By Wayne H. Franklin (Wfrank56) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 - 03:06 pm:  Edit

Need advice, looking for the least expensive way to buy 500 Euros before a trip to Germany. Buy at my local bank, at the currency exchange at JFK, currency exchange at Frankfurt airport or a bank in Germany? Any help would be appreciated.

Wayne H. Franklin

By Regis Shields (Unregistered Guest) on Sunday, October 14, 2007 - 05:28 pm:  Edit

I just returned from a trip to the United States about 4 weeks ago. Before leaving Germany, I purchased Dollars from my local Sparkasse thinking I would get a better rate than in the US: I found out that the savings were minimal, not even worth mentioning.

The big difference in exchange rates, however, were found at the airports. I checked again during a layover in Amsterdam and found a huge difference in the exchange rate offered - to the banks profit of course.

May as well get your Euro at your US bank.

Greetings from Karlsruhe

Regis Shields

By Walt Yarnall (Yarnallpi) on Monday, October 15, 2007 - 11:30 am:  Edit

I was in Italy for two weeks last month. Before I left, I purchased 1200 euros from my bank and paid over $1700. That was about $1.47 per Euro. While in Italy I used my debit card at a local AMT and paid $1.37 per Euro. I should have used the debit card all along.

By Bernd Schmidt (Bernd_schmidt) on Monday, October 15, 2007 - 04:03 am:  Edit

Cheapest exchange rate is at a military finance office in Germany (Wiesbaden or Heidelberg). Next cheapest is at the PX or Credit Union in Germany (nearly all still open installations). Most expensive is at the Frankfurt Airport and next most expensive is at a German bank.