I think your best bet is to put your money in a bank that gives you a free visa check card or debit card. (I don’t know much about Canada but there are plenty that do it here). Forget the Travellers Checks (Maybe carry as emergency reserve because they are a pain to cash in many places and get charges as bas as cash converting or MORe). Make sure your cash card says either cirrus or plus on the back and that you have a 4 digit pin and go with that. Of course read the fine print, but I have 2 from different banks and the fee is usually under $3 per withdrawl at overseas atm’s and the exchange rate is better than any of the exchange booths anywhere. I usually carry a well hidden $50 in my bag (plus emergency cc),and almost never more than $200 local on me (mostly in moneybelt). Overall, the machines are a better deal than the change booths or even banks in most cases and try to never carry more than you can possibly replace if it’s lost if you can avoid it.

Use the ATM’s for most of your cash. You’ll get the best exchange rate (generally significantly better than exchange bureaus) and lowest fees. You can either withdraw daily or avoid some fees by withdrawing larger amounts every 4 or 5 days.

Avoid travelers checks, except maybe for an emergency stash. Traveler’s checks aren’t welcome all that many places and you usually either have to wait in line at the bank or get a lousy exchange rate at an exchange bureau to cash them. Travelers checks in euros will be more acceptable than those US dollars which are slightly more acceptable than travelers checks in Canadian dollars.

It’s nice to have some local currency for the place you land, but most places in the US and Canada give pretty lousy exchange rates, and unless you live in a major international city like Toronto, NYC etc. may charge a hefty fee or commission in addition. Either hit the ATM in the airport when you land or have some cash (US dollars MAY be slightly easier to exchange than Canadian, but usually not) to exchange at an airport exchange bureau.

so, i guess it would be best to keep most of my money in my debit account? i’ve heard that sometimes its best to keep it in a chequing,rather than a savings account. how much money would i lose with the exchange? has anyone ever been unable to access their money before?

Problems accessing your account are rare, but it’s a good idea to carry a 2nd ATM card from a different bank or a credit card that gives cash advances for those rare occurances. Fees for ATM transactions vary. Mine gives the exact exchange rate, so I don’t lose anything there, and charges $1.50 for each overseas transaction.

oldlady,

what bank do you use?

I used a us bank and TCF checking (debit) visas, the TCF may have added a couple %, but I didn’t notice and the us bank card had a $3 fee for 2 transactions "out of system" overseas…..If there was anything added percentage wise it was very small by my math

The cost difference is enormous. If you exchange $1000 in an exchange booth, you will get between $950 and $975 back at the best of places. If you use an ATM, it will be more like $990 to $998. But it is still wise to find out what the bank issuing the credit charge charges, usually a small % fee on the exchange rate, less than 1%.

Mitch — I use a credit union. There are some old posts where folks discusse the best major bank option, but often your credit union has better rates than a bank.

We used a TCF debit card in 2001 and we weren’t charged for using the ATM overseas—only accessed an extra fee if we used it for say paying for dinner or souvenirs at the museum.

Do not use travellers’ cheques

You can only change them at an exchange booth and some banks. And I had my cheques in Euro’s and no one wanted to take them. No one wants to use them anymore. Do the debit card thing, you do get a better exchange rate. Just make sure your PIN is four digits. From what I understand the EU bank machines do not like long PIN’s.
You can take some Traveller’s cheques for emergencies. Honestly, I did use all the precautions every here mentions, but I used to work in NYC and just carried myself as I do there.