How many people endlessly scour airfare comparison in hotel booking sites
looking for the best deal, pinching every penny but then waste all that effort by
paying huge fees when paying for their travel. Once you leave the country
deciding how you pay either cash credit card or even traveler's check can affect
the cost of your trip. What is the best option for you? Keep watching and we will
answer all your currency conversion options when you're traveling to Europe
but first don't forget to like, subscribe and comment. What is the best way to
exchange money? I t's a simple and good question with a multitude of answers
let's look at all the options. Exchanging cash. Avoid or at least minimize cash
exchange. On average at a bank you lose about 8 percent when you change dollars
into a foreign currency, when you use an airport currency exchange boost the hit
can be as much as 15%. If you do need to exchange money look for places that
don't charge a commission. Note the difference between the rates for buying,
the bank buys foreign currency from you to exchange into local cash and selling,
the bank sells foreign currency to you, the difference between the buy and sell
rates should be less than 10 percent. Hold on to your cash for emergencies the
ATM ate my card. Now some of you will not sleep unless you have some local
currency in your wallet before leaving home. If you haven't packed your bags you
may have time to shop around for the best rates. Many banks offer currency
exchange to their customers you may be able to order currency at a branch
location or by phone or online for pickup at a branch. Sometimes the service
carries a fee and sometimes this fee can be waived, if you ask. You can also order
cash or a currency converter, a number of websites sell foreign currency deliver
it to your home. Exchange rates here are less favorable and the delivery charges
will further eat into your funds Airport kiosks or stores convenient yes
a good deal hardly ever.These places should be a
last resort for emergencies exchange rates are poor and fees are numerous and
high. Cash is best for emergencies on the pro side its cash and someone will
exchange it the con you typically will not get a great conversion rate from
your money debit and ATM cards. Debit card use this at cash machines, ATMs to
withdraw local cash, which you'll use to pay for most purchases. Use bank ATM
machines, in addition to having a good or better rate than the actual bank teller,
the advantage to getting cashes ways that you can do it repeatedly you can
take out $300 worth and a couple days later do it again. However, in recent
years as more and more savvy travelers have realised ATMs are the best way to
go some places especially, European airports and tourist zones, have taken
advantage by charging different and much worse exchange rates at machines aimed
at international travelers. The bank ATMs at Gateway airports in Europe are being
replaced by foreign exchange machines. They promise " free"
withdrawal but charge a really bad exchange rate of 10 to the 11 percent,
for this reason if you can wait until you get into town I suggest using an ATM
and an actual bank. Some European airports still have real bank ATMs
elsewhere in the terminal just outside the arrival hall usually if you want to
hunt them down. Debit and ATM cards are best for getting cash in local currency.
The Pros: you will get the same great interbank exchange rate when you make
cash withdrawals with your debit or ATM card as you do when you make a credit
card purchase with ATM is available in major cities and airports all over
Europe this is generally the cheapest and most convenient way to get cash in a
local currency. Each cash withdrawal you make will
usually be subject to a currency conversion fee or an ATM fee or other
charges from your bank and/or the local bank that maintains the ATM, at the very
least you'll probably be charged the same transaction fee if any that your
bank charges when you use another banks ATM, however, many banks charge higher
fees for international ATM withdrawals either a flat typical one to six dollars
or a set percentage of your total withdrawal usually one to three percent.
Check with your bank before each trip abroad as these fees can change often
and without warning, to add insult to injury, you may also be charged a fee by
the owner of the foreign ATM because these small charges can add up quickly
you'll probably want to withdraw larger amounts and you might normally do at
home so be sure to have a safe well concealed place to keep your cash I
suggest a money belt. If you are renting a car you should be aware that debit
cards are not always accepted and may sometimes be subject to additional red
tape finally do not forget to call your bank and make it aware of your travel
plans as with credit cards sudden international activity using your debit
card could cause your account to be frozen.
Protip: Avoid dynamic currency conversion, this is what a merchant will ask you if
you would like your purchase done in your home currency versus the local
currency. Always, always, always get your transaction in the local currency or you
will be hit with a huge fee. Credit cards. Credit cards are the best for large
purchases such as airline tickets, hotel bills and car rentals. Generally paying
by credit card gives you a better rate than paying by debit card or cash but
this advice doesn't apply if you're not able to clear to balance each month the
interest you pay on the balance will only add to your cost. Figure out whether
your destination is plastic friendly if it is you can avoid many of these extra
travel fees with a no foreign transaction fee
card or debit card. Consider applying for one of these credit cards or debit
cards before you leave so that you can use it instead of cash whenever possible.
Avoid using the credit card at ATMs or you'll be hit with fees and intrests right
away for taking a cash advance. Pros: chances are good that you're going to
use your credit card more than currency and you should as there are a myriad of
advantages first you can carry less cash secondly you get the security behind
your transaction and if somehow you are ripped off like merchandise and never
ships or a hotel overcharged you can call your bank and dispute it some
credit cards increase warranties or offer loss replacement on purchase goods.
Finally you get whatever points or rewards your particular credit card
offers usually some benefits to the tune of an additional one to two percent
cons but the problem is that many if not most credit cards have hidden surcharges
for foreign exchange transactions which means that using one banks card over
another or even different affinity cards from the same bank can actually make
your transaction cost more or less than slapping down another piece of plastic.
Pro tip: two of the best travel credit cards on the market the chase mileage
Explorer Club specifically for United frequent flyers and the more general
Sapphire card have no international transaction fees this is increasingly
important thing to look for in at least one card in your arsenal the one you
should use overseas traveler's checks and money
cards are best for emergencies, the pros, traveler's checks are best for
emergencies because they provide more security than cash because they can be
replaced if lost or stolen while traditional traveler's checks have
largely gone the way of the dinosaur. Visa and Travelex offer travel cards
that are prepaid like traveler's checks but work like credit cards for purchases
and ATM withdrawals. Cons: the exchange rate for traveler's checks is not as
favorable as the interbank rate you'll get when you
a credit or debit card and very few merchants accepted checks for purchases
these days you'll also have to pay commissions shipping charges and/or
conversion fees to purchase and cash the checks the prepaid cards have plenty of
fees to look out for activation fees, charges for reloading the card ATM
charges or inactivity fees in most cases you're probably better off using your
own debit card. Thank you for watching and please like, subscribe, comment and
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