I take it you mean you've NEVER used ANY Travelers Checks before? You order them from your bank. They are not used as often these days as they once were so your bank may or may not have them on hand especially since you need them in a foreign currency (ie they may have to order them the same way they order in Euros). There is probably some sort of a % fee there as well to buy them. I don't have
AAA so I don't know for sure but you
may be able to get them from them too (maybe) if you have AAA.
Never hurts to ask. Anyway, you pay for them at the time you buy them with cash. So that ensures that they are "good". So if you need say 1,000 euros worth you would need to have enough USD cash equivalent to pay for them. They are duplicates so you keep your copy separate from the real checks (as proof of purchase in case they are stolen) and you use them sort of like personal checks except they are for set amounts ($50's, $100's etc.). You need to order them in Euros rather than in USD to use them in Europe. So say you need 1,000 Euros worth to pay for your tour then that's what you order. If the current exchange rate is at 1.30 for example then they would cost you $1,300 in USD. You could order them in $100 denominations and then you make them out to your tour operator and sign them when you pay the driver. I haven't used them in years & years so I don't know for sure but they may be available in larger denominations than $100's.
Good points. I just wanted to add a few things:
We used to use them for WDW trips to make sure we don't overspend what we set aside for spending $. The last time I used them was probably 5 or so years ago. At that time, they were still free from AAA. There are certain minimums to buy since they come in packs. So let's say you want to buy 20s, it's something like ten $20 checks, for a value of $200. They won't separate each pack but you can mix & match between 20s, 50s, & 100s to get the total you want.
There are 2 signature lines on each check: one near the bottom, similar to a regular check then another smaller one in the upper left corner, unlike a reg check.
They require that you sign each & every check before you walk out the door. The first signature at time of purchase goes in the upper left, smaller line. Then when you actually use it, you sign again near the bottom and make the check out to whomever you're giving it to: Publix grocery store,
DCL, Rome in Limo, etc. It's important that your signatures match or the payee might feel they're stolen since they can witness you sign and see that it matches the original signature done in AAA (or bank) office. This is why they're so critical that you don't walk out without signing them.
They also came out with TCs for 2 people. This has 2 original signature lines and one regular line so either person can use them. Prior to that, I'd have to sign some, then have dh sign some (yes driving home with blanks) so he could use his, then I could use mine. So TCs for 2 are more convenient.
I don't know if they have TCs for 2 in Euros. Even when I went to Italy, it was long before ATMs. We bought TCs in US$ and stopped in banks where we could or could exchange at a hotel though a crappier rate.
What's a pain about TCs is that the most accurate way to be able to report them stolen, is to keep track of the serial numbers (usually consecutive in a pack) then cross them off the list once you use it so you don't accidentally report it stolen also. So many times we'd use some then want to quick get out of the cashier's line, & forget to cross them off so we weren't very good at recordkeeping.
