What should I do about money?

[goobylal]

We're doing an ABD in Copenhagen before we do a 7-night Northern European Disney Cruise at the beginning of June. I was wondering what to do about cash? Should I just use American dollars? Get the local currency of each place? Any suggestions from people who have already done these vacations would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sayhello]

I always try to have at least a little bit of the local currency when I arrive in a country. You just never know if you're going to need to take a taxi, buy some food or drink or whatever. Most European countries will not accept American dollars. Once you're there, you can likely use your credit card for a lot of things (make sure you have one that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee!) If you need more cash, you can generally find ATM's and get cash that way. You'll get the best exchange rate from an ATM. Some smaller places might not take your credit card. So a bit of local currency is usually a good idea. You can always use any you have left over for at least some of your Adventure Guides' tips.

Apparently some shops, etc in the larger cities in Denmark *will* take euros, but I wouldn't want to count on that. Denmark's currency is the kroner.

Sayhello

 

[goobylal]

Thanks.

 

[aggiedog]

We're on the May 30 sailing. Russia, Sweden, and Denmark all have their own currencies. I've heard most places take credit cards, with the exception of smaller stores. We will mostly likely find an ATM at every port and get some cash that way. Other cruise board members (a different site) have posted that Russian guides prefer dollars, or will take credit cards. I've also read some restrooms may require coins to access, though if you are on a DCL excursion maybe they'll warn you of those ahead of time?

 

[sayhello]

We're on the May 30 sailing. Russia, Sweden, and Denmark all have their own currencies. I've heard most places take credit cards, with the exception of smaller stores. We will mostly likely find an ATM at every port and get some cash that way. Other cruise board members (a different site) have posted that Russian guides prefer dollars, or will take credit cards. I've also read some restrooms may require coins to access, though if you are on a DCL excursion maybe they'll warn you of those ahead of time?

If you're on an ABD excursion, and you need coins to access the restroom at a bathroom break, the Guides will usually provide them for you.

Sayhello

 

[aggiedog]

Thanks, we're not doing ABD for Copenhagen though. We are going in a week early and doing Reykjavik and Copenhagen pre-trip on our own. Agreed, ABD would surely take care of something like that!

 

[goobylal]

I just applied, and was accepted, for a Capital One Platinum Prestige card. No foreign transaction fees as "sayhello" suggested. That takes care of that end.

As for ATM's, I've never used one outside of my local area to avoid fees, much less abroad. What is the best way to avoid foreign ATM fees?

 

[Tozzie]

I just applied, and was accepted, for a Capital One Platinum Prestige card. No foreign transaction fees as "sayhello" suggested. That takes care of that end.

As for ATM's, I've never used one outside of my local area to avoid fees, much less abroad. What is the best way to avoid foreign ATM fees?

Just make sure that you notify your bank and credit card ccompanies before you travel so they don't flag your accounts fo fraud.

 

[silmarg]

My understanding is all Capital One credit cards don't have Foreign Transaction fees. I have started making pre and post ABD arrangements for my Italy ABD this summer and can confirm that the GM MasterCard that I have had forever (and was recently sold from HSBC to Capital One) has no fees... and the FX rate being use is a super competitive rate.

I am not sure if you are near the Capital One branch network (I think they have branches in NYC tri-state area and in Louisiana), but they don't charge ATM fees and they re-imburse you for fees incurred using their ATM card at other banks! I read somewhere that this holds true in using their ATM cards in Italy. I have not tested this out, so YYMV.

(I feel like a spokesman for CapOne... and I work for a competitor!)

 

[Tozzie]

My understanding is all Capital One credit cards don't have Foreign Transaction fees. I have started making pre and post ABD arrangements for my Italy ABD this summer and can confirm that the GM MasterCard that I have had forever (and was recently sold from HSBC to Capital One) has no fees... and the FX rate being use is a super competitive rate.

I am not sure if you are near the Capital One branch network (I think they have branches in NYC tri-state area and in Louisiana), but they don't charge ATM fees and they re-imburse you for fees incurred using their ATM card at other banks! I read somewhere that this holds true in using their ATM cards in Italy. I have not tested this out, so YYMV.

(I feel like a spokesman for CapOne... and I work for a competitor!)

I have both a Capital One Credcit Card and and Bank Account, I have used the ATM in Italy, Ireland, Scottland, London, Spain and Greece and I have never paid a foreign transaction fee getting cash either.

 

[goobylal]

Thanks. I think I'll open a CO bank account. I'm assuming that if I use a CO CC to take out money at an ATM (if you can do that), I'd get charged cash advance fees or something similar, no?

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Please note that AMEX Gold cards will no longer charge foreign transaction fees starting 1 June.

A true chip and pin credit card make charging things much easier in Europe.

 

[Woodview]

Just to make it clear.

If you are converting a sum of money INTO an overseas currency .... there Will be an Exchange currency fee.

There MAY BE No Transaction Fee's which is a different charge ( A process fee )

 

[sayhello]

Just to make it clear.

If you are converting a sum of money INTO an overseas currency .... there Will be an Exchange currency fee.

There MAY BE No Transaction Fee's which is a different charge ( A process fee )

This is incorrect. Some credit cards charge *no fee* for exchanging money. You charge in the foreign currency (euro, whatever) and you'll pay the amount of the charge, converted to US dollars, but there is no Exchange fee. I've done this many times with my Capital One credit card.

Sayhello

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This recent New York Times article may be of interest:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/26/travel/seeking-the-elusive-fee-free-exchange-rate.html

 

[calypso726]

We always bring a few credit cards that carry no foreign transaction fees. We try to use as little cash as possible both at home and abroad since cash doesn't "pay us" back in points or miles. The accumulation of said points and miles helps us mitigate the costs of these ABD trips We will be bringing a Capital One Venture card which is a chip and signature, a Barclay Arrival Plus which is chip and pin as well as a Wells Fargo Propel which is also chip and pin.

 

[jec6613]

This is incorrect. Some credit cards charge *no fee* for exchanging money. You charge in the foreign currency (euro, whatever) and you'll pay the amount of the charge, converted to US dollars, but there is no Exchange fee. I've done this many times with my Capital One credit card.

There technically is a fee, as well as the usual bid/ask spread, but it's done on a million dollar point spread or greater so on a very bad day it may come out to one or two cents. There isn't a fee on your individual transaction though, but the bank does pay a fee and passes it on.

If you have a CitiGold account, which is really easy to get if you rollover an IRA or have a mortgage with them as they both count towards your deposit total, there's no fees for using foreign ATMs. Most Citi credit cards are similar, as are most Chase.

You can also order currency from your local branches, and on my upcoming cruise (in summer of 2016) to those same countries, we will be picking up about $100 worth of each local currency before going so we will have at least some when we arrive. We're flying through LHR, but I have GBP already and they're very good about taking credit cards.

 

[kristilew]

Please note that AMEX Gold cards will no longer charge foreign transaction fees starting 1 June.

A true chip and pin credit card make charging things much easier in Europe.

fwiw, we have a chip and pin Barclay International Mastercard. European terminals still recognize it as a US card, and we still have to sign a receipt. It's actually kind of a pain. It makes me wonder if a US citizen could actually get a "true" chip and pin card from a European provider, to be able to use it the way it is designed.

 

[sayhello]

fwiw, we have a chip and pin Barclay International Mastercard. European terminals still recognize it as a US card, and we still have to sign a receipt. It's actually kind of a pain. It makes me wonder if a US citizen could actually get a "true" chip and pin card from a European provider, to be able to use it the way it is designed.

Well that's interesting. And frustrating!

Sayhello

 

[kristilew]

Well that's interesting. And frustrating!

Sayhello

Yep. In Italy and the UK, we couldn't enter our pin, it automatically reacted as an American card. In Canada, we had to enter a pin AND sign. Will be testing in France in a couple of months, will report if there's anything different.

I do wonder if it will improve when the US switches over later this year.