converting american money to euros or putting on a credit card type thing?

Flener07 | 22:28 Mon 04th Feb 2008 | Travel

3 Answers

When I arrive in Spain this year with US dollars where do I go to convert it to Euros? A bank? in the airport?

Also is there anyway to just get a temporary card over there to use at like ATMs to get money?

Any advice on Malta?

Greek currency found, is it still legal?

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Expat Ann

Hi Flener07
You can change money at the airport at any time, or the banks, which open from 9am to 2 pm. You can get cash from ATMs direct from your USA account. You can open a Spanish Bank Account, but although the process itself is easy, you need an NIE Number, in order to do so, and getting the NIE number is a hassle. Please don't ever carry a lot of cash or cards in Spain. Be especially careful at the airport when you arrive, as you will be tired and less on your guard. The "banditos" know this and are on the lookout for young inexperienced travellers. Be especially care ful of anyone offering to help. Keep a tight hold on your cash.Having said this, if you are careful and always aware you will have a wonderful time in a beautiful country.

Buenchico

As you'll be arriving with US dollars, I assume that you're from the USA.

In which case, the easiest thing to do is to simply take your usual credit or debit cards with you. ATMs in Spain (and throughout the rest of the EU, as well as further afield) cards will accept cards which carry the Visa or Mastercard symbols (as well as many others). They automatically switch to displaying in English rather than in Spanish, so they're easy to use.

Some card issuers charge for overseas withdrawals but not all do. (You'll have to do some research to find out which US banks or credit card companies offer the best deal). But even if you have to pay withdrawal charges, you'll still get a better deal than using bureaux de change facilities.

If you insist on trying to change dollars directly, all major airports in Spain will have exchange facilities but the exchange rate might not be as good as you'd find at a bank or bureau de change.

Within major cities, you'll find bureaux de change fairly easily but you do need to check that the rate is favourable. It would probably be better to look for any large bank branch but remember that most banks are only open from 0830 to 1400, Mon-Fri. The sign to look for is 'Cambio'.

Chris