I was wondering if it is best to change my USD to Pesetas in the Us or once I get to Spain. I assume it is best to chage to Pesetas instead of Euros, any recommendations?

The dolar is again weakening against the Euro so I guess the sooner you change your dollars for pesetas the better.

Regards,
Andres Jarabo

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Taste Madrid with:
http://www.walksofspain.com

Only buy enough pesatas for your first day...maybe 3000 for a taxi from the airport another 1500-2000 for food/drinks/tips... after that use an ATM machine(they are everywhere!) you get the exchange rate as of the day you make the withdrawal... if you try to guess the rate of exchange in advance and buy on speculation you may/or may not get the best rate...use the ATM and be safe from more than rate of exchange..

hey all,
having never to been to spain (first trip coming up in march) I just want to double-check with all this ATM talk. What kind of U.S. ATM cards are accepted by ATM's in Spain?
I know this may sound dumb, but even in the US we have many different kinds - MAC, Cirrus, MoneyStation, PLUS, etc. Even though these are generally compatible in the U.S., I just want to make sure my card will be compatible in Espana.

Hi, SpecialFX,

You may want to read some of the old posts on ATMs. In the thread at http://www.madridman.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000011.html you'll find a lot of information on what cards you can use, and how it all works. You probably won't have any problem. Hope you have a good trip!

Thanks so much Diana - exactly what I was looking for.
(Yet another advertisement for the use of the search function on the MM message boards.)

Also, check with your bank!!! Unless the ATMs in Spain have changed since last year - I believe all pins (passwords) need to be four digits only. Many US banks have pins running 6 and 8 numbers/letters.

And remember to use numbers, not letters, for your PIN because the ATM's don't have letters usually! so remembering S--T won't help! you have to know what it is in numbers!

If you still insist on bringing travelers checks remember El Corte Ingles gives the best exchange and no commission.Go to customer service-one of the best kept secrets
available at every Corte Ingles in Spain.
ATMs are the way to go,just check on the back of your Visa,Mastercard,AmEx,Diner's-no Discover to make sure there's the Cirrus or Plus logo.As mentioned in another post ,if you misread directions/mess up your pin/ a couple of times,that's usually when the ATM keeps your card.......

chopchi,

Are you sure about El Corte Inglés not charging commission when exchanging money / traveller cheks?. Some months ago I went to El Corte Inglés at Sol and there was a sign saying they charged about 5% or something like that. I considered it to be a very high comission. I will check it and post it here.

By the way, American Express has an office besides the Spanish Congress at Carrera de San Jerónimo and they don't charge any commission to change their checks.

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The best tips from your favourite hostal in Madrid.
Hostal Chelo at http://www.chelo.com