What is wrong with just taking cash out at ATM on arrival using US bank debit card? You do need to notify your bank that you are going abroad.
Tolls in France do not accept credit cards without chips. Make sure you have cash in bills and coins.
Three reasons:
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Sometimes the password rules are different - for example, my bank password is 4 characters long, but doesn’t work abroad.
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I don’t want to waste vacation time searching out bank branches in foreign cities.
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I don’t think it’s wise to be an “obvious American” at an ATM overseas.
I always just withdraw from the ATM when I arrive at the destination airport. But I screwed myself one time.
I don’t remember my 6-digit ATM passwd, I just remember the pattern. So when I tried the pattern in the arrival airport, I didn’t notice the numbers on the touchpad had the “1” key on the bottom line instead of the top. I punched the wrong sequence 3 times and locked myself out.
Check w you bank that your ATM card is authorized to work overseas.
Bring an adapter / converter, so you can plug in a phone, etc. Any general electronics store like a Radio Shack or Best Buy will carry them.
On customs…don’t know if thru Dublin is still one of possibilities (I skipped around thread) but I was surprised when D flew home this summer from Dublin and she went through customs at that end. It took a while to find her when she landed since I assumed she would come in through international gate but she didn’t. D and friend didn’t realize it worked that way either and were almost late to flight in Dublin since they didn’t build in customs time. Thankfully it worked out and they got right off plane in Charlotte and we were leaving 10 minutes later - unlike trip years earlier to England where it took us 40 minutes to get out of Atlanta airport thru customs.
Also, if you a near an airport that does this, you can do some kind of TSA prescreen that gets you through shorter, more hassle free security lines. There’s a basic one that business travelers can do that I think is just a form, etc. but there is a more costly one where you have to be interviewed in person that I think works on overseas flights. With your mother it might be worth looking into. Note that it sometimes isn’t useful at smaller airports where there’s only a few security lines.
Not an employee of either Schwab or Capitol One , but Schwab has a free checking account that reimburses all ATM fees anywhere. They issue a chip and pin Visa debit card that imposes no foreign transaction fees. Capitol One credit cards impose no foreign transaction fees, and they have chip and signature cards–halfway to the European standard.
I believe that you have to register and have an interview to be TSA pre-screened for international flights and once you are accepted/approved, it costs around $165 or so, not worth it unless you are a frequent traveller. Jet Blue has it’s own TSA pre-screen and I have that as I use Jet Blue a lot for both business and personal travel. As far as I recall, I did not have to pay anything to do so or be interviewed. I do have friends who have TSA pre-screen and they did have to apply and be interviewed.
As far as euros, we generally find an ATM whenever we land however it is nice to have euros on hand in advance. When I used to use HSBC as my bank, I could exchange cash for euros but only in Manhattan near my office, not at our local branch. Triple A also allows you to exchange cash/euros a their travel offices but the fee is pretty high
@bookmamma22 you are right that it costs but it doesn’t expire and is, of course, more useful if you travel a lot. Friend did it for son that is going off to college. It is easier if you live near a airport that does the interviews.
All these details are way too complicated for me! Can I not just travel with some euros that I get at home and then a credit card with a chip??? I do not have a debit card.
You’re talking about Global Entry / TSA precheck. This is a waste of time and money for the OP. You can’t use it to board an international flight from the US, and it’s completely irrelevant on any flights within Europe. The only benefit is that you go through immigration quicker at your point of entry. It’s only worth it for a frequent traveler or someone who enters the US from overseas repeatedly / frequently. For the OP’s one-time trip, I would not bother. Everyone in her party would have to do it to make it worthwhile - otherwise they’ll all just wind up waiting for the person who isn’t. I would not drag an 80 year old lady to the airport for this. GMT, agree?
For getting cash, I can’t imagine not having a debit card to use on landing. Then I use my foreign exchange fee free United Explorer card for any charges in country. You can take cash out with credit cards if you have the pin number, but for many credit cards there would be a fee. I used to take a few travelers checks, but they are not much used these days, so harder to cash. I took a few hundred cash US$ for emergency on my last trip, and I tuck a few paper checks in my wallet as well for emergency, as I usually am visiting locals who could vouch for me at a bank.
At one point I did get euros in the USA, at a bank for use abroad, but the exchange rate was not great.
“All these details are way too complicated for me! Can I not just travel with some euros that I get at home and then a credit card with a chip??? I do not have a debit card.”
Yes. This is totally fine. I travel all over the world bringing the foreign currency I need with me (obtained from my bank), and with a credit card with a chip. Don’t waste your precious vacation time hunting down s branch of your bank. Especially in a smaller city like Marseille which may not have any branches.
And all the posts about TSA precheck and Global Entry are well-meaning, but really don’t apply to your situation. All you save is a little time upfront in your first port of departure - but big deal, you’ll show up in plenty of time, esp with your elderly mother, it’s not like you’re going to be in a rush at your departure airport.
It’s meaningless for any transfers within Europe, and the only advantage you’ll get at the back end is getting through customs quicker. But it’s ONLY worth it if a) you have no checked bags at port of entry back into the US and b) ONLY if everyone in your party goes in person and gets it, either all of you do it, or do to bother as the person who gets it will just have to sit around and wait for the others already.
You’ve talked about wanting / needing to save money on this - this is not worth it. I’m a huge fan of Global Entry and TSA precheck for myself - but I travel a lot, alone, and without checked bags.
If GMT has another compelling reason …
Someone mentioned travelers checks. Those have pretty much gone the way of phone booths these days.
With a 4 digit pin and informing my bank in advance, I’ve never had a problem at European ATMs, There’s a foreign currency transaction fee, of course, unless you have an account that allows for this (Capital1 I think?) but it’s insignificant compared to what else I’m spending.
I’ve done the AAA currency thing, and it does have the advantage of giving you cash in hand, but their exchange rates are horrible. And avoid the currency exchange places in the airport and in tourist zones for the same reason.
Has anyone mentioned Capital 360? We use it when traveling abroad. You preload the money and they give you a debit card to access the money. H does not remember any fees. He set it up and it worked all over Spain. You do not have to have one of their credit cards to get one.
This is what we do: We get money out of an ATM with our ATM card (we don’t have a debit card). We notify our bank at home that we are traveling as well as our credit card company. We use a card that does not charge a foreign transaction fee (we have a United visa). I don’t know about debit cards, but ATM’s in Europe take the money out of your checking account even if you select savings. We found that out the hard way. If you can get some euros to pay for the cab the first day, it will take the pressure off of you for finding the bank. When we went to China, I googled the airport layout and found out where the bank and ATMs were in the airport and we got our cash there.
Abasket - I use World Wallet through Citibank, if you have a Citibank account. https://online.citibank.com/US/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=WorldWallet
Yes, u can do that.
But u don’t have a plain vanilla ATM card that u use in the US to withdraw cash?
Call me weird, but no! I have never used an ATM!!! H just gets our cash from the bank - and then I take it. 