees. How can you stand to pay fees to take out your own money??
Indeed, last year my daughter was going to Europe and I wanted to get euros for her. They initially tried to transfer it to the Citibank branch located near her college so she could pick it up there - then, when that branch said they wouldn’t allow her to pick it up since she didn’t have a Citibank account, my Citibank Fedexed the euros to her college address, for free.
I typically travel overseas with the equivalent of $300-500 in local currency, depending on length of trip, and that’s always more than enough cash. That’s not an amount to be worried about carrying around IMO. I think it is silly and pointless to go get “some” euros and not just get the full amount you think you’ll need.
Exchange rates are a weird beast. There is a difference between the interbank rate and the rate the bank sells Euros to its clients. The delta varies from bank to bank and from the value it places on its customers. In general, the rate used on CC charges should be better than a bank sale in the US. On the same day, that is!
All in all, it is a good idea to check with your bank and CC before departing. We can see from this thread that YMMV is the motto. Getting a couple of 100 Euros from the U.S. bank will not break the bank. Getting them at the airport works just as well. Checking if the CC is the type used in Europe is a good idea.
Now we can move on the issue of CC being blocked by the Mumbai Fraud Nazis or how your iPhone works in Europe. 
A lot of my CC transactions were blocked by the Mumbai Fraud Nazis in spite of informing them about the trip to specific countries in advance by phone and Internet. Business card from the same bank always worked. The solution seems to have multiple CCs from different banks and have multiple people carry different cards in case one wallet is stolen.
I bring my business card and a personal card - but my business has no problem if I make a personal purchase on it and reimburse later. I’m wearing these cards and carrying this cash (and passport) on a travel wallet slung across my body (and underneath a sweater if I’m touring) and never take it off unless I’m sitting in my hotel room or in my client’s conference room. I suppose anything is possible, but if someone knocks me over and steals this, losing a few hundred euros will be the least of my worries. Abasket is not traveling to the ends of the earth - she’s going to Marseille to be met by loved ones. There’s no reason for her to be any more skittish about carrying around $300 in euros than carrying around $300 cash in the US.
They do that in Canada, too, but those machines will also accept non-chip cards. Are you sure that they will not in Europe?
Have to laugh @Xiggi - asking about iPhone use internationally is coming up in the query!!
I’d just assume get the CC chip - I’ll have to give a call to my current CC’s and see if they offer it - or check with my bank…I currently carry two VISA cards and one AMEX.
You don’t need a chipped card. Plenty of people in Europe still have the old style ones, and in most countries there are disability discrimination laws that mean they have to be accepted. In an incredibly tourist place, where the waiter can hear you speaking loudly in English and knows you are American, it won’t be a problem. They will know they need to swipe your card and print the signing slip. However, in a small local restaurant they might not know (especially if waiter is very young and has never seen the old style card). So practice miming a card swiping motion (or learn to ask for this in French). Your biggest problem will be any kind of vending machine. eg train ticket machines. You will probably need to buy train tickets (if any are needed) from a real human. Tolls of the payage (toll road) are a machine issue, as already noted above. The other common one is automated petrol (gas) stations. They won’t work unless you insert a chipped card first.
Carrying large amounts of cash is an incredibly bad idea. If you lose it or it is stolen you may not be insured. I think you need about 100EUR in cash maximum (or enough to get from the airport to your hotel, in the unlikely event there are no ATMs in the airport), then get over your fear of using either a debit card or ATM card of some sort.
One card, one account is the rule. So you WON’T EVER be able to choose between savings and checking accounts (not convinced most Europeans would even know what they were. In the UK I have something called a current account which is where my salary is paid and from where I do al my regular banking. Savings are totally separate). The ATM will default to checking account and you will not be able to change this.
ATMs will not necessarily have any letters on their key pads. So you need to remember the number you use, not as a word.
I hope you have travel insurance.
Will be buying the flight travel insurance - is the best/only route for that through the airline? And then are you suggesting other travel insurance - in case of accident or something while on the trip???