It pays to do some research especially when it comes to changing money.
I went down to the local AAA. It's just s few blocks from where I work. There is a place in there that will exchange money. It is not part of AAA but a place called Travel Ex. I'd suggest avoiding them if you need to change money.
The price that was quoted to me on Thursday when I went in there was $2.24 to the pound. I went home thinking that suddenly my trip was going to be a lot more expensive then I had expected. But I did a little further research.
I found an American Express office even closer to my office. The rate there was $2.08 to the pound. Well to be completely accurate it was $2.085441540 to the pound. There was also a $5 fee. There was a similar fee at Travel Ex. So it really did pay to look around.
I then got curious and wondered what rate I would be getting when using my charge card. I called the company. They said they couldn't give me an exact rate because it changed from day to day. I asked if I looked in the paper and found the rate is that what the company would charge. I was told yes and an additional 3% charger per transaction.
The way to go is to charge as many things as possible on the credit card and that way I'll get the best rate possible.
1 comment:
Credit cards have had the best exchange rates in part because they move so much money on a daily basis. However, that surcharge (in your case, 3%--some cards charge more) can really add up, especially if you make a lot of small purchases. So, I've found that taking some cash for small things (like a cold drink) is always a good idea. For everything else, there's Visa (or Mastercard, or AmEx, or....). Just pay it off as soon as you get the bill, or the interest charged will negate any savings from the better exchange rate (especially for us, since we have such high interest rates on credit cards here).
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