Travel / Best place to exchange money in Poland? [98]

Generally, your best exchange rate is when you make purchases with your card (Visa?) - it's closer to the "commercial rate" (the rate that large instituions get when exchanging funds - your transactions are handled in a similar way).

Second should be most ATMs - the ATMs for EuroNet seem to give me the best rates
Third is the large kantor chains in the city - NEVER at the airport!! - and the smaller ones have a pretty wide range... could be good, could be horrible.

The difference between ATMs and the large Kantors is a matter of a couple of groszy...
$100 at 2.81 vs. 2.83 is 281zl vs. 283zl... 2zl doesn't (shouldn't ;) make a big difference...
On the other hand, Credit Card transactions (purchases) can be a much as 0.10zl better... each purchase probably not making a big difference (unless you're buying a car ;) but, several purchases can add up... also, some US banks are beginning to charge for overseas transactions/conversions at ATMs but, because of the way the system works, it would be very difficult to process overseas credit card transactions (purchases) separately. (i.e. with the Debit-style credit cards).

I've been living in Wroclaw for over 4 years now, and my retirement check still goes to a credit union in Wisconsin and I have been accessing my money via my bank card (Visa Debit) the entire time (both ATM and credit card purchases)... the only bummer is when the card is lost or damaged... getting a replacement while out of country is a ral pain... and you go hungry 'til the card shows up and you have access to your cash... :-/