How to Get Euros before Traveling

Today's topic is how to prepare money for your stay in Europe. When we arrive in Europe, we all need more or less cash with us in euros. what is the best way to convert from your own currency to euros?

In my case, I traveled from the United States to Portugal. First of all, a friend of mine had previously traveled to Europe and had about 100€ left on hand, so I exchanged it for dollars. This will cover the minimum cost of food and drink on the first day, or even if the transportation from the airport to your destination is cash only. In today's cashless society, there is no need to bring large sums of money with you. It will only increase your liability for your cash.

I chose among various credit cards that can be used in foreign countries without fees and finally chose Amazon's Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card. It is a VISA card with no annual fee, and it can be used freely in any country. Every time you use it, you will earn 1% as points, which will be refunded later as cashback. My friend also had a Capital One card with similar perks, but every time she bought things online such as bus tickets, she had to authenticate through her US phone each time. She had canceled the cellphone contract before leaving the US and was often having a hard time using this card. Amazon card did not have such problems.

In Erasmus Mundus, you can get a non-refundable scholarship of 1000€ per month, but it is not coming in right away. For the first few months, you are on your own. In our case, the payment was finally processed about two months after the start of the program. Therefore, it is wise to prepare funds for visa fees and living expenses for the first few months in advance, assuming that you will be reimbursed later.

You can basically buy groceries with a credit card, but to pay your rent, it will be most likely in cash. When it comes to exchanging €1000-2000 to cover the first few months of living costs, the fees are also a concern. You can buy euros at a bank in your country, but sometimes it takes a long time to get euros and the fees are not so low, so it is not a recommended method. After doing some research, I found that an investment account Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account from Charles Schwab in the United States was suitable for foreign travel, so I immediately registered online. Normally, when you use an ATM in another country, you will be charged two types of fees: a foreign transaction fee (%) and an ATM fee (around 5 euros or so depending on the ATM). With this Charles Schwab debit card, you can exchange money without foreign transaction fees and withdraw cash at local ATMs. On top of that, the ATM fee will be fully refunded later.

After arriving in Évora, Portugal, I immediately went to an ATM to get cash for the rent and used this card to withdraw cash in Euros. Originally, I was planning to use the ATM of the local bank, but the entrance of Portuguese banks was locked and I could not enter without having their bank card. I found in a plaza they had ATMs outside on the walls. There were ATM systems called Euronet and Multibanco. When I was about to withdraw 1000€, I was surprised at how high their fees were. After looking around, it was already time to meet the landlord, and I was in a hurry. In the end, I gave up and withdrew with 12% at Multibanco’s ATM. The fee is an astonishing 120€!

As I learned later, Multibanco and Euronet will display a message on the screen that says, "Do you accept the 12%/13% fee?"  That is when you can switch to your own bank's commission system. When this message is displayed, you need to hit “No” TWICE. My bank does not charge any fees, so if I had known this in advance, I would not have had to pay the 120€ fee... This is almost like a scam targeting travelers who need immediate cash, so please be careful when visiting Europe.

Either way, Euronet is notorious for its outrageous fees with yellow-and-blue ATMs, so it's probably best to avoid using it in the first place. You will always conveniently find their ATMs anywhere near places that only accept cash. Multibanco is a Portuguese banking system that allows you to withdraw for free at any bank if you have a Portuguese bank account. With either ATM, you can also use this "No"-twice method to remove the fee for bank cards outside Portugal.

To summarize the above,

• if you have about 100€ in cash when you arrive, you don't have to worry about cash for things like public transportation in case they don’t take cards.
• Before departure, sign up for a credit card in your home country that does not charge fees even when used overseas, and use the credit card for shopping when possible. Credit cards often have insurance against loss or theft, so they are safer than cash that has no insurance.
• Do not carry large sums of money, such as rent, in your carry-on luggage. It is safer and more economical to withdraw in Europe using your home country's debit card at local ATMs. However, beware of ATM fee fraud.

Disclaimer: This post is not an advertisement. I was not paid by any of the mentioned companies to advertise their products. These recommendations are based on my own personal experiences.