American Express Travellers cheques

Has anyone brought American Express Travellers cheque with them and cashed in Paris?

How easy is it to encash them and do the banks and post offices indicated by American Express as fee free partners actually charge a fee? There must be like 100 fee free partners (serach for paris in the link below) so to me it seems that travellers cheque should not be a problem. Just want to hear it first hand from someone who has used Amex travellers cheques.

…americanexpress.com/tcintl/…

Also, are dominations of EUR500 a problem to cash?

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Sorry, can%26#39;t answer for traveller cheques. IMO, ATMs are the way to go.

Travellers cheques are too much of a hassle, because you%26#39;ll need to find places to cash them and observe business hours. I am not even sure, a regular bank will cash them. You%26#39;ll often see the sign %26#39;no change%26#39; at their doors.

As for EUR500 dominations, yes, they can definitely be a problem, unless you spend most of it at a large store or at a high end restaurant. Don%26#39;t expect a small business to be willing to accept it, if you should only spend a small part of the one bill.

BTW, it%26#39;s always better to have small dominations, anywhere that is. Just my experience though.

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btw, i don%26#39;t intend to spend the cheque at the shop... my intention is to cash them at the fee free bank or post office. In that case would EUR 500 still be a problem to cash?

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giraffez -

There have been quite a few posts on this topic. Do a search using the spelling %26quot;checks%26quot; as well as %26quot;cheques%26quot; and you will find all kinds of info.

To summarize very briefly, TCs are no longer widely used. ATMs will give you a better exchange rate and are much more convenient. You will lose up front by buying TCs in Euros because you will not get a good exchange rate, and you will most likely lose on the other end by paying hefty fees or by just having the inconvenience of having to find a place to cash them without fees.

ATMs are everywehre...

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A couple of years ago, I received my rent deposit refund in the form of five, 500EUR notes. Maybe I tried all the wrong places (including banks) but I couldn%26#39;t get ayone to take them. A few months later I opened a French bank account and I was finally allowed to deposit them.

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Thats weird because the rate for travellers cheques are slightly better than exchange for notes. This is not just for EUR but consistent across all currencies

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And the rate for both pre-purchased TCs and notes is worse than the rate you will get by just using an ATM in Paris as you would at home...

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The rate you get at ATMs, isn%26#39;t that just the same rate as your bank at home%26#39;s rate for the day? I thought this was the case.

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It is not the same as the rate your bank or any other agency will sell you currency or TCs for if that is what you mean. It is probably better by somewhere between 5% and 15% depending on the agency or bank concerned.

Do yourself a favor and read the posts I suggested you search for. This topic has been covered extensively.

Just search for ATMs, or travelers checks or exchange rates or any one of a number of other relevant topics.

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giraffez,

Have you tried the new AmEx travellers check card? I guess they are pretty new and work just regular travellers checks but are in a ATM like card. So I am assuming you use it just like your debit card, but it has all the wonderful features of having travellers checks. I am planning to use these a long with ATM when going to Asia and they are running some sort or promotion right now.

Go to for more info: …americanexpress.com/sif/…00.asp

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I used ATM%26#39;s and a money belt through Europe - VERY convenient. Banks and businesses are not always open - but an ATM is. I got a great exchange rate, and I think only one ATM charged a fee (that I saw, anyway) - it was reversed by my credit union automatically.