taking euros

[gaz100uk]

Hi there. Our trip is getting ever closer now and it’s time to get the money ready. I was wonder, as it has been an age since I last went overseas. Do people still take traveller cheques? I was wondering if I should get half our money in Euro traveller cheques. Are you able to change them easily in the Disney hotels?

Many thanks in advance

 

[siandonna]

we take a pre paid card. you just spend it like a dbit card or withdraw cash at the cash point. we use caxtonfx.

sian

 

[DLPdaft]

you can change euro travellers cheques at hotel reception, but the rate and fees you are charged don't make them a good option. If you don't have time to sort out a prepaid card, I would just take some euros in cash, and use your credit/debit card to withdraw more when you are there. You will be charged a fee when you use the atm, but if you withdraw enough for 2 or 3 days at a time, you'll still be benefiting from minimal charges and the bank rate of exchange, not the tourist rate of exchange.

If you are staying onsite, you could use the easypass charge system - put your restaurant and souvenir purchases on your easypass, and when it gets to a certain level of expenditure (usually around 300 euros upwards, depending on which hotel you're staying at) your nominated debit/credit card will be debited, with just the one figure, and therefore just the one fee from your bank.

 

[gaz100uk]

Thanks for that. I will have to look into the card. On travellers cheques if i get euro cheques surly i dont have to worry about exchange rates/fees as i have purchaesd them back in the UK and a 100 euro cheque is worth 100 euros cash? Cant belive its been so long since i have been out of the country

 

[Ware Bears]

You're right, you wouldn't need to worry about exchange rates with euro travellers cheques but the hotel might charge you a commission fee for changing them. I'm not saying they will but they may. I don't think travellers cheques are so widely used in Europe anymore, the travel cards seem to be replacing them. Even in the US they're not as welcomed as they used to be which is a shame as they're a great way of budgeting.

We usually take enough cash in euros to cover paying the shuttle to/from the airport, tips, ice-creams, drinks etc and then pay for the bulk of our spending ie. meals, souvenirs on a fee free credit card ie Halifax, Post Office, Nationwide.

 

[tinkertaylor05]

I was the same before our first trip, it'd been ages since we'd travelled too! Where are you staying is there a safe in the room? In the end I just took cash and was glad of it, put everything in the safe and knew exactly where I was up to. Have a great trip whatever you decide

 

[gaz100uk]

Thanks for that. We are staying in the sequoia lodge, I think they don’t have room safes. I have looked into the pre paid cards and this is looking good. As far as i can tell the only cash point machine is in the station, is this correct?

It seems the Caxtonfx card doesn’t charge for withdraws from cash point machine. But the owner of the cash machine might charge you. Does anyone know what the case is with the cash machine at the station is?

 

[Carrie_Cat]

You have cash points in the park too - one in each of the arcades either side of main street

There used to be one near Hakuna Matata and there was one near Buzz Lightyear (don't know if they still are there or not)

They should be listed on the park map which you can get when you go under the arches into the park along with the show schedule

There is also one in the Village near the ticket/info desk, just at the turn off for McDo and I think there could be one just inside the cinema complex

hth

 

[gaz100uk]

Thanks for that Carrie. Sounds like these cards are the way to go. Would you know if you had any charges from using these machines from the owners and not your card supllier?

 

[Carrie_Cat]

I've never owned a pre-paid card as they are pretty much non existant here - they are only used for small purchases like your daily loaf and paying the parking meter to avoid carry loose change and they are not valid outside of France.

I know the banks will always charge me a fee with a normal card, we only have debit cards here in France, when I go abroad except in the € zone as they treat it like a normal withdrawl ...maybe send a email to Caxtonfx and see if they have a list of banks that do or don't change

The one in the station belongs to La Banque Postale and the Disney ones will be all Crédit Mutuel as that is now the official DLP bank

 

[ap156]

There is no charge for withdrawing on a Euros pre-paid card - just come back from France where I used the card, no charge, my daughter used it in Ibiza, no charge. Got ours from Asda - if you want more than £250 on it then you need to have the balance in cash as that is the limit for debit card transactions - treated as a cash withdrawal or you could top up by bank transfer online. Simples!

Rgds

A

 

[numbersix]

There are several cashpoints in or around the resort:
Disney Village - at La Poste in the Railway Station & at The Gaumont cinema

Studios - to the left of Studio Photo Boutique & to the right of Restaurante des Stars next to the Disney Blockbuster cafe
Disneyland Park - in the middle of each arcade along Mainstreet, next to the Coolpost refreshments kiosk in Adventureland & outside the Constellations Boutique in Discoveryland

 

[siandonna]

some of the cards do charge for cash point withdrawals, ours doesnt but do check all the details first.

 

[numbersix]

With regard to Travellers Cheques, they do seem to be generally on the decline. There was an article in the Daily Mail yesterday that suggests that they are getting harder and harder to cash all over Europe, particularly France. I have also heard that they are hard to cash in both Italy and Spain. This is largely because of the cost of processing them, which is why cheques generally are on the decline in the banking world. At the moment at least it would seem that American Express Travellers Cheques are still good for the US, owing to their widespread acceptance as currency there.

On top of the added security offered by American Express (replacement within 24hrs etc) for lost cheques, they also provide a service for their customers where they help with replacing passports if they are lost, so it is worth just getting at least one cheque for that alone. I keep a £20 cheque with my travel stuff, just in case, for that very reason.