Money in Europe

We're going to Greece for 2 weeks for our honeymoon...we've been talking about how much money we're bringing and in what form and trying to come to a conclusion.

For the ladies who have been to Greece or Europe - what's best thing to do? Bring cash, travelers checks, use credit card, use atm?

Helpppp

Use your CC as much as possible -- you will get the best exchange rate that way.

Travellers checks are safe but sometime a pain. I wouldn't carry to much cash -- just use the ATM's over there.

Word of advise call your bank and let them know you are traveling overseas. Make sure there is no block on taking money out or how many times during the dates you will be gone. Let your CC companies know too so they don't think your cards got stolen.

Be careful with credit cards- some not all charge sizable exchange rates & conversion rates- also a lot of places do not accept credit cards- especially in smaller towns or less touristy destinations

I carried a combo of cash & traveler's cheques- amex sells international denominations- so I carried euro traveler's cheques

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Posted by AR31

Amex is best.. but most places give you a hard time about it.

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hard time about what?

Call up your credit cards and find out what % they charge you for overseas purchases. I had one credit that was free and another that charged 3% when we went to Sweden on our honeymoon. We used local ATMs for cash and the exchange rate was better that way then by the places at the airport.
Bottom line: a couple of quick phone calls goes a long way.
Have fun.

A lot of places in Greece don't accept credit cards. For example, the local taverna or gift shop may not be able to accept credit cards. However, there are plenty of ATMS at banks, so you can always get money out, but you'll be paying fees (unless your credit card doesn't do that).

An alternative is to bring US dollars with you take it to a bank on a weekday (like Alpha Bank, Ethniki Trapeza or Emporiki Trapeza ...'Trapeza' = bank) and exchange the money into Euros at that day's exchange rate. The bank will charge a small fee to make the exchange, but it shouldn't be too much...if I remember correctly, Ethniki Trapeza charges a flat fee no matter how much you exchange, whereas other banks charge a certain %.

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Posted by AR31

Amex is best.. but most places give you a hard time about it.

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places that accept Amex have to have a monthly/yearly premium which Visa and Mastercard don't have.. and internationally, the premiums are higher so a lot of places only take a visa or mastercard..