Is it better to buy foreign currency at home or abroad?

[Solarjunkie]

Which is more cost effective? Do you get a better rate here or there? I can never decide whether to change my pounds in the High Street or wait till I get there. I'm off to Iceland in a few weeks.

[Bangkok]

Check what networks (eg Plus, Cirrus) your ATM card works on, then check whether it can be used in Iceland (Plus is run by Visa, and a list of total number of ATMs in each country is available on www.visa.com  (the home page has a link to 'find cash machines'.  Iceland  has no ATMs that accept Plus at the airports, but there are 95 ATMs in Reykjavik.  If it works, the following link gives the addresses,

http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/eur/ResultsDisplayAction.do?uid=X498860-1114859772-ac120464

Normally, ATMs are a cheaper way to get foreign currency as the rate is better and if there are charges, they tend to be fixed.  Therefore use your ATM card to get larger and fewer withdrawls to minimise fixed charges.  If you use your Visa it will be treated as a cash advance and therefore it will be expensive.  Take some cash from the High Street just in case your ATM snaps!

ATMs have English language options everywhere I been to, so no need to look up the Icelandic for 'do you want a receipt'.

Have a great time (Iceland is somewhere I have always wanted to go to)

[stevie21]

If you do buy currency anywhere (abroad, in travel agent, in airport) then don't pay with any form of VISA card. Visa Electron, Visa delta, Visa credit card etc. as you'll incur additional charges ("cash advance fee") on top of what you actually spend.

[Solarjunkie]

Thanks both of you. We usually change money just once per holiday, a few hundred pounds, & never used plastic aborad because of the charges. So to rephrase my question - taking into account conversion rates and fees, am I generally going to get more funny money for my pounds in a single transaction eg at a bank, here or abroad?

[stevie21]

It'll be the same either way - I don't think you'll notice any difference. The exchange rate rather than the country you're in will dictate this.