Any suggestion on currency exchange in US?

[infohunter]

In general I like to do my currency exchange before leaving the US. Normally Citibank is able to handle our needs.... however it appears that they don't exchange money for most of South America.... So???? who to use????

 

I need money for Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile. While I know that a lot of posters only used US dollars or used in country ATM's.... don't want to worry about doing that during the trip. We tend to end up in out of the way places at time so already know that having a money in local currency is a good option for the just in case....

 

My sis-in-law recommended Travelex (which is also at the airport) but their online site doesn't list Brazil and Argentina.

 

So I'm curious... anyone reading this exchange money prior to leaving on their trip? If so who did you use????

 

Appreciate the help.

[Bill S]

Before our recent cruise to the E. Med., I learned of the Foreign Money Exchange, Inc. here in Las Vegas. I used them to convert USD to Euros. They are listed in our local Yellow Pages, too. I don't know if they have offices elsewhere.

You might want to check your local Yellow Pages under "currency exchange" and see what exists.

[SelectSys]

In general I like to do my currency exchange before leaving the US. ...

 

So I'm curious... anyone reading this exchange money prior to leaving on their trip? If so who did you use????

 

 

I really see a diminished need to exchange money in advance. I haven't done this since a trip in the mid 90's to Asia. I have used ATM's in all the countries that you list with the exception of Uruguay. Some of the ATM's only deal with local cards but you'll find ones from Citi and HSBC that will work fine.

[Keith1010]

infohunter, my suggestion would have been to use the ATM when you arrive to a particular country.

 

If you don't want to go that route and if you want to exchange your money here then I would call around. You mentioned Travelex and I was going to mention them as well. Give them a call. On their web site they will list their telephone number. See what their charge is. If you have a AAA card they will give you a discount on one of the fees. Also, sometimes if they don't normally carry the money they can get it for you. So, give them a call to get a sense on what the conversion costs are.

 

Again, you may want to consider the conversion fee.

 

And finally, if you are in any of these countries just for one day think through if you can avoid converting money in the first place. I know that sometimes that is not an option just something to think through.

 

Keith

[greatam]

You can generally get foreign exchange at your own bank (if you bank at a large national bank). I use Chase and for my business trips to SA, I just fill out a form at my own bank, they debit my account and in about 10 days, I have Chilean pesos or Brazilian rials or whatever I want waiting for me. I get the best exchange rates, as the banks base it on the overnight rates (same as your ATM/credit cards used in foreign countries)

 

Amex offices (in large cities) also have foreign exchange, although the rates are not very good.

 

Travelex at the airport is one of the MOST expensive ways to exchange money. If for no other reason, the fees to rent the airport booths are very expensive. The only "bargain" I found at any Travelex I have been to (and I have been to many) was in Hong Kong-converting Hong Kong dollars back to US.

[infohunter]

Appreciate everyone's response. Was doing some calling and checking today....

 

Appears that American Express can help with Brazil, Argentina, and Chile but not Uruguay. However they charge normally a $25 per currency exchange free however they indicated that since we have an Amex card they would waive the per currency and do it as one $25 fee.

 

I then decided to call the local Travelex office which for me is at Dulles Airport. They always have Brazil and Argentina but they don't always have Uruguay and Chile. Was told that for transactions less than 425.00 there was $5.95 fee.

 

Of course I didn't ask the exchange rates which is really where they all get you ;)

 

I agree that using our ATM when we get there is probably the best route however the issue is what if it doesn't want to work...

[Keith1010]

Infohunter. Good luck with all of this. For what it's worth the last time around we called a bunch of places and contrary to Greatams experience I got the better rate from Travelex. So, as is the case in everthing in life sometimes the answers are not all black in white. (eg,. sometimes a travelex might be cheaper and other times a chase may be cheaper).

 

Again, if you have a AAA card I think travelex waves the fee.

 

Keith

[infohunter]

 

Again, if you have a AAA card I think travelex waves the fee.

 

Keith

 

Great tip reminder! We do have a AAA card.

[SoBaycruiser]

...know your conversion rates before using the ATM. Last time we were in Italy, the first time we tried to use the ATM we got the message "not approved for international withdrawal". I had verified with my bank that there would not be a problem, so I was stumped. We tried two other banks before placing an international call to our son who then went to our bank personally. What he told us was that the amount we were trying to withdraw came to $303 which is $3 over our withdrawal limit and therefore was being denied. When we tried a smaller amount it worked fine.