Let's Talk about Money

[Carol28]

We're going on the Amadolce Heartland trip - 2 days Prague, 7 days cruise in Germany, 3 days Paris.

 

We AMEX everything we can, so we were wondering how much cash to have on hand. We know we need it for the transfers from and to the airport, but does anyone have a 'rule of thumb' about this for the daily?

[no fuss travel]

We paid in US dollars. If I remember correctly we paid about $35 to the airport from our hotel in Prague. If you have an ATM card, you can easily get cash just about anywhere in Europe with no problems.

[letsgo39]

Just use your ATM card to get cash in the local money.Make sure it has the "Plus" or "Cirrus" emblem on it. The ATM's are everywhere. You should have a 4 digit pin number that is linked to a checking account. We use our Schwab investment checking account because they do not charge a transaction fee. Be sure to let your bank know that you are traveling out of the country so they don't put a hold on your account. We always have at least 2 cards with us to access our checking account just in case and make sure your daily limit is high enough. We usually take out about 200 euro at a time and if we want to make a major purchase we use a credit card.I am not a shopper so we rarely use the credit card in Europe but have in the past of course.

[scranger]

We're going on the Amadolce Heartland trip - 2 days Prague, 7 days cruise in Germany, 3 days Paris.

 

We AMEX everything we can, so we were wondering how much cash to have on hand. We know we need it for the transfers from and to the airport, but does anyone have a 'rule of thumb' about this for the daily?

 

We're taking $300 in Euros, and $100 each in Forints and Koruna to get started. Figure we'll use our Capital One cc as much as possible, and get additional currency from ATM's when needed.

[pacmom]

We never travel with a lot of cash--foriegn or US. The ATMs are plentiful where you will be. Germany and Paris are on the Euro. The only place you will need a different currency is Prague. We stayed at the Hilton there and there was an ATM in the lobby. We have found that a Visa card is more widely accepted in Europe. You will have to check with your cruise line to see how they handle tips. Some companies will let you charge on your credit card--others want cash in envelpoes. Be careful, river cruising is extremely addicting--numbers 14 and 15 coming up this year. Pat

[socrafty]

We have found that there are not many places in Europe that take Amex (our usual card of choice). Visa & Mastercard are accepted almost everywhere (unless you're bargaining). I use a debit card to get cash-cheaper that way and Capital One (either Visa or Mastercard) for charging-no transaction fee.

[swamp1sg]

Also check AMAs tipping policy, I recall using around 150 euros for tips at the end of my Uniworld Xmas cruise last year. I might add it was worth every cent as the onboard service was super. Be sure to file a review as we will be sailing AMA next Xmas from Budapest to Nuremberg!

[mickym]

I have read a lot of recommendations on here for the Capitol One Money Market Fund. You put in what you think you will need for the trip and use the debit card to withdraw money at the ATM machines. I just opened one today for our river cruise in July. They say you get the best exchange rate this way so we will see how it works.

[franski]

swamp1sg - you can put the tips on your card with AMA. We chose to use cash as we were familiar with the cash only process with Uniworld - but many preferred a card, especially if it is a points card.

 

Which Christmas itinerary did you do with Uniworld?? We are doing the Rhine with them in early December.

[GreekBasil]

so amex is the prefered exchange.