Currency exchange - changing money

Where would I find the best exchange rates in Munich for changing between Euros and Dollars?

I will be changing more than a few hundred so I want to make sure the rate is the best.

xe.com - currency conversion calculator

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the best rate is usually what you get if you just leave the euros in your bank account and withdraw the money in the country where you are going, presumably the US in this case, with your bog standard german EC-karte - provided is has a "maestro" logo on the back.

as a rule, you will always get shafted on the rate if you exchange cash notes and you will pay a higher commission

J

I'm in full compliance with Jordigo ... use your EC-Karte in the country where you want your funds for the best rate. You can even get away with the service fee if you have Deutsche-Bank. In this case, you can withdraw money electonically without a fee at the following institutions:

Bank of America (USA)
ScotiaBank (Canada)
Barclays (Great Britain)
BNP Paribas (France)
Westpac (Australia)

If you don't have DB24, or the bank is not listed above ... you only pay a flat fee which is in the neighborhood of 2-4 Euros I believe.

If your US dollars are in cash ... you'll pay nasty interest + a base fee

Nope, my money is all cash. Any ideas of where the best place to exchange cash is?

Dont change the money at the Reifeisenbank place at Hauptbahnhof - the commision is horredous!

Pootle

sorry I still don't get it. if you have cash euros then why don't you simply pay them into your bank account and then use your EC karte to get them out as dollars at the other end? dead easy and, as said, cheapest and safest way forward

To clarify... I have euros in cash and NO bank account in Europe. I only have a US bank account so I need to change the money into dollars and then deposit the money into my account when I return to the US. And if the dollar is at a high, then it's not a good time at all to be changing euros to dollars!

Why can't you just take the Euros back to the States and deposit them there? The bank should be able to convert them - they can't be that backwards over there...

By the way, it sounds like you're earning money cash-in-hand and without a bank account. Are you a Schwarzarbeiter?

If you have an account with a Bank (like Deutsche Bank for me), the exchange is commission free.

Other than that, have actually found Munich Airport to be quite good.

But the AP is just a bit outta the way...

The believe the Bavarian central bank, could do this also without or with a small fee, depending what your converting...

http://www.bayernlb.de/p/_de/idx/idx.jsp

Ok as far as I can tell this guy didnt get an answer so Im putting the question back out there...

No bank account in Germany, I have dollars that I want to be euros and I DONT want to have to go all the way back out to the airport...

Where is a good place I can go and get a good rate for the exchange??

Hauptbahnhof or any bank around Marienplatz will exchange your dollars to euros.

If you have a couple of hundreds of US dollar cash to sell for Euro, please PM me as I need USD for a trip to California, hope to avoid commission and bad rate from the bank thru private exchange.

Cheers,
Hoong

Use an ATM card. Best deal. No need to carry cash.

True enough best rate going, every machine works even way out in the Boonies behind Providence.

Cash is soooooo passé.

put everything on the card, then there is no rate for using another ATM, and the rates are the best!

If you've got Deutsche Bank, then you can withdraw cash from any of their alliance networks for free (in the US that would be Bank America). there is a foreign transaction fee, can't remember what it is at present but using ATM in general (regardless of bank) is easier and cheaper than exchanging cash.

is that 100% sure that the rate is better to use ATM? I used credit card before for hotel payment but the rate was not good though...

Not really off-topic, but kinda... Through Deutsche Bank, I could goto ScotiaBank in Canada and do the free withdrawls, eh? Now, I'm not with Deutsche Bank, but Dresdner Bank which is in the same ATM group as DB. I can goto any Deutsche Bank, Commerz, Postbank and a couple others for free... Would you happen to know which bank would be free of charge if I went back to Canada and used my Dresdnerbank card?

(Edit: Basically what I'm saying, is there a similar agreement with the "CashGroup" banks?)

I'm sure I already know the answer to this question, but I figured I'd better ask to be sure. Is it best to exchange currency at your bank or at the airport? Hubby's coming home from Europe today and ended up taking out too many euros before leaving.

Topics merged by admin

Tell him to buy you something nice at the airport.

Too late anway, he's already over here - stopped through Newark a couple hours ago.

Best to exchange at your bank. Some banks don't even charge a commision. The places at airports and around other tourist places can cost a lot, depending on how much your exchanging. Another option would be to just hold on to it for the next time he's in Euro Land..

Thanks. That's what I figured.

Hi,

I need to be in Eastern Europe next week and want to get some euros changed into the appropriate local currencies.

Can anyone recommend some places with minimal fees and maximal exchange rates around town?

Topics merged by admin

-your home bank might have the currancy on stock
- the Bank at the Hauptbahnhof
-the bank at the Airport
-most banks in city center
-Thomas Cook office (by St Peters church)
-American Express office (by the BayrischeHof)

Or change money when there or take out of the bank machine when there as you can use your EC Bank Card ALL over Europe.

For smaller quantities (less than €1000) your own bank is almost certainly going to be the least rip-off. Almost all the other suggestions add a tourist uplift in some form or other...

The best advice you received on your earlier thread was to take cash out from an ATM when you get to Poland. This is the cheapest and simplest method.

Not especially the cheapest method as alothugh the exchange rate may be fair (and the same as you'd get at home) there is often a fixed charge for taking money out from a non-partner bank. On €100 this can be as much as €5, so you are 5% down on the deal.

Does anyone know where you can legally change Ukrainian, Russian or even Kazakh (yes, Borat Land) currency in Munich?

RT

Here's my experience as an American paid in dollars to an American bank account while living in Germany and needing to pay all local expenses in Euro (OUCH)

Absolute best: Go to Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in that center of high culture called the Oberpfalz. Buy crystal. Pay with USD. Receive change in EUR. They probably won't be too happy to break a $100 for a 2 EUR glass. The exchange rate is killer, though. The Czech border is pretty close, and Tesco isn't that far on in Cheb/Eger.

Best: Sparkasse ATM from an American credit union account, using a Visa debit card. Sparkasse gives close to midmarket (maybe 0.5% off it) and doesn't charge fees for Visa debit cards. My credit union isn't out to get us for every fee they can and don't pretend to handle forex, so no ATM fee, no foreign transaction fee, and they just hand over however many dollars Sparkasse asks them to.

I then walk 10 meters to the Einzahlungsautomat to deposit this into my Sparkasse account.

Next-best: Just about any other German bank, using an American credit union debit card. DiBa at an Esso station was about 1.5% above midmarket, but this was before I started watching exchange rates like a hawk. I just remember it being better than...

Community Bank on post. Awful. When $1 buys 0.75 EUR from Sparkasse, it buys a mere 0.72 on post. I figure this is because they handle primarily dollar accounts, so have to insulate themselves against exchange risk, but still.

Using Bank of America (and many other commercial American banks) will get you some healthy fees, on top of 1%+ "foreign transaction fees". The exchange rate seems to be dictated by the German ATM, though. When I pulled 200 EUR with my credit union debit card, and then my Bank of America debit card, the exchange rates on my statements were the same, but BoA charged another 1% + $5.

I will say that the banks on post are a bit fairer about changing USD to EUR, etc. They give the same exchange rate they do for electronic transactions, putting them far ahead of the worst offender...

The booth at the airport. As I was waiting for the Passkontrolle lines to go down (mistake), I ambled over to the booth and looked at the rates: sell EUR at 0.67 per USD, buy at 0.84. YIKES.

I've had good luck using my American credit union ATM card and Sparkasse EC card at Sparkasse/Raiffeisen-related ATMs in the Czech Rep, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia (where the DM lives on). I'm a little nervous about using ones I don't recognize at all, since I have no idea what the stickers detailing their fee policies say.

Guys, I presume that some of you are already fed up with this topic, but just to summarize everything for myself (correct if I'm wrong). I'm flying to LA on Saturday.

People that are going to USA and would like to exchange EURO to USD.

If you have a german account then the easiest and the best way for you to exchange currency is to withdraw money from ATM using MAESTRO Card in America. The questions are to arise:

1) Does ATM show you an exchange rate there? Or you just get your money without knowing your exchange rate?
2) Is there difference to use MAESTRO debit card and Mastercard (credit) to withdraw money from ATM in America? Same fees for transactions?

As I'll be arriving on Saturday evening to LAX I need some cash already at the airport there (for a taxi or public transportation). I'm pretty sure the banks are closed on Sunday. Looks like I have to exchange at LAX.

BTW, checked the rates with my german bank. Turned out that its has a commision fee of 5%. Not good, especially if you exchange more than 100 Euro.

For example: for exchanging 300 Euro

a) I get in my bank 395 USD
Converted online using the official rate - 425 USD.

Difference is around 30 USD. Not good.

Looks like I have to follow your advice and use my german debit card in America to get USD.

1) No, ATM's won't show you an exchange rate. You get your money and you find out later. At least from my experience.
2) Don't know, but I presume there's a difference if both cards are issued by different financial organisations.

There are a few exchange booths at LAX, but they offer the worst rates ever and charge a good amount of commission. There are also ATM's, that would be a better choice. I always used the ATM when I was in LA because it would get me the best rates.

In any case you won't lose much money given the current low value of the USD.

Confirm Panama's answers.
1) No they don't (and let's face it, why should they)
2) Don't know. Only ever used debit card

Just buy a few dollars here before you leave and don't worry about the rate or commission. That way you don't have the added stress on arrival. And when you get back from your trip keep a fistful of dollars for next time.

Its my experience with a Maestro card from a German bank that they dont work at all ATMs in the USA.
- They generally work at ATMs in supermarkets
- They always work at the ATMs inside the offices of my employer (global computer manufacturer).
- They rarely (never?) work at the ATM in the wall of a bank.

I tried to use last week in a sort of shopping mall in Las Vegas and after goind through the whole proceedure it failed claiming "communication error".

Its worth having a few dollars in cash on arrival - for instance at Boston airport you need 3 dollars to get out of the airport area by car via the toll tunnels!

A credit card usually costs more to withdraw cash than a debit card - often a fixed charge, an additional few percent on the transaction, or both, usually subject to a minimum fee. Check your credit card agreement for details.

I didn't have a problem with that at all this year.

Maestro and Mastercards will have different fee's depending on the deal you have with your bank.

If you have a Mastercard/Visa/Maestro card you can just use it at an ATM in the airport - you don't have to worry about going to an exchange place.


Don't expect to get the rate you've been given online when using your card in an ATM. If you use your Visa card for example, you will get a 1.5% cash charge at a minimum. Then the rate they will give you won't be as good as the one you found online - that rate is the live market rate that you get when you trade millions in currency. If the rate is 1.43, expect to get maybe 1.40 from the ATM.

Thanks all of you to answer to my questions. I'm going to keep in mind all your tips.


But anyway, even this rate from ATM (1.40) is better than the rate from my bank around 1.32

Jah, forget about exchange booths. Looks like I have to use my debit Maestro card to withdraw money from ATM at LAX. Just in case, I can also use credit card, but I have to search for my pin-code 'cause I've never used it. :-)

By the way, has anyone dealt with buying travel cheques? I presume, same shitty rates you will obtain from the bank or any other financial organizations that issue them.

Seriously.. just use your credit card. You can pay for everything on credit in America. The cab driver will even take it. Get the pin for your CC in case the Maestro doesn't work. I can guarantee a VISA or Mastercard will not leave you dry in America.

Ok, thanks guys for your assistance. Start searching for my CC pin-code in case if my Maestro card won't work.

The ATM solution is the best so far. But what if you need large amount of cash (in excess of 10,000 USD). Most cards only allow you to withdraw a maximum of 1000 Euros per day.

Here is a twist to the topic:

What is the best (cheapest) way to convert US dollars to Euros? I am moving to Germany in February and will need to convert a large amount of money. I also reaally need to get the most Euros for my dollars. I know its a bad time to be converting dollars, so I need to find the best rate. Any help?

~Lindsey

Squash them into a tight ball, squeeze them into a box, and sell them by weight to a paper recycler.

Have to do some curency exchange. Who does usually offer the best rates, banks or private places?

Topics merged by admin

Banks...

Or if doing it online - XETrade

Either way you will pay a bit for the service, but XE's rates are usually better

Banks will always provide better rates than private places

Traveling back to the States on December 18 with some yoyos, I noted the following exchange rates for US Dollars in the following airports:

Munich, 1.37
Toronto, 1.32
Atlanta, 1.28 + a $6 commission

This suggests to me that if you're stuck with cash and need to dump it, it's best to do so before leaving Europe.