[Idyllchat] (no subject)

[Russell Crum]

Don,

We always get our local currency from ATM's, usually at the airport  
when we arrive. Depending on your bank's fee, is any, for foreign ATM  
use vs the 3% fee tacked on by most credit card companies, you can  
decide whether you want to use cash or credit. This may also depend  
some on your comfort level in carrying significant amounts of cash  
with you (use a money belt no matter how much!).

We always come home with 50 or 60 Euros to keep for initial cash  
needs, before we can find an ATM, on our next trip. Generally you  
will find the bank fees for purchasing foreign currency here pretty  
exorbitant. However, if it helps your comfort zone, go ahead and get  
some.

A few things to keep in mind:
1. Be sure you know your daily withdrawal limit on your ATM card. I  
have had the experience of attempting to withdraw more than my 24  
hour limit and the ATM system did not tell me why my transaction  
couldn't be completed. The only message was "unable to complete  
transaction".  After a quick calculation, I lowered the requested  
amount and the withdrawal occurred just fine. This is more of an  
issue now than when the $/Euro ratio was about 1:1!
2. Notify your bank and credit card companies where you will be and  
when. Otherwise you may find your card(s) blocked by the bank's  
security software for suspicious activity.
3. Have a second ATM and credit card with you just in case something  
happens to one. On an international trip last fall, one member of our  
group had an ATM machine fail to return his card after it spit out  
his money. As it turned out, that machine's bank had a branch in the  
airport and they had access to the machine so he could retrieve the  
card quickly. In some other circumstances, he may have had to wait a  
day or two for the bank to open. Also, if a credit card gets stolen,  
a second account one could be very comforting.
4. On the cash/credit issue, depending on where you are, you may need  
cash for some small purchases.

Russ

Russ Crum

On Apr 7, 2008, at 6:27 , Don Peckham wrote:

>
> Going to italy for three weeks soon.Where should i purchase euros?  
> my bank can get them also we have a local international airport  
> (rsw)or should i wait and get them at the airport in italy when we  
> arrive?also have no clue how many to start with.alsoduring our  
> stay,should we be using our debit card or our credit card for  
> incidental expenses(gas food etc.?...don
>
>
> Don Peckham
> donpeckham at mindspring.com
> EarthLink Revolves Around You.
>
>
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