Money Exchange NZ

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi All,

I'm going over to Queenstown NZ in November for a week. 7 nights. Going with wife and 22 month old daughter. Thinking to change say 700 NZD worth in cash and the rest use my AMEX or Mastercard. Hotels, Rental Car and flights all are on my amex.

Is that enough cash?

Or should I change in Queenstown?
I think todays rate is approx 1 AUD = 1.205 NZD at travelex. No fees.

Thanks,
K.

another good reason to get a 28 degrees mastercard if you can - you'd save well over $30 if you had one of those plus the added convenience of not carrying cash and not having to change anything back!

 

[markis10]

In general I suggest that you use cash for most day to day transactions, try HSBC online Fx ordering, I found they have good rates and stores to pick up the cash in most burbs but check the rate against your bank rate. A cash travel card is a good option for NZ. There are plenty of threads her for the good cards to use. Kiwi's love eftpos, you will find them in most stores. Amex is also well accepted especially in ZQN, maybe not at the coffee shop but most other places.

Another option for CC use, in most places you will be asked do you want them to covert it to you into A$. Generally I have found these are good rates and wont incure the bank conversion fee but may incur an overseas transaction fee.

Yikes, there are fees leaching your money in all if your suggestions, be it FX margin or cash card fees. Considering a Citibank transaction account is quickly set up and has no fees for any transaction local or OS, and as demonstrated here on a few occasions offers very good interbank FX rates, a travel card or CC direct conversion is going to be a very poor alternative.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Another option for CC use, in most places you will be asked do you want them to covert it to you into A$. Generally I have found these are good rates and wont incure the bank conversion fee but may incur an overseas transaction fee.

Generally the golden rule, as markis10 seems to be alluding to, is to stay AWAY from dynamic currency conversions at all costs. I have never once seen a DCC offer better rates than available through a transaction fee free credit card. While you will be billed in AUD and there won't be a 'conversion fee' listed separately on your AU card statement, all those fees are wrapped up in the price you sign for, plus a bit more for the merchant and foreign bank.

My last dynamic fee conversion (I got tricked) was over AUD50 different from the non dynamic conversion rate.

 

[k3nnis]

Thanks guys. I will try and avoid my CC as much as possible