Service charges are usually much higher for converting currency in the
US, unless there are banks/services in DC that specialize in that. Call
around. There may be good deals, just not where I live. Try to avoid
changing money before you leave. Ask friends and acquaintances who have
traveled recently if they have euros to sell to you. Otherwise, wait
until you arrive in Nice. I think that ATMs in France either don't
charge a fee or have very low fees.
The two of us each carry two credit cards [2 commercial, 2 credit
union]. Some ATMs will allow you to get up to 500 euros in cash, but if
you have several cards, you can use each up to the limit in an ATM to
pay for lodging, especially when the limit is as low as €200. Be sure
you have cards that use several networks too. One MasterCard using the
Cirrus network didn't work in some ATMs, while the one from Plus network
had no problems. Remember, you can haggle to reduce fees when you get
cash in person, too.
There are enough of ATMs in Nice. It's a good town for walking and you
should be able to find several quickly. In France, at least in Provence
and Languedoc, some of the best exchange rates are in the cash machines
in hypermarkets like Carrefour and Auchan.
We had to pay cash for an apartment we rented for a few weeks last
summer. Took three days to come up with 900 euros, since the clown
ATMs wouldn't give us more than 200 euros each day, and we had
three different credit cards but, the clown bank ATM wouldn't take
my Chase MC.
If this is the case, I have no choice but to convert to Euros here to
take with me for my first rental. I'm staying in the same villa but
there is a new owner who employs a realty company that demands full
payment before I get the key to the villa. I must have about 500
Euros a few hours after my plane arrives in Nice, France.
What is the best way to convert dollars to Euros here? I dwell in
Northern Virginia.
*************************************************************************
** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy **
** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ **
*************************************************************************
