Spending money

[BatigoL5]

Alright here is another question for the group...

How are you guys doing it in regards to spending money while in Germany?
Taking cash?
Taking credit cards?
Taking American Express travelers checks?

Right now I'm looking at taking all three.

Any other suggestions on you guys are handling the money side of this trip?

[spidergoose]

Credit card and debit card for ATM use with a couple of travelers checks (left in the hotel room for emergencies) are generally the way I go. I wouldn't bring much cash over with you, you get a better exchange rate just taking it as needed from ATMs.

[dfb547490]

Only thing I can really imagine needing cash for is food from stalls and scalped tickets.

I'm budgeting $350 for myself for spending money...$50 earmarked for souveniers and general sightseeing stuff, $300 as an "overflow budget" in case my budget for food/drink, sightseeing, and/or game tickets goes over (particularly game tickets--only thing I have built into my budget right now is face-value category 3 tickets for the 3 US first-round games, if I end up having to get scalped tickets, getting tickets to non-US games, or having to get higher-priced tickets then obviously that will go up).

Right now my total anticipated cost for the trip is $1461.28 :D

[dirk diggler]

I rely on ATMs exclusively when I travel to Europe. But I do carry about $300 in cash and carry it with me inside a money belt or in-room safe in case of emergencies. Remember that European ATMs only withdraw from checking accounts; they don't give you a choice of checking or savings. So make sure you have enough in your checking.

[Kevin Etzel]

I rely on ATMs exclusively when I travel to Europe. But I do carry about $300 in cash and carry it with me inside a money belt or in-room safe in case of emergencies. Remember that European ATMs only withdraw from checking accounts; they don't give you a choice of checking or savings. So make sure you have enough in your checking.

Having backup cash is a good idea. I also favor using ATM's in Germany. I do my banking at Citibank where I live in the USA. There are three Citibank branches in my base city, Stuttgart, that have 24-hour ATM locations (not all German ATM's can be used 24-hours), one is near the cental train station. I have been told by Citibank that I will have to pay a fee of 1% if I use Citibank ATM's in Germany. I have read that fees for using other non-Citibank ATM's would cost 2-3% of the total amount converted, or more.

[roadkit]

I'm bringing a combo of Credit, ATM, and cash which is what I usually do when I travel. I'm also thinking of getting an American Express traveller's check card - it's pretty much the same as a traveller's check, it just looks like a credit card.

I second the comment on using ATMs for the best exchange rate. Although the exchange rate is bad, I always get a stash of the local currency (in this case EUROs) before I depart the US - call it a comfort factor - I hate showing up without a little cash in my pocket, just in case.

[BatigoL5]

Interesting.
Never thought about using an ATM while in Germany.
I'll have to look into that.

[Kevin Etzel]

I'm bringing a combo of Credit, ATM, and cash which is what I usually do when I travel.

After finding that my current VISA card (which along with MC are the only two types of cards acceptable for buying tickets from FIFA) issuer would charge me a 3% "foreign" fee for using it in Europe I started to research getting a new card. I found that most of the other VISA card issuers charged similar fees for foreign transactions. On an out-of-date website I found that the two most likely to not charge a fee or charge a small fee were Capital One and Providian. The service rep at Capital One said that the don't currently charge extra for foreign transactions but that they were considering it in the near future. Providian charges a 1% fee, I applied for and received one fairly quickly. Next week I intend to apply for the Capital One card to give me a choice of two card. I hope that just before leaving for Germany that I can have both of the credit limits raised. Usually, it takes six months to raise a limit.

[dirk diggler]

Both Visa and Mastercard (which own the major atm networks) tack on a 1% fee; there is no way to get around that. In addition most banks tack on an extra 1-2% :mad:! A lot of small banks and credit unions don't have that extra fee so it might be worth it to shop around.
For more info, check out this link:
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/bank.htm

[IASocFan]

I've been to Europe twice in the last 6 years. Last time I bought some Euros to take with me, a couple of ATM cards, and a couple of VISA/Mastercards. In Germany, I reserved the car before we left. For housing and large purchases, we used the credit cards. For food, souvenirs, trains, amusements we used cash - getting one or three hundred Euros at a time (for 2 or 4 of us). ATMs were great! I haven't used travellers checks in several decades.

[Woody-99]

Credit Cards are still not so widely used in Germany as I heard about the US. Although credit cards are widely accepted in large stores many small businesses in Germany don't take them so I would always take some cash and check before buying something.
If you're taking traveller cheques, just remember the often limited opening hours of banks for the exchange, especially outside the big cities.

[Shibb]

I've been to Europe twice in the last 6 years. Last time I bought some Euros to take with me, a couple of ATM cards, and a couple of VISA/Mastercards. In Germany, I reserved the car before we left. For housing and large purchases, we used the credit cards. For food, souvenirs, trains, amusements we used cash - getting one or three hundred Euros at a time (for 2 or 4 of us). ATMs were great! I haven't used travellers checks in several decades.

In my experience, you get a really horrible exchange rate in the USA vs overseas. Especially in places like the midwest where the banks don't see as much foreign currency exchange. I generally take cash and exchange once overseas. But even in, for example, Frankfurt, you're going to get variable exchange rates. Frankfurt airport has about 2-3 on location banks that doe exchange and each has different rules. Read the exchange rates and check the fine print. For example, maybe Bank A has the best rate but charges a small fee per transaction. If you exchange a lot it's better to use them, but because of the fee if you're only exchanging a small amount it's better to use a different bank that doesn't charge the transaction fee.

You might be able to get a fair exchange rate in the USA from Bank of America, Citibank or Amex. Or perhaps in NYC or Chicago. But if you use the local Farmer's Bank in Des Moines then you'll probably get hosed.

[AGF Aarhus]

Using a credit card when you can, and then drawing cash using the ATM for other situations is the way to go. The fees you pay to do this pale in comparison to other options, and you get a much better exchange rate.

There is no reason whatsoever to bring either traveller's checks or have cash converted into Euros. You lose a ton of money on fees and get a bad exchange rate. Just hit the ATM at the airport if you need cash fast when you arrive.

Be aware that credit cards are often not accepted in Germany. Many restaurants and shops do not use them. ATMs are also a little harder to find than in the US (you will never see them in bars or shops the way you do in the US. Pretty much only at bank branches). I have never, however, seen an ATM here that was not in operation 24 hours.

[GOOOOAL!!]

One way to keep your US account seperate and secure while in a foreign country is to get a special travel card from your bank. I can't remember what the name is, but it is basically a short term ATM card that you set up before you travel. You can put money in the account at any time but if you loose it or it gets stolen, there is insurance that covers it and you don't have to cancel your main checking or savings accounts. Just a little more secure than using your normal ATM card. I think it also works for credit card purchases as well. Call your bank and ask about them. It takes a week or two to get the account set up so plan ahead a little.

[nowherenova]

I bring an ATM with a couple hundred cash and whatever Euros are left over from last summer. Actually, they are right here in my bottom desk drawer, let's see...

... 30 Euros. Maybe I can buy Amy a Donnerkebab and a Bier!

[Brook]

Another tip for credit card users: Call the issuing bank and inform them that you will be traveling to Germany. More than once, I've had my cards declined for fraud purposes because an overseas charge popped up on their screens and they redflagged the account. Kind of embarssing to go to use that card and have it declined.

[nowherenova]

Another tip for credit card users: Call the issuing bank and inform them that you will be traveling to Germany. More than once, I've had my cards declined for fraud purposes because an overseas charge popped up on their screens and they redflagged the account. Kind of embarssing to go to use that card and have it declined.

I also did this with my ATM/Debit and I like the "travel account" idea mentioned earlier. I have queried my bank on the matter and will report back to base.

[cswan]

One way to keep your US account seperate and secure while in a foreign country is to get a special travel card from your bank. I can't remember what the name is, but it is basically a short term ATM card that you set up before you travel. You can put money in the account at any time but if you loose it or it gets stolen, there is insurance that covers it and you don't have to cancel your main checking or savings accounts. Just a little more secure than using your normal ATM card. I think it also works for credit card purchases as well. Call your bank and ask about them. It takes a week or two to get the account set up so plan ahead a little.

Yes this is the what I will use too. AMEX offers one. I believe and if you're a AAA member you can get a VISA card through them. I think other merchants have this on offer as well.

It has the VISA logo on it and can be used anywhere VISA is accepted. Once you receive your card, you set up a PIN #. The card is not tied to any of your bank accounts, you load the card up with cash (before you leave, hopefully). With my card you can't reload indefinitely, only 3 times. So the cash amount should be large, if possible.

You can then draw money from ATMS, use it like a credit card and like someone posted -- if it's stolen or lost -- call the issuing agent to report it (you did copy the card for your suitcase right?). The card has a domestic U.S. and international phone number printed on it and you'll get a replacement -- although overseas it might be a day or two or several. But at least it won't be a total loss as if it were cash.

BTW -- I traveled to Romania in November 2004 and was able to use this as a credit card where I saw the VISA logo. I mostly used it for ATMS -- very handy and your exchange rate is more favorable than doing it in the airport or a bank.

Christine S.

[Palermo10]

My PayPal card! May have a small percentage fee but I get 1.5% cash back and a $30,000 daily spending limit.

[Palermo10]

Another tip for credit card users: Call the issuing bank and inform them that you will be traveling to Germany. More than once, I've had my cards declined for fraud purposes because an overseas charge popped up on their screens and they redflagged the account. Kind of embarssing to go to use that card and have it declined.

Yer, I did that yesterday for my cards.