Exchanging American Dollars for Euros

Maggie117 · Guru

Exchanging American Dollars for Euros

Michele Erdvig · Host

Maggie,

I just get cash in either euros or pounds when I am in Ireland as needed. I use my credit union ATM card for favorable rates. Of course, I always have some cash left over after each trip, which I just save for next time.

When one euro equals one dollar, then I'm stocking up!

Michele

P.S. With the ongoing problem in Greece it is possible the euro could decrease in value even more.

-- Edited by Michele Erdvig on Sunday 9th of May 2010 06:44:53 PM

Zstep · Veteran Member

Hi Maggie,
I've been keeping a close eye on the exchange rate to determine when (or if) I exchange a large amount of dollars for euros before I go. I am going in June so it is much sooner for me, obviously.

I have to admit, this has been a real education for me as I monitor the currency markets and see what has a real impact.

Things to watch out for:
*Euro economies in trouble (in order of possible default): Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Ireland. If the credit agencies continue to downgrade any of these, the Euro will drop sharply. The spike downward the other day was apparently a rumor that Spain was going to be downgraded (they weren't) and their economy was much worse than feared (it's not). Italy and Ireland are probably ok for a while but Portugal is looking dicey and Spain is still iffy through the end of the year. Allegedly.
*US unemployment figures and interest rates.
*The "rescue" package- looks like Euro 750 billion is being spent to "prop" the Euro up. This is a desperate measure and I'll be curious to see how effective it is. It's had a short term bounce today (Euro back over $1.30 briefly) but I don't think it'll be the long term answer.

I am not a professional so these are just my observations but it looks like the trend is for the Euro to continue to drop through the summer. I would sit tight and continue to monitor the rate.

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

Current long-term projections are for the Euro to be at or below $1.25 by year-end.

Of course, these are some of the same 'Experts' that believed that the 2002-2007 Boom would CONTINUE .... biggrin

I see that by mid-day, the Bloom is falling off the Rose, relative to the 'Bail Out' -- Euro is back down to $1.283 as I write this.

Original goal was for PARITY -- that's what the EU said before the release of the Euro and what they kept repeating as it slid to as low as $.78 ---

Realistically, I think somewhere in the $1.00 - 1.25 range is probably a REALISTIC valuation --

But then again, What Do I Know????? confuse

Bob (He Of The MURKEY Crystal Ball)

Maggie117 · Guru

Thanks everyone! Just like buying the airline ticket to Ireland it's all a gamble... (meaning getting the best price...) :)

Michele Erdvig · Host

Maggie,

You are right. Our crystal balls are obscured by volcanic ash!

Michele

Maggie117 · Guru

Very witty!

Zstep · Veteran Member

Does anyone have a suggestion on where to get Euros before getting to Ireland? I just talked to my Bank (Compass) and they would charge me $1.399 for each Euro even though the rate is currently $1.255. My wife's credit union wants $1.4285. Paying a 10-15% commission on top of the rate is absurd so it looks like I will be using my ATM card a lot while travelling but would still like to bring a few hundred Euros with me.

Suggestions or do I just eat the spread?

Rich207 · Veteran Member

Just check the exchange rate at 16:10 EDT. The Euro is down to to 1.2533 US$. Bob, your crystal ball must be working despite the ash. Will it go lower? I'm concerned about the European travel to our area with this rate.

Monty · Senior Member

Use the ATMs -- there are plenty in Ireland. The rate will be MUCH better than what your bank here will give you. That decision should be an easy one! smile

Andi · Senior Member

I may be wrong, but in my experience, trying to buy Euros from a U.S. bank will be more expensive. It's really not necessary to take them, ATM's are widely available, and you can exchange at at ATM at the airport. Unless you have an objection to using credit cards, you may not need to carry a lot of cash Euros.

Itallian Chauffeur · Moderator

PRE the 'Euro Bailout', many had been projecting the euro to be at $1.25 by year's end -- "Subject to Revision" ... cry

One of the SIGNIFICANT participants in the 'Bailout' was -- the US Federal Reserve!!!!
confuse

It is VERY possible that further weakening of the Euro may occur -- and that will MOST definitely impact travel from Europe TO the US, as it HAS done so, in the past.

A weak dollar can actually IMPROVE the USA's economic recovery, by making foreign goods more expensive and making US products CHEAPER to foreign purchasers. There was a decided 'Push' during the Bush years to encourage a lowering of the value of a US dollar and it would APPEAR that the new Administration subscribes to the SAME outlook. hmm

ZSTEP -- Let's say that you pay that $1.399 for 300 Euro -- and let's ALSO say that the Euro is at $1.199 when you ARRIVE in Ireland -- If so, you will have 'LOST' $60 on the pre-purchase (plus any Fees charged for that service).

It would seem to me that it wasn't worth it -- you would probably get a better "DEAL" from the Exchange Bureau desk in the airport -- What I like to call, "The Money Changers In The Temple"! furious

.

I needed about 500 Euro, in cash, within the first few hours of arrival, last year, in order to pay for a Self-Catering place. I used the Shannon Airpor ATM for 300 and I used my wife's card in the ATM in Bunratty (in front of the Blarney Woolen Mills ) to grab another 250.

My Credit Union permits withdrawals up to $1000 per day, but the ATM's in Ireland APPEAR to be 'SET' to limit people to 300 Euro per day - per CARD.

I brought home about 120 Euro from my trip LAST year (when the Euro was trading right around $1.40 to 1) so I understand the 'Comfort' issue of having some cash to hand -- but if you think about it, I 'LOST' about $24 by doing so.

Best not to think about everything TOO deeply --

Lest we drive ourselves Crazy with all the 'what if's' and 'Woulda, coulda, shoulda''s biggrin

Bob

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

The banks and bureaux de change are in business to make money. That is why ordering ahead will cost you. There are ATMs at the airports and all over the place in Ireland.

As Bob says, it is about your comfort level. If you really want that money in hand before arrival then get it and consider it part of the trip experience. If you feel okay with getting it on arrival you will save a lot. There is only one time when I found the airport ATM drained dry of cash. I just went to another ATM.

Michele

Zstep · Veteran Member

We don't use/have credit cards (only debit), thus my desire to prepay or carry enough cash to get us through any emergencies. Still we'll have 3 ATM cards between us so I won't worry about it too much.

Zstep · Veteran Member

Wow, the Euro is tanking again today. Rumors of France threatening to pull out of the Eurozone and a possible downgrade in France's credit rating, the Euro is down to $1.237 so far today...

Michele Erdvig · Host

Zstep,

You have to do what works best in your circumstances. You will want to phone your banks ahead of time to inform them that the ATM cards will be used abroad. You wouldn't want them to flag the activity as suspicious and freeze your accounts.

Michele

Andi · Senior Member

As Michele says, it's very important to let your bank know. I have been with people who were unable to use their cards because their banks froze the accounts. It's also a good idea to have at least 2 bank cards, in case one doesn't work.

wckc · Guru

Ztep -

We have our "travel account" at Compass Bank specifically because opf their policy with ATM usage and no fees! We have used that card in ATM's in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and have received very competitive rates.

We also have an Aer Lingus master card that does not charge any conversion fees when we charge in Euros. They use a very competitive conversion rate when the charge is posted to the account and we just pay the bill in full upon return.

As for the outlook of the Euro, Irish Central is predicting the rate to stay low (down to 1.236 right now) through year end. Too bad we pre-purchased $1000 of Euros to pay for our anticipated Self Catering for our cancelled April/May trip (we thought that $1.39 exchange rate was good!)

-wc

Maggie117 · Guru

We used an ATM in Ireland and it cost us about $4.00 for each withdrawal and some ATM limited the amount of money you could take per transaction or per day...this made it very expensive for us...

So, maybe we did it wrong. We withdrew money in each area...should we have just taken the max we needed when we initially landed??? I'm just not seeing ATMs as being advantageous.

wckc · Guru

Maggie -

You might want to look into opening an account at a Compass Bank. They have no ATM fees anywhere in the world! if you are charge a fee, they will reimburse you - just take them the receipt! We opened our account there specifically for travelling - they don't have a minimum balance for their checking account - so we just deposit the funds to the account a few days before we leave and we have cash as we need it at no extra charge!

-wc

Michele Erdvig · Host

Each bank has different fees. It pays to shop around. I use a credit union account ATM card. There is a very slight charge but not much. My bank charges a lot more.

As for debit cards, they can be used in Irish ATMs just like ATM cards.

Michele