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Currency Exchange


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8 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

It isn’t really a question of “mark ups” - it is the exchange rate the credit card company applies in converting a Euro (or other currency) purchase to the dollar amount they will have on your bill which can be costly.

 

I disagree. Most banks use a very good rate of exchange.  It is the "foreign transaction fee" that will take a bite if you are not using a card that foregoes that fee:

 

Foreign Transaction Fee: What is it? How does it work? - ValuePenguin

 

Quite a few banks et al now offer credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, making them attractive for travelers. I have two in my wallet -- as well as an ATM card that does not have any flat fee or % fee for withdrawals at any ATM.

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Our banks in Canada certainly do not offer very favourable exchange rates, net of any fees,  compared to FX stores.  Local or at destination.  Our local auto club uses the same FX rates as the banks.  

 

For small amounts it hardly matters.  For larger amounts we would never consider a bank for buying or selling FX.  

Edited by iancal
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1 hour ago, iancal said:

Our banks in Canada certainly do not offer very favourable exchange rates, net of any fees,  compared to FX stores.  Local or at destination.  Our local auto club uses the same FX rates as the banks.  

 

For small amounts it hardly matters.  For larger amounts we would never consider a bank for buying or selling FX.  

 

If you're referring back to my post, I was talking about the banks that issue credit cards, not about going into a bank and exchanging currency.

 

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13 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

If you're referring back to my post, I was talking about the banks that issue credit cards, not about going into a bank and exchanging currency.

 

Our  Canadian bank issued cards  tack on 2.5-3 percent hidden admin fee on FC credit card purchases.  We have a no fee card that does not charge this but it is not issued by a bank.   Our big banks appear to act 'in concert' to ensure that we pay he highest service and FX fees possible.

 

And foreign purchases are brought over to the card at the prevailing visa rate of exchange (based on the time of day they are posted)....NOT the prevailing bank rate of exchange. 

 

 Makes a  difference when, pre covid, we might be racking up anywhere from 15-30K per year of FX card transactions. And in some years more than that.  Not to mention our cash FX transactions.

Edited by iancal
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A few days ago we arrived  at ATH where I quickly found a bank ATM and withdrew 300 Euros.  Paid about $1.20 per Euro.  As we previously posted we get all of our currency from local ATMs.  

 

Hank

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On 8/3/2021 at 12:54 AM, navybankerteacher said:

But not as favorable to the customer as the ATM rate.

My fee free credit card gives me a better fx rate for purchases, than I get if using a fee free debit card in an atm. 

Edited by wowzz
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2 hours ago, wowzz said:

My fee free credit card gives me a better fx rate for purchases, than I get if using a fee free debit card in an atm. 

Agree.  We make very liberal use of a couple of fee free credit cards.  Getting about $1.20 for a Euro with ATMs and a fraction better with CCs

 

Hank

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20 hours ago, iancal said:

Our  Canadian bank issued cards  tack on 2.5-3 percent hidden admin fee on FC credit card purchases.  We have a no fee card that does not charge this but it is not issued by a bank.   Our big banks appear to act 'in concert' to ensure that we pay he highest service and FX fees possible.

 

And foreign purchases are brought over to the card at the prevailing visa rate of exchange (based on the time of day they are posted)....NOT the prevailing bank rate of exchange. 

 

 Makes a  difference when, pre covid, we might be racking up anywhere from 15-30K per year of FX card transactions. And in some years more than that.  Not to mention our cash FX transactions.

 

Interesting to hear the differences. 

 

I know for years folks have posted that they can go to currency exchanges in Canada and get a good rate of exchange.  Not so in the US.  

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The topic of foreign exchange is about as hotly debated as tipping here on Cruise Critic.

 

Most European ports are very tourist friendly and assuming you have a major ATM network with your bank you will be fine using ATMs. I did have an issue with an ATM in Turkey but walked a few feet to a different bank's ATM and it worked fine. Never had a problem otherwise. As others have noted, you should alert your bank that you will be traveling to X, Y and Z countries but you need to do you. If you don't trust the ATMs and must have your Euros in hand prior to leaving the US then by all means there are plenty of places that will exchange money for you including those absolute rip off kiosks at the airport. Of course there is always a person who will swear that those kiosks are the "best" places to get foreign currency. 

 

My experiences have been mostly positive with using foreign ATMs with my ATM card to get a small amount of cash and then just use my credit card (not debit/ATM card) for any larger purchases but again, you do you. Chip cards are pretty standard in Europe and if your card happens to not have a chip then you may want to upgrade prior to your trip. 

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3 hours ago, nolatravelgirl said:

Chip cards are pretty standard in Europe

With the current Covid situation, more and more places in Europe are refusing to accept cash.  It is really important that you have a contactless card when visiting Europe these days.

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2 hours ago, wowzz said:

With the current Covid situation, more and more places in Europe are refusing to accept cash.  It is really important that you have a contactless card when visiting Europe these days.

I recently saw a restaurant in Seattle that doesn't take cash. And I'm guessing that's going to get more and more common. We're in our 70s and need to educate ourselves on the latest ways.

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5 hours ago, wowzz said:

With the current Covid situation, more and more places in Europe are refusing to accept cash.  It is really important that you have a contactless card when visiting Europe these days.

If they won't take what ever the local currency is...I'll take my business elsewhere.

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4 hours ago, Ashland said:

If they won't take what ever the local currency is...I'll take my business elsewhere.

I'm sure they won't miss you. I thought one of the basic tenets of travelling was to adapt to the local mores !

By the way, with your attutude, I suggest you avoid Sweden totally,  as cash is only used in 2% of transactions,  and to all intents and purposes, all retailers only accept card payments.    

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11 hours ago, wowzz said:

I'm sure they won't miss you. I thought one of the basic tenets of travelling was to adapt to the local mores !

By the way, with your attutude, I suggest you avoid Sweden totally,  as cash is only used in 2% of transactions,  and to all intents and purposes, all retailers only accept card payments.    

We've traveled internationally quite a lot including Sweden...guess we haven't been in any business that would only take a card. And have always had local currency as we felt that was "adapting". Thanks for your reply :classic_wink: 

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We were surprised at how cashless Australia was pre covid last time we were there.  More so than our previous visits.  The only people that wanted cash were the small corner stores, and then only for small purchases.

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10 minutes ago, iancal said:

We were surprised at how cashless Australia was pre covid last time we were there.  More so than our previous visits.  The only people that wanted cash were the small corner stores, and then only for small purchases.

That's fine with me and glad to hear that for small purchases you can still use cash....thanks.

 

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5 hours ago, Ashland said:

We've traveled internationally quite a lot including Sweden...guess we haven't been in any business that would only take a card. And have always had local currency as we felt that was "adapting". Thanks for your reply :classic_wink: 

Most pubs and restaurants that we use now refuse to take cash.

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1 hour ago, wowzz said:

May I ask why ?

Contactless payment is faster and more convenient for all concerned.  

Convenient for who? Not me...I'm a bit more old school and prefer cash purchases at my local fast food take-out or sit down local restaurants. We live in a small non tourist town....so that's why.

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We are traveling in Greece now, and there is no problem using cash or credit cards. I believe the attitude is that everyone is just happy to be open for business.  The Greek Islands are very busy with tourist business.  Yesterday, while on Mykonos we were turned away by several beach venders who had no empty beach loungers.  It was only at the 4th location that we were finally able to rent loungers and that place was soon sold out for the day.

 

Hank

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