Madrid: money exchange

Can someone tell me the best place to change dollars into euros and the best way? Last year I went and used american express offices and local banks but the commission I had to pay changed at each place. Is it better to take cash and exchange it or better to take travellers checks and cash them? Any information will be helpful. Muchas Gracias.

SenorG

I haven't researched this, but common wisdom seems to be that you get the best rates by using your ATM card in cash machines. Just remember that you don't want to make a lot of small withdrawals, because you're bound to be hit with a service charge for each transaction.

Do you know if you can use american atm cards in the spanish machines? I have a us bank atm card, I just wonder if it will work in the atms in madrid.

SenorG

Hi SenorG!

I use my bank's ATM/check card in most all of Spain's ATMS, including those in Madrid. Just be sure yours as the CIRRUS and/or PLUS symbol on the bank and you'll be fine. Most all ATMs in Spain, except for some in smaller towns, will give you an ENGLISH language menu option too. Always use well lighted ATMs at night too and take a good look around before putting your card in the slot.

Saludos, MadridMan

I've never had any trouble getting my card to work overseas. However, since I made a large withdrawal my first day here in Madrid (for my apartment deposit), my bank back in the states locked my card until they were able to reach someone at my home phone number and confirm that I was, in fact, in Spain. If you live alone (or if your family or roomies tend not to answer the phone), you might want to warn your bank in advance.

However, just in case you DO have trouble with your card, it's a good idea to also bring a Visa or MasterCard, and change a couple days' worth of money in your home country before heading to Spain. Note that Discover/Novus cards won't work in Spain.

Hola! I thought you needed to have a 4 digits PIN number in Europe? I would call your bank to make sure.

Everywhere I have traveled in Europe I needed a 4 digit PIN number....no letters appear on the keypad! If your card doesn't work at one machine, just try another one! Be careful, though, not to use an ATM machine not attached to a bank! Some of the stand alone units in convenient stores have been implicated in scams.

Lamaestra, I know this might sound a little "goofy", but I have never used my ATM card out of the USA. Here you can (if you choose)receive a paper receipt that shows the current balance after the withdrawal. Are you offered the opportunity to get this receipt in Spain?
Snoo

As I recall, yes. It seems to me that I got receipts automatically at the end of the transaction, though I don't remember if it happened all the time or not.
Remember though, your balance may not appear in dollars! I just kept really good records so that I wouldn't overspend.

Thanks! And just one more ? My bank suggested that I take two ATM cards and keep them in different places... just in case I would lose one or have it stolen. I have traveled in foreign countries before and always use an "under the clothing" hide-away for money, cards, etc. Do you think it is a good idea to take a 2nd card?

I take three. I have the card linked to my bank account so I have access to real money (not credit), a Visa or Mastercard, and American Express. Folks I travel with have found that Amex will support you in dealing with foreign merchants in ways the others will not. If I am having something shipped or feel at all uneasy about the situation I use Amex. And I have the cards under clothing and/or in places a pickpocket couldn't get to without my noticing . So far, so good!

When using my ATM card in Spain, it never showed the balance in my account, just the amount I withdrew in Euros, time, date, bank, and that's about it. No balance. It will likely ask you if you WANT a receipt or not. I always said YES but I could check my acccount balance online when I got to a computer.

Saludos, MadridMan

I have never had any trouble with a regular visa or mastercard.

The ATM's over there won't give your balance to your US bank account. Like MM said- it will tell how much you have taken out- in Euros! Keep track- your exchange rate just as if you use your credit cards will be the rate the day you make the transaction.

As per extra atm cards- I wouldn't. I don't really see the point. Take a credit card if you want a back up. I would NOT recommend travelers checks- you end up spending more to purchase them and to get them cashed and not that many places take them as currency.

Whether you get a balance on your receipt depends on which bank's ATMs you use. I consistently see my balance if I make a withdrawal from a BBVA machine, but I have yet to get a balance from any other ATMs here.

Remember that some transactions will take a day or two to post to your account in the U.S., so don't take the balance you see as absolutely accurate. This is especially true if your ATM card is also a Visa or MasterCard debit card and you've been using it to make purchases.

This has been said over and over but it is a good idea to call your CREDIT CARD COMPANY when you travel abroad. I did this and they were happy I did. HOWEVER, when I called my bank about my impending use of my ATM card abroad (insert "Valley Girl" voice here) the guy was like, "Ummm.. Okay. You really don't need to tell us..." I said, "Well, like I'd heard it was a good idea to do it" and he was all like, "Ummm.. yeah." And I was like, "I'm going to SPAIN" and he was like, "Okaaaay. Have a good time" and I was all like "I'M SO SHERRRRR!"
(end "Valley Girl" voice here)

So yes, call the banks, keep track of your purchases and receipts to guestimate your running balance.

A couple years ago I took a few hundred dollars in travelers checks as an emergency backup but I didn't use them at all - only used my ATM card - and then when I got home I just bought groceries and things with them to get rid of them. But, you know, you can always just cash them at the bank and they don't charge any commission or fee for this. They do, however, usually charge something TO GET travelers checks - as you probably already know. I'd think carrying around $X00 in travelers checks on my person would make a person a little nervous though.

Have fun! Saludos, MadridMan

A lot depends on the card (and apparently the knowledge of the person who answers the phone!) Amex doesn't seem to care...I guess they figure you take the card overseas since it isn't used here as much as it is in Europe. I have a couple of credit card companies that will call me at home (and wind up speaking to my husband since I am NOT at home) to see if the activity is legit. I just phone those folks in advance now. Capital One likes to be called and so does Chase. Others don't seem to give a rip.

Okay, now that I have that squared away...I have some money in US Dollars travelers checks from previous trips. Since they are Am Ex checks, does anyone know if the Am Ex office charges a fee for exchanging them for Euros? Also, I'm sure that there is a ATM machine at the airport ... right? Do all ATMs charge the same fees for using the ATM card?

Good Point! So does Wachovia. I bought my Bancotel cheques with my Wachovia Visa and they called me because Bancotel's main company has another name and in spain, they just wanted to check that my transaction was legitimate. Since then, even when I go out of State, I make it part of my security check to contact the credit cards I am taking with me and tell them to expect charges from me.

Also, while you contact them to let them know you will be purchasing abroad, be sure to get their European toll free number to report lost or missing cards. Just add the number to your address book and you will be glad of that extra precaution if you misplace a card.

Snoo, if memory serves, Amex cashes their own traveler's checks without a fee....or at least for less than any other company would. The problems is that there are not Amex offices everywhere! I think all ATM's are about the same in terms of fees, but your bank may have different rates when you are abroad. The worst I know of is $4.50 per transaction.

I wasn't charged commission by Amex for Amex checks. It also helps if you carry the Amex card. I've always exchanged money right down the street from the Prado there by the Cortes building. I also got a counterfeit $100 bill back that we unwittingly passed at the Amex office. Passing fake C-notes (or XX notes or L notes, too! ) is a crime of course, but the attendant at Amex let us have it back to take a look at, and we left the office with it.

If you're going to rely on your bank's ATM card, which is a good idea, I suggest you do one of two things or both: See about getting a duplicate card (like you would for a spouse...) and photocopy it like you would your passport (for the number, or if you have a picture ATM-check card like me, for the picture).

That way if you run into a particularly hungry ATM after hours, and it eats your card, you're not left up the río without a paddle. This has saved me on at least one occasion to date. All you have to do is contact the bank at your convenience and notify them of where to send your eaten ATM card! Uninterrupted vacation and you get your stuff back!

Hey everyone, thanks for your great advice. By the way, when I called about my AmEx credit card, the phoneperson told me, "Cards don't get eaten unless there is something wrong with the account." Then I stopped to think about a friend's card that was eaten. His wife had closed out the account w/o telling him! Has anyone personally known of a card being eaten for "no good reason"???

The only bank in Madrid with an ATM receipt which shows your balance that I have found is Banco Atlantico. All the others do not show your current balance. I think I have been scammed by some machines, or banks, or who knows in the past, so maybe just using those which have a cubicle at the bank might be a good idea. Bank Atlantico is on Grand Via across from Metro Callao, one stop north (direction Moncloa)from Sol on Linea 3.

Hate to be nosy Martin, but what makes you think you were "scammed"? Did you not get the amount of Euros you requested? ...or did they fudge on the exchange rate? Do you like any one bank better than another?

i have used my cards all over spain with no problem.its best to take two cards at least,if they are over used banks quite often put a stop on them.A word of warning,i was in Amsterdam last year ,when i got home i received credit card statements from four card companies saying that i had spent four thousand pounds,three of these cards had not left my purse(or so i thought).I had left my purse in my hotel room one morning for ten mins, it appears someone had been in my room scanned my cards and they were happily spending for three weeks in france .

How awful Chez123, you were a victim of the dreaded "Identity Theft."

I have read recently that it is not even a good idea to let waitstaff have your card because unscrupulous people can make blanks and use your number elsewhere. It's fairly easily done with an old fashioned addressograph machine and some fancy colored plastic.

Hope everything worked out for you.

Good advice. As with any place, there are unscrupulous characters looking to take advantage of the unsuspecting. When someone sees you're from a "far-off land" it only makes it more enticing, as they figure you'll be leaving the country soon enough, perhaps never to return...and if they can get away with it for ten days, they're off scot-free, and you won't (or can't) press any charges.

I think it best to change $$ at the ATM and pay cash as possible for items. If you can keep an eye on your card at all times (i.e. at the counter of a store), you're usually safe.