Looking for Euros
 

Traveling to Europe in July. Anybody have extra Euros they wish to sell, please send PM.

Try your bank - should not be an upcharge. I know B of A does not charge unless you want them delivered and not ordered and picked up at branch.

For what it’s worth: I am frequently in Europe for work and use nearly no cash. Of course I have some, but everywhere I frequent accepts tap to pay - which means I typically use Apple Pay, but any tap enabled card will work. Obviously in those places a chip enabled card would work as well used conventionally. My go to card is my credit union Visa/debit. I use only for travel there and keep a limited amount of cash in the account and pull cash from an ATM there if necessary. My credit card of choice would be my Chase Sapphire as there is no foreign transaction fee. Incidentally if you choose the card route primarily, always select to pay in Euros and not USD’s as you will get your bank exchange rate vs the merchant’s. Works like a charm.

IMHO, credit cards with no fees, or minimal exchange rate charges are the way to go in Europe.
Draw some petty cash from any ATM. If in any major cities, recommend withdrawals from machines inside banks.
I use my Wise Card worldwide, get official exchange rate, and minimal cash withdrawal, and money transfer charges.
C/C issuers are competitive abroad these days. Gone are the times of carrying wads of cash around.

Credit cards with chips are pretty safe in Europe. ATM's not so much. We were hacked once getting euros at ATM in Switzerland.

When I asked if anyone had some euros, it was for two reasons. One is that I am going on a river cruise and they won't take credit card for tips.

The second is that at times someone may be stuck with some euros that they have no need for anymore.

Serves both parties.

In Europe now, most places only take credit or debit cards. Having a hard time using them.

My experience, yours may be different. You will pay a significant transaction fee at most banks if you ask for a small amount of Euros (say $50 worth). The transaction fee is waived if you order a larger amount. I think it was $250 at Regions but it may have been a little less. You will not get the full exchange rate at most banks. They take a small percentage for the hassle of providing the service.

I paid 2 or 3 euros for each transaction every time I used my major credit card at a ATM in Portugal - including bank ATMs.

If you can find a person with a small amount they want to sell that is the way to go. Like you, I wanted some actual cash (Euros) for tips to tour guides, bus drivers, etc.

BTW, the person trying to sell a small amount of Euros back to a bank will pay a hefty transaction fee so it is a benefit to both parties if you can do it.

Not at Bank of America if you are a good client.

From the Bank of America web site:

There is no fee for ordering foreign currency online. The bank receives compensation from the purchase and sale of foreign currency banknotes in the form of the difference (also known as the spread) between the price we pay to obtain the foreign currency and the price at which we sell the foreign currency. There is, however, a delivery fee of USD$7.50 on all foreign currency orders less than USD$1,000; this fee is waived on orders of USD$1,000 or more.

Go to an ATM after you get to Europe. You get a much better conversion rate at an ATM in Europe than you do at a bank in the USA or a foreign currency exchange booth in Europe.

If you go to a ATM in Europe DO NOT let them trick you into dynamite currency conversion. See link below.


What is dynamic currency conversion (DCC)? - Wise

///

20 Euros should cover the whole trip then! :duck:

I usually give tips in US dollars. Never had anyone refuse them!

We took a river cruise last fall. General crew gratuities were prepaid, but as you say gratuities for our tour guides, drivers etc needed to be cash obviously. We pulled cash from ATM’s a few times during our trip and would buy something, water etc at a convenience store to break larger bills as changing the larger bills was sometimes challenging. Getting Euro coin (public restrooms often want 1€) was hard as well and we got most of it the same way - change. Whether you track down some cash here first or not, consider what you can use for an ATM transaction over there as that’s likely your easiest method to restock. Just recalled, we also would buy change sometimes from a server in a cafe - many would have their “till” on their belt/tray. That was a good way if they were fairly flush with change. Enjoy!