Where to Exchange Foreign Currency
The typical options one has when traveling include changing at the foreign exchange bureaus at airports/railway stations, or at city locations, local banks at destination, hotels, drawing cash from ATMs, or doing most if not all of your money exchanging before you embark on your trip. One of the most quoted advices for saving money on your foreign currency purchases is to withdraw money from ATMs once you arrive at the destination country. The rates on such withdrawals have historically been favorable, but you need to check with your bank as to 1) you can actually use your bank card on the ATMs abroad, and 2) what the exchange rates and fees for such withdrawals are. If you prefer the easiness of using forex bureaus on the destination, most often the rates on the airport locations are worse than what you get from city center bureaus or from local banks from the city locations. However, the rates that hotels offer for their customers are worse still and should only be of last resort currency exchange option. Nowadays, you can also get foreign currency or travers cheques brought to your home before your trip if you buy the currency online. This may be the least expensive option, but the downside is that you have a lot of cash with you or may carry needless amounts of travelers cheques with you. There are no comparison engines available online like there are for so many products, including many types of financial products. Therefore, you need to do the comparison work by yourself to make sure you get the best rates for your currency exchange. |