Euros at ATM in Rome - how Much

[shuttle-c]

We are arriving in Rome on June 28 and plan to only bring $200 in Euros until we get to an ATM.

Do you know if there is a limit on amounts you can get from ATMs in Rome? Is there a limit of the amount withdrawn per day?

We have to pay our Tour guide cash for the next day, which will require

us getting quite a bit more money.

He says he'll take Euro Travelers checks, but I don't want to mess with travelers checks. Any suggestions?

[Cruisingonceagain]

Your limit for a 24-hour period is determined by the maximum your local bank sets and, to a certain extent, the particular ATM you are using. I usually get €250 when I hit the ATM in Europe (it seems to be commonly the highest default amount on ATMs there, but they do have a button for specified amounts), but I've gotten up to €500 in some ATMs. Of course, you are still limited by the limit set by your local bank. Let's assume that your 24-hour limit is set at $2,000 by your bank. My bank has told me that I can go from one ATM to another until I reach my limit. So if the first ATM I use has an ATM limit of €250, I can keep taking money out from other ATMs until I reach the equivalent in euros of my 24-hour limit. I have never tried using the same ATM twice in a row when I have reached the ATM's maximum withdrawal amount. I am stressing the 24-hour limit because that is how the banks set it. Thus, if you have taken out your maximum at 2:00 p.m. today, you cannot take money out until after 24 hours from your last withdrawal. Also, if your local bank's system is down for maintenance, you may not be able to withdraw money during that particular time. Maybe you can request your bank to increase your maximum withdrawal limit per 24-hour period during the time you are on vacation to allow you to have sufficient cash. Hope this helps.

[GeorgiaPeach]

The limits on the amount you can take out is usually driven by the bank that issues the card you want to use. We were in Rome last week and had trouble finding an ATM that would take our card. We had to wait until our next day in Florence before we found an ATM that worked. Unfortunately, in Florence it was the fourth ATM that worked for us. Our driver told us that sometimes it takes up to 5 attempts to find an ATM that is compatible with your card. You might want to consider finding an ATM at the airport when you arrive.

[Joanne G.]

After reading the previous posts, you may decide the euro travelers checks aren't such a hassle after all. Since you know how much you will need to pay for your tour driver, getting euro travelers checks in that quantity before leaving home seems like a simple, safe solution to me. Check with your local bank - it may work out for you.

 

Have a great cruise.

[alinehu]

We were paying for tranfers and tours on three different places to the same private tour companyso it was a significant amount of money , that we didnt want to carry or deal with it at the last minute, so we got a bank at home that did us managers checks in euros. So we brought from home three checks in euros for the amount of each service.No trouble at all.

[mingojr]

As stated take some Euros from your Bank at home. I was in Rome last year never had a problem, all ATM 's took my card . The best card to use and most accepted is VISA. I used my Chase VISA debit card and was never charged a fee of any sort.

Mingo

[glenneagle]

To Solve The Daily Max Problem I Opened Another Account Before We Left And Have 2 Atm Cards Attached To Diffenent Accounts And Use Both

At The Atm If I Need More Cash.this Has Worked Really Well For Us .

[shuttle-c]

I guess I am still at a dilema here. Our guide doesn't really want travelers checks but will take us to a place to cash them.

 

We have a Credit Union, who doesn't get Euro's for us. The banks around here won't get the Euro's unless you are a member.

 

AAA does Euro travelers checks at a bad rate. They also have the Tip packs of Euros for $100 each, which I hear is a bad rate.

 

I wonder why some people have problems with there ATM card and other's done.

 

I guess I am leaning towards getting $ travelers checks and cashing them in at the Hotel, if I can't get money from an ATM.

 

We are staying at the Grand Hotel de Principi - hope they'll take $ travelers checks.

[alinehu]

We did the manager check thing with Banco Santander (Bank from Spain) They have branches in Italy. Now that you said it I remember that my friend had to deposit the amount of the check in her account to get the checks in euros.

We didnt have problems with the AtM , we didnt get traveller checks so I dont know about that

[mitaxi]

AAA also has a visa/debit card...with no daily limit when used international...you can load it with US $ amount and then withdraw over there....also would be cover if lost or stolen....$2.00 feel per withdrawal...and a $ 5.00 fee to buy and load initially...

 

 

ANyone used these???

[Keith1010]

I had the same issue. We had a tour in Rome the day after we were arriving. After much thought, I bought additional Euros in the States before we left for our trip so I would not have to worry about it. Yes, I know I paid a little more doing this but I didn't want to have to worry about getting the Euros so quickly. I also made sure that I thought out how much money we'd need for the time in Europe so I paid one service fee.

 

Normally, I am a believe in the ATM's but there is a limit on what you can withdraw and things sometimes go wrong. So, that is my recommendation.

 

By the way, you may know this already but regardless of what you do before you go on your trip call your ATM customer service number to let them know about the dates of your trip and where you are going and do likewise with respect to your credit cards. That way they won't freeze any of your cards thinking theft could be involved.

 

Keith

[Cruisingonceagain]

shuttle-c,

 

I don't know how much you need for your guide in Rome, but as a back-up plan in case you have ATM problems, you may consider bringing US dollars and exchange them at the money changers either in the airport or the banks in Rome (better rates), assuming you arrive on a bank working day. The ATMs offer the best effective exchange rates, but at least you have a back-up plan. This is usually what we do, and we always use money belts. It might also be helpful if you have the phone number of your local bank in case you have issues with your ATM. I had to ask my bank for a number I can call from overseas in case I had problems.

[Hlitner]

We recently (3 weeks ago) returned from a few weeks in Italy..where we obtained all of our Euros from ATMs (our normal practive). My bank has a daily limit of $500 per day...but my wife and I have seperate bank accounts which raises our daily limit to $1000. However, most of the Italian ATMs have there own limits which generally range from 200 Euros to 300 Euros per transaction. We never tested as to whether these limits would stop an additional transaction later in the same day.

 

Hank

[shuttle-c]

Has anyone tried the ATM Cards in Rome with the PLUS or STAR network.

I have had mixed messages with some people saying they will work and others saying they will not work???

[Cruisingonceagain]

The Plus is the same as VISA. Here's a link to a website that lists the VISA/PLUS ATMs all over the world. It is not 100% complete but gives you a good flavor of what is out there.

 

http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/;jsessionid=CF551751BC64323FEAFD10EE531E392A.webl4

 

The ATM Airport Search at the lower right does not seem to work.

 

In case you have the Mastercard/Maestro card, here's a link to their ATM locator. As with the VISA/Plus website, the airport search also does not seem to be too cooperative. I've used the town search and entered "Fiumicino" and there are FCO airport ATMs that show up.

 

http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html

[shuttle-c]

Thanks, I'll try that search for VISA.

[grandmadarlene]

I wonder why some people have problems with there ATM card and other's done.

 

I guess I am leaning towards getting $ travelers checks and cashing them in at the Hotel, if I can't get money from an ATM.

 

We have Cirrus and have never had trouble over many years. Our bank is small but the Cirrus network must be enormous.

[marcyjane]

Good Morning,

We are just now thinking about booking a cruise to Europe and started searching the cruise boards for info this morning.

One question about on the ship with your sign & sail card, will the credit card you use to charged in Euro or US cash for on board purchases and the other question is if you get Euro travelers checks before leaving the US will the casino or pursers/service desk cash them for you before leaving the ship for excurisons.

Thank you

Marcyjane

[Hlitner]

My suggestion is to always use ATMs and plastic, but also carry some travelers checks to be used only as an emergency back-up. We have traveled all over the world for more than 30 years...and have used this method for about the last 20. I have $1500 in back-up travelers checks that we bought more than 10 years ago. After many many trips to Europe and Asia we have never used one dollar of those travelers checks...but its good to have them just in case. As to the new credit card fees and ATM fees, it will still be more expensive (sometimes a lot more expensive) to change cash or travelers checks.

 

Hank

[cod]

The atm machine we used in Portugal recently had a 200 euro max. But I'm sure if your bank allows more, you can repeat to your max. We never needed more than 200 euros a pop so it didn't really matter!

 

Over the last 7-8 years we've used our atm card in Paris, in Italy (on several trips since we have family there), recently Portugal and we'll be doing it again in Italy this fall. We've never had a problem or a denial and feel it's the way to go. The rates are the best available that day and the charge is minimal..about $2 at either end..just like using your atm at home but at a bank other than your own. If you can hold off on arrival till you get to an acceptable machine (I've never used one at an airport so I don't know if their fees are any different) I would wait. We always come back home with some euros that tide us over when we go again.

 

I somehow equate travelers checks with 8 trak tapes...obsolete! Okay, okay, all you flamers go easy!!!!!!

[lss111]

Yes, the cruise ship will cash traveller's checks, but their exchange rate is not good...Hope that this helps...

[lss111]

If you live inthe south USA, we have a chain of banks called Amsouth Banks, if you have an account with them theycan get Euros for you without charging a fee, if you don not have an account with them, thy charge a small fee and you have to preorder the Euros with 3 business days notice in some cities. Otherwise, everytime that I have been to Rome I have used my bank ATM card, Cirrus on the backof the card, noproblems, the bank charges me $2.00 per exchange overseas and the Rome Atms charge a small fee also, hope that this helps. LSS