While
in Lyon you will need to have enough money to cover 1 daily meal,
your entertainment and other incidental costs.
Be aware that if you wish to spend your free time shopping, or
if you eat meals in fine restaurants, you will find the cost of
living to be quite high in France. Some past participants have
suggested US$1,250 spending money. However, there are also participants
who spend very little money during the program (some have reported
purchasing almost nothing aside from their daily meal).
ATM and Credit Cards
Most students now report that withdrawing funds in France is easier
than ever. They even consider travelers’ checks to be more
inconvenient than cash because ATM machines are plentiful and
easy to use. However, it is highly recommended that you take at
least two if not three means of obtaining money (and don’t
carry them all in the same place!) in case an ATM machine destroys
your card, or if you lose your wallet. The best solution may be
to take one credit card which also allows you to take out cash
advances; one bank card which allows you to withdraw cash from
ATM’s; and if you are especially prone to bad luck, $100
or so in “emergency” travelers’ checks. This
emergency money should be retained for real emergencies. Remember
that personal (non-French) checks will not be accepted, and it
is not recommended to carry large sums of cash with you.
Most banks have a daily limit on how much money can be withdrawn
with an ATM card in order to try to prevent thieves from having
access to all money accessible in your account. This amount varies,
but is usually around $200 a day. You should inquire with your
bank about this limit so that you can plan ahead if you might
be needing to withdraw more than $200 in a 24 hr period. Most
banks in France do not charge a service fee for taking out money
at their machines and in general offer very good exchange rates
(especially compared to changing US$ or travelers cheques). When
withdrawing money from an ATM machine, generally you will not
be able to select whether you are withdrawing from checking or
savings accounts and money is only taken from checking (unless
savings is the only account on the card). In addition, ATM machines
will not tell you your balance in any account. You should check
with your bank to verify that your ATM card can be used internationally.
Be aware that ATM machines will charge you the same wholesale
exchange rate as credit cards and your home bank may charge you
a fee for the use of an ATM service abroad.
Credit cards are accepted at ever more locations in France, however,
you will not find that small shops, kiosks, restaurants or coffee
houses accept credit cards. In general, Visa and Mastercard are
the credit cards that are most widely accepted. Discover card
does not exist in Europe and will not be of any value. Be aware
that every method of converting funds from one currency to another
costs money, and credit card providers generally charge you interest
on cash advances from the moment you take out
the cash.
Be alert that to use an ATM or credit card to withdraw cash in
France you have to have a four-digit Personal Identification Number
(PIN) which are not assigned to credit cards in the US. Note that
if your you have been given a PIN number over four digits you
will have to ask your bank if the first four digits will work.
There are no letters on the keypads of most French ATM machines.
If you rely on spelling your PIN you will want to memorize your
numerical PIN using the following: 1=QZ; 2=ABC, 3=DEF; 4=GHI;
5=JKL; 6=MNO; 7=PRS; 8=TUV; and 9=WXY. French ATM machines will
generally swallow your card if you punch make a mistake in entering
your PIN three times. In you lose your credit card you can call
the following local numbers: Mastercard (08 00 90 13 87) Visa
(08 00 90 11 79) Am Ex (01 47 77 72 00).
Travelers’ Checks
Travelers’ checks in Euros are available in the U.S., but
you will likely get a better exchange rate if you get the travelers’
checks in U.S. dollars. It is more advantageous to change travelers’
checks in banks rather than in stores or at currency exchanges.
Cash
It can be useful to arrive with a little cash in hand, both Euros
and US dollars, especially for incidental expenses.
