If you are going to be taking a trip and traveling abroad, then it should be no secret to you that there are various ways of having access to money when you are in a different country. Luckily, you have the option of choosing between everything from cash and credit cards to traveler’s checks and prepaid travel cards. You should expect transactions fees and other various fees when converting your currency into a foreign one. Even when converting cash to a local currency, it won’t be an even 1:1 exchange ratio. Here are some ways to get the best rates of exchange when traveling overseas.
In order to get the best rates of exchange, you should start out by looking at what the current rates are for currency conversion. There are lots of tools online for doing this. You can see exactly how much of your own money equals 1 unit of currency for the country you are traveling to. One word of advice, since the exchange rates change so frequently, if you are going to be staying longer than the typical vacation period, it would wise to check the rates every so often to keep yourself updated.
Of all the money options available to you, using a credit or ATM card will usually give you the best rates of exchange possible. Even converting cash to the local currency may have fees involved and obviously traveler’s checks do as well. Credit cards and ATM cards usually offer rates that are anywhere from 2 to 8 percent lower than what you get converting cash or traveler’s checks. The downsides with using these two options are ATM machine may not be easy to find in the country are traveling to and using your credit card is going to accumulate a great deal of interest.
If you don’t want to carry cash on you, or you even just want better savings on your travel cash, then the only option left is to get a prepaid travel card. Using this type of card is quickly catching on with travellers who want added security for their money and the best rates of exchange, and FairFX has some of the best on the whole market. Prepaid travel cards require a PIN number in order to be used, giving you much greater security than cash or even credit cards. Most providers charge a fee when topping up a card, but here at FairFX we keep this completely free, and easy to do online. Apply for your card before your trip and start saving.
Thursday 25 February 2010, 04:27pm
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