Euros

I will be visiting Paris in September, with the exchange rate going down everyday, I wonder if I should buy some Euros in the US now or should I wait to get to Paris. Do you know what the exchange rate over there right now? I%26#39;m already paying a small fortune to rent 2 apartments (2 bedrooms and 1 bedroom) for a total of 2380 Euros for 8 days and had to buy the Euros in the US to pay for the rent. Please advice

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The exchange rate has actually improved recently - dropped from 1.59 to 1.54...not very significant, though.

Those are the %26quot;interbank%26quot; rates. With most ATM cards, you receive about 99% of the interbank rate when you withdraw funds in Paris.

Typically, buying Euros in the US will cost you an extra 7-10% or more, as you probably know. And then you have to secure all that cash during your travels.

You can do your own research in the %26quot;historical%26quot; area of xe.com

There%26#39;s no predicting what the rate will be in September.

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I%26#39;m not an expert but it seems that euros cost you more when you acquire them here than if you use your debit card in Paris and withdraw from your checking account. It is possible, of course, that the exchange rate will get worse by September. However, it is also possible that it will get better. It doesn%26#39;t make sense to pay the extra fee to get euros here now. Just wait, save the fee, don%26#39;t carry around all that money and see what happens.

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I do the numbers every year, and using the ATM network always nets me an extra few percent simply because the exchange rate is so much better that it offsets the bank charges.

Be sure to increase your daily limit before you leave - I always take mine up to at least the equivalent of about €1,500, just in case.

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