Currency conversion - better to sell in foreign land or buy it in Aus?

[smckay]

Going to UK this week; with the currency down about 58 pence is it a better deal to buy GBP here, or to sell AUD in UK? Which has the better rate in peoples experience?

 

[markis10]

Pretty hard question to answer by country, as it will really boil down to the outlets rate which has incredible variance when it comes to margin, given you could lose 2% on the flight just from fluctuations, I would be locking it in ASAP (who knows what the RBA does tomorrow), try KVB???? --- ?????? ?????? who I believe offer one of the better rates around, certainly compared to Airport exchange.

 

[travelislife]

Your best bet is just to use the ATM when you arrive in London with a citibank plus visa debit. If you must change cash avoid the airports at all costs. Preordering for travelex (and pick up at the airport) is not too bad, but don't just rock up at the desks.

 

[trentusjuventus]

In my experience I have always tried to find the time to go to the bank before I leave, as they will likely give you a better deal than the airports, but again it does depend on the country and currency (although GBP shouldn't be too much of a hassle). Most of the bigger branches do foreign exchange in the major currencies (not sure what the fees are like these days though). If you are using ATMs overseas, just keep in mind the transaction fees which may apply on overseas withdrawals. I seem to remember my bank charging somewhere in the region of 3% transaction fee, which can add up pretty quickly as well (but that was on a standard bank account, not a travel card).

 

[smckay]

Pretty hard question to answer by country, as it will really boil down to the outlets rate which has incredible variance when it comes to margin, given you could lose 2% on the flight just from fluctuations, I would be locking it in ASAP (who knows what the RBA does tomorrow), try KVB???? --- ?????? ?????? who I believe offer one of the better rates around, certainly compared to Airport exchange.

KVB look the goods but I have no time tomorrow to get into the city and hang around. I'll just wing it and see if I can flog some Aussie bux to the Poms for a good price. We have an Amex travel card so at worst I transfer some money on to that and withdraw it from an ATM. We have about 800 sobs so I can't see us going through that much cash.

 

[get me outta here]

I have been wondering similarly about whether to change AUD to Turkish lira here or when i arrive if anyone has recent experience plse?

 

[markis10]

I have been wondering similarly about whether to change AUD to Turkish lira here or when i arrive if anyone has recent experience plse?

Surprised more people dont have a Citibank account if they dont have 28 degrees, hard to beat.

 

[travelislife]

Surprised more people dont have a Citibank account if they dont have 28 degrees, hard to beat.

Yep unless your trying to hedge the exchange rate I can't see any reason for exchanging cash. Using the ATMs is by far the cheapest way to get your hands on cash. Obviously if trying to hedge you will want to change some money but this would often be a larger amount where something like a preloaded travel card or KVB comes in. But obviously most people don't care as the individual currency exchange booths are still in business so people must use them!

 

[get me outta here]

Surprised more people dont have a Citibank account if they dont have 28 degrees, hard to beat.

Ok, I'll get a little and use the 28Degrees card. The htl is asking for cash to keep the charges down.

 

[johndoe]

my tip is change some cash before arriving overseas. Generally (except for singapore) you will get a better rate selling at "home". ie, buying GBP in Aussie with AUD is better than doing the same in London by quite a margin. Just find a place in the city etc that doesn't charge commission. If you use ATMs that charge an access fee and withdrawing 1-200 each time, the fees percentage wise are horrendous...5-10%. Circumstances will dictate what you do.

 

[markis10]

my tip is change some cash before arriving overseas. Generally (except for singapore) you will get a better rate selling at "home". ie, buying GBP in Aussie with AUD is better than doing the same in London by quite a margin. Just find a place in the city etc that doesn't charge commission. If you use ATMs that charge an access fee and withdrawing 1-200 each time, the fees percentage wise are horrendous...5-10%. Circumstances will dictate what you do.

There has been quite a few posts recently by many of our members giving examples of the exchange rate and fees when using the Citibank and 28 degrees cards via ATMs all over the world, from memory they have been less than .5% of the amount, I am not aware of any physical location you will get close to getting the same for that sort of margin.

 

[travelislife]

Yep I love just being able to get that last $50 out of the AtM I need with no fees and pretty much at the interbank rate, means very little foreign currency left in a draw gathering dust when I get home.

 

[leadman]

My rule is never buy currency at airports if ATM's are available, and only $50 max. Also stopped changing currency here as the banks were just taking you to the cleaners. best places if you have to change are SIN and BKK, worst place LHR with the automatic conversion machines. Always use ATM's; easy, quick and not a bad rate

 

[JBH]

Agreed, I use a 'Money Changer' in Singapore frequently - no fees, tight margins.

 

[rogerkambah]

My rule is never buy currency at airports if ATM's are available, and only $50 max. Also stopped changing currency here as the banks were just taking you to the cleaners. best places if you have to change are SIN and BKK, worst place LHR with the automatic conversion machines. Always use ATM's; easy, quick and not a bad rate

Agree with you totally about Oz banks. Bangkok is a good place to change. The banks work on a very small margin between buying and selling, and no on top fee. SuperRich near Big C opposite CentralWorld gives an even better rate than the banks.

 

[Scout]

On my last trip, I used USD cash, and a CBA travelcard. Having read that the AUSD was going to dive by the time we left, we got the money loaded 6 months early. The AUSD did not change much, so in the end, our attempt at minor currency speculation was a flop! Also took a card for our bankmecu account- charges have been lower than drawing on our CBA ac. The travel card works well- just like a credit card.

 

[Leroy87]

Agree with all the 28 degrees comments - get on that interbank rate.

For cash in Australia, generally the best I've been able to find is Travelex online (pickup at the airport) and Australia Post (pickup in-store). Rates are pretty similar, with travelex usually slightly better.

And in terms of hedging foreign currencies, I struck it lucky last time, managing to book most my Europe trip with the Euro around 80c and then sitting back watching it dive to below 70c now. Pure fluke though!

 

[RAM]

my tip is change some cash before arriving overseas. Generally (except for singapore) you will get a better rate selling at "home". ie, buying GBP in Aussie with AUD is better than doing the same in London by quite a margin. Just find a place in the city etc that doesn't charge commission. If you use ATMs that charge an access fee and withdrawing 1-200 each time, the fees percentage wise are horrendous...5-10%. Circumstances will dictate what you do.

Best deal by far for cash is available for AMEX card holders.

At AMEX booths in Westpacs they charge the same rate for cash as for travellers cheques (so save 1-2.5% vs other cash providers). This is available for anyone - not just AMEX card holders.

Where the real benefit springs is that you can BUY your FX cash using AMEX REWARD points. Up to early 2011 it was 100 points could be redeemed for $1.00 - so best rewards point benefit going. In 2012 they changed the rate to 120 (I think it was when I last used it) for $1.00 - still pretty good value vs other reward point uses.

Also, if you want to be a real miser, just wait around a couple of minutes and if you see someone about to go up to them holding the FX you want - then deal direct!

I stumbled onto this one day while sitting down to work out exactly what split I'd need between Euros and GBP and heard the unmistakeable British accent from a couple saying 'at last we've found a place to change our pounds".

Being a shy type (until there's money involved) I immediately stood up and said I was about to buy some pounds notes so let's cut out the middle man and I'll pay you more than they will. Long story short I got GBP 2,500, they got AUD80 more than AMEX were going to pay and I saved AUD 120ish (crossing the buy/sell spread allowed me to give them some benefit) and we both saved the $8 fee.

Tried it the next year, thought I'd read the paper for 20 minutes one lunchtime (late Dec) and sure enough heard some French people coming in, saw the Euros being assembled and made them an offer. Got nearly 3,000 Euros etc.

Just depends how lucky you are on the day (and time of year I suspect). Mid to late Dec seems a golden period.

 

[Turbothemagican]

I travel around the world often. I use a travel card from OZFOREX. I can load multiple currencies on the card and determine a good rate. I found much rate than any bank can offer me. I can use the card as a debit card to pay in local currency and as an ATM card to get pocket change. This way I never have to worry about converting back to AUD. I usually load the card with about as much as I want to convert and then also some extra AUD. If I use all the foreign currency that I have converted I can go on line to convert more or the card will automatically convert on an as needed basis. I am not an employee of OZFOREX just a very satisfied user. Check it out.

 

[doctau]

I'm all for 28 degrees too, and have used it at local ATMs on most of my trips (except work ones where they reimburse the fees, so I get ff points). Close to market rate, no extra fees, and as long as you pay prior or right after you won't get charged interest.

I don't have a Citibank acct, but from what I hear they are the same so would be good too.