My Greece - ATMs and Money

 

So you arrive in Athens, and chances are you'll need some money. It's always good to carry some cash with you (in my opinion), although credit cards can be used everywhere. I have a debit and credit card from WECU (a local credit union), and have used those mostly. I use the debit card for cash withdrawals and the credit card for many other things. But I am a bit old-fashioned, and like using cash primarily. And it's fun to transact in euros versus dollars.

But first, notify your bank that you are traveling to Greece, and include any layovers that you may have in London or wherever. 

But now that you're in Greece, if you are using ATMs, avoid the Eurobank ATMs. There are ubiquitous through Greece, but they also charge high withdrawal fees and offer crummy forex fees (assuming you are withdrawing euros and your bank account back home is in US dollars). I've also heard to avoid the airports ATMs, as the fees are a bit higher, but I usually wait until I get into Athens. 

My typical strategy is to take some money with me (I think I have €80 from my last trip), pay for my train ticket with a credit card, and then get money when I am in Athens, or wherever my destination is. (I'll talk more about ground transport in another post, and myriad other things.) 

The banks I usually use at the standard Greek ones: Alpha Bank, National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank. I don't have any scientific evidence to support this, but I was told their exchange rates are a bit more fair. My bank at home also offers reasonable rates although it does charge a 1% foreign transaction fee, which s commonplace. I could probably do better, but I am okay with this fee. 

Here is a chart showing the five-year movement of the Euro versus the USD. Right now it approximately $1.08 = €1.00, although the Euro is recovering against the dollar. 

I also have an Amex card,  but many of the restaurants, web sites and hotels do not take it. So the Visa or Mastercard is the trustworthy standby.  Signing off...more tomorrow on the Metro and taxis, and the any language concerns. 

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