Well, fitst of all I am leaving for Madrid on Jan. 13th!!!!!!!!! so excited!!!!!! I'll be there until Feb. 26th!!!!!!
But, now I am at the point of having to deal w/ the money issue, unfournately the exchange rate is horrible right now - but oh well. I've read on this forum that travelers cheques are bad. So I was thinking about that travelers cheque debit card system that they just came out with..anyone know anything about that??? Of course I'll have a credit card(mainly for emergencies and any big purchases)but I would prefer to refrain from using it.I'm going to leave here w/ 75 Euros cash--and the rest I wanted to take in some other safer form. So I'm asking for any advice on how I should do this - I was thinking about travelers cheques, that travelers cheque debit system that I don't know much about, visa buxx. also, how does the whole exchange of currency work if you use a credit card or debit card??? It may be anaive question...but i'm curious ...anyway any info would be helpful....mil gracias!!
feliz navidad & prospero año nuevo!!
pfitz

Pfitz writes: Martes dia 13: ni te casas ni embarquas: a Spanish saying indicating that Tuesday, the 13th is not a good day to start something. Not necessarily a universal truth. As a matter of fact, many Cambio's give a better exchange rate for T/C's than they do for cash. Avoid Cambio's (usually in Railroad stations like Madrid's Puerta de Atocha) that advertise 'Commission Free' exchange. They will give you the worst exchange rate. I don't know anything about the Travelers Checque Debit Card but I found very few establishments in Spain that accept 'Debit Cards.' I don't know about debit cards but credit card purchases go thru the InterBank system: you get the exchange rate in effect when your transaction's 'paper' processes. Your bank may levy a foreign currency transaction fee of up to 4%.
I think you get the best deal in terms of exchange rates just using an ATM card (whatever you call it). You make a withdrawal (in Euros) and you get the Interbank exchange rate in effect when your transaction's 'paper' processes. Your bank may charge you for using another bank's ATM but there's no foreign currency transaction fee.

Using your ATM/checkcard or credit card is definitely the best thing to do. Like the prior post mentions, the only fee you’ll pay is the ATM usage fee the bank charges. If they charge a fee, mine doesn't. Whenever I take money from an ATM or use my credit card, I always get the exact exchange rate for the day of the purchase. In my opinion it’s silly to take cash and then exchange it with a potentially ridiculous commission when you can make an ATM withdraw as soon as you get to the Airport. Also, anybody who knows Spain like I do will verify that you won’t have any problem finding an ATM machine.

You may want to call your bank and your credit card co. to let them know you’ll be using you cards in Europe.

Have a great time!!!

Do call you credit card company to let them know you will be in Spain. They can be very touchy about foreign transactions!!! Also, the ATM is without doubt they way to get money in Spain. It may not work if it is tied to a savings instead of a checking account though. Have fun!!