Bringing money to Germany
· Money is a big concern when traveling abroad. Here are some good questions to think about and discuss with your parents:
· What is the currency used in your destination country?
· What is your planned budget for food, bottled water and other necessities? (Past participants told us they spent an average of about $150 on essentials.)
· What is your planned budget for gifts and souvenirs to bring back to the U.S.? (Past participants told us they
spent an average of almost $200 dollars on non-essentials.)
· What is the exchange rate between dollars and the currency of your destination country?
· Will you be able to use a debit and/or credit card in your destination country?
You will all have the opportunity to give me $100 that I will take to the bank and exchange for you That way, you will have $100 in Euro when you land. You do not need to worry about exchanging any money yourself before you go.
I will print off an exchange rate cheat-sheet for you before we go. Here is an example: http://www.gofox.com/travel-tools/currency-conversion-cheat-sheet As of June 14th, 2015, the exchange rate was $1= €0.89 OR €1.00= $1.13.
Rick Steves has great info about money on his sites: Rick Steves' Money Tips for Travelers - Europe or http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/money-travel-tips.htm
While there, you will need to have some sort of debit or credit card. If you already have one, please check with your bank that it will work in Germany. No matter what you end up using, you will need to contact them before we leave to let them know that you are going to be using the card abroad. If you don’t, they will assume that the card has been stolen and will cut it off. Don’t let this happen to you.
Here are some options that I got from ISE:
· For teens, Visa makes a “Visabuxx card” which are prepaid debit cards that act like a Visa card and can be used at ATMs www.visabuxx.com
· Tavelx now offers a Mastercard Cash Passport with a Chip & Pin, so Americans are able to use the same kind of cash cards that are accepted all over Europe: www.travelex.com/US/Products/Cash-Passport/ (I have never had a problem with my credit card in Germany and it doesn’t have a chip and pin)
· ATMs are everywhere and are very easy to use. Make sure you know how to use an ATM here before you go to Germany. I don’t want you first time to be in another country. Some things to keep in mind:
Students must have a numeric pin number since there are no letters on the keypads
Most ATMs do not give a receipt with each withdrawal.
Most ATMs only allow you to withdraw 150 Eruo per day. Check with your bank ahead of time to discuss a higher limit for withdrawing money.
Students must have a PIN in order to get a cash advance from a credit card.
Some stores will not accept credit/debit cards so make sure that you have cash.
Make sure the ATM has a sticker with the Visa/MasterCard/Discover logo and not simply the EC card logo. Err on the side of caution and withdraw from a large bank’s ATM. (ATMs have been known to eat cards they don’t accept. They will also eat your card if you don’t seem to know the PIN)
· Money is a big concern when traveling abroad. Here are some good questions to think about and discuss with your parents:
· What is the currency used in your destination country?
· What is your planned budget for food, bottled water and other necessities? (Past participants told us they spent an average of about $150 on essentials.)
· What is your planned budget for gifts and souvenirs to bring back to the U.S.? (Past participants told us they
spent an average of almost $200 dollars on non-essentials.)
· What is the exchange rate between dollars and the currency of your destination country?
· Will you be able to use a debit and/or credit card in your destination country?
You will all have the opportunity to give me $100 that I will take to the bank and exchange for you That way, you will have $100 in Euro when you land. You do not need to worry about exchanging any money yourself before you go.
I will print off an exchange rate cheat-sheet for you before we go. Here is an example: http://www.gofox.com/travel-tools/currency-conversion-cheat-sheet As of June 14th, 2015, the exchange rate was $1= €0.89 OR €1.00= $1.13.
Rick Steves has great info about money on his sites: Rick Steves' Money Tips for Travelers - Europe or http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/money-travel-tips.htm
While there, you will need to have some sort of debit or credit card. If you already have one, please check with your bank that it will work in Germany. No matter what you end up using, you will need to contact them before we leave to let them know that you are going to be using the card abroad. If you don’t, they will assume that the card has been stolen and will cut it off. Don’t let this happen to you.
Here are some options that I got from ISE:
· For teens, Visa makes a “Visabuxx card” which are prepaid debit cards that act like a Visa card and can be used at ATMs www.visabuxx.com
· Tavelx now offers a Mastercard Cash Passport with a Chip & Pin, so Americans are able to use the same kind of cash cards that are accepted all over Europe: www.travelex.com/US/Products/Cash-Passport/ (I have never had a problem with my credit card in Germany and it doesn’t have a chip and pin)
· ATMs are everywhere and are very easy to use. Make sure you know how to use an ATM here before you go to Germany. I don’t want you first time to be in another country. Some things to keep in mind:
Students must have a numeric pin number since there are no letters on the keypads
Most ATMs do not give a receipt with each withdrawal.
Most ATMs only allow you to withdraw 150 Eruo per day. Check with your bank ahead of time to discuss a higher limit for withdrawing money.
Students must have a PIN in order to get a cash advance from a credit card.
Some stores will not accept credit/debit cards so make sure that you have cash.
Make sure the ATM has a sticker with the Visa/MasterCard/Discover logo and not simply the EC card logo. Err on the side of caution and withdraw from a large bank’s ATM. (ATMs have been known to eat cards they don’t accept. They will also eat your card if you don’t seem to know the PIN)