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I will be coming in June , what is the best way for exchanges , i have been always told use the ATM's which i always do , any suggestions

My experiences have found that ATM's give the best rate and charge less of a exchange rate. Oh before you plan on going somewhere notify your credit card company of where and when your going so they won't limit your amount of withdraw. I learned that lession a long time ago when going to A'Dam.

tastywaves wrote:My experiences have found that ATM's give the best rate and charge less of a exchange rate. Oh before you plan on going somewhere notify your credit card company of where and when your going so they won't limit your amount of withdraw. I learned that lession a long time ago when going to A'Dam.

Thanks i already notifyed my bank!

definately the ATMS. And they are everywhere

cattales1960 wrote:definately the ATMS. And they are everywhere

Thanks so much !

there must be service fees associated with the ATM transaction.

Not sure about the European union, but Canadian banks will charge $1.50 per trans at non-associated machines (EDIT: they are called 'Plus VISA' ATMs). Then they will charge a fee for purchasing a foreign currency through the machine, likely 3.50, and a 2-cent per dollar purchased on the exchange rate.

however, banks also offer the online pre-order of foreign currency at the same rate as the branches... you just need to order a week before departure and pick up at branch.

it could be very expensive to do too many of ATMs, so i think pre-purchase and travel cheques are best option

TwoCanucks wrote:there must be service fees associated with the ATM transaction.

Yeah, unless you have an account with Nationwide in the U.K, you're bank will charge ya for withdrawals.

Mines a £1.50 charge.

Twichaldinho wrote:

TwoCanucks wrote:there must be service fees associated with the ATM transaction.

Yeah, unless you have an account with Nationwide in the U.K, you're bank will charge ya for withdrawals.

Mines a £1.50 charge.

Im from the US and my fees werent bad at all. I would get 200 euros at a time and I did it 3 times when i was there for 6 days.

Twichaldinho wrote:

TwoCanucks wrote:there must be service fees associated with the ATM transaction.

Yeah, unless you have an account with Nationwide in the U.K, you're bank will charge ya for withdrawals.

Mines a £1.50 charge.

Thanks for that! next time i will take my link card .

cattales1960 wrote:Im from the US and my fees werent bad at all. I would get 200 euros at a time and I did it 3 times when i was there for 6 days.

That's awesome! I've been researching this as ordering Euro from my bank branch absolutely screws you on the rate. For example, the rate the other day was 1.37 and my bank was exchanging at 1.51! To top it off, they charge a $10 "shipping" fee to send the Euro to my local branch! It was ridiculous.

I do have a question, though. Which ATMs (like Visa or Mastercard - did they specify?) did you use and where were they?

Also, do they have ATMs at Schipol? I'm considering ordering like €100 from my bank and getting a good chunk from ATMs when we touch down. I'd feel a lot better if I knew that as soon as we got off the plane I could grab like a few hundred Euro.

metal4mullets wrote:

cattales1960 wrote:Im from the US and my fees werent bad at all. I would get 200 euros at a time and I did it 3 times when i was there for 6 days.

That's awesome! I've been researching this as ordering Euro from my bank branch absolutely screws you on the rate. For example, the rate the other day was 1.37 and my bank was exchanging at 1.51! To top it off, they charge a $10 "shipping" fee to send the Euro to my local branch! It was ridiculous.

I do have a question, though. Which ATMs (like Visa or Mastercard - did they specify?) did you use and where were they?

Also, do they have ATMs at Schipol? I'm considering ordering like €100 from my bank and getting a good chunk from ATMs when we touch down. I'd feel a lot better if I knew that as soon as we got off the plane I could grab like a few hundred Euro.

I would just get enough euros to get you into town. ATMS are all over. I used the ones on Damrak because they are close to where I stay. I think they use both Visa and mastercard. I do think there are ATMs in the airport but not sure. I know they have exchange places there and the exchange rate is bad.

There are ATMs at Schipol ...also you may be able to get your daily withdrawal maximum raised by the bank you use . Ours has been very good about that over the years . Give 'em a call . Cirrus is the magic word on the back .

Awesome. Thanks for the info guys.

I'll grab €100 from my bank and then take money out of the ATMs. Oh, and good idea about calling the bank to raise the limit

As of 6/19/9 the GWK Money Transfer stations do not accept Visa/mastercard/credit/debit cards for cash advances anymore so you better bring alot of Euros or be ready to only withdrawal your banks daily limits which usally are $400 US Dollars which means about $250 Euro's you will get daily from the ATM'S , i was able to get cash advances all week but when i went on friday 6/19 they told me their new policy went into effect , i think that sucks for travelers now..

I jus use my bank card at any bank atm ! it costs me £1.50 any time i withdraw so usually i take enough money for first few days then if i need to i atm it cause i get paid on fridays and that usually my second last day in Dam ! although im goin sat-wed this time (27jun-01july) i jus got my euros today €750 i am still takin my card though yee ha cant wait