US Exchange Rate

[Fiery125]

Can anyone advise of a good place to obtain US Dollars at a good exchange rate or any other hints and tips for money abroad

Many thanks

[dzug]

Get it from an ATM in the States using your debit card is nearly always a good way. Yes, most will charge - but that charge even at worst is similar to that you will pay in eg the Post Office here.

[Fiery125]

Never thought of that - so its beneficial doing it that way. Debit and not Credit card?

[Hymie]

Never use your credit card to obtain money (either abroad or in the UK), you will be charged an up front fee of around 3%, even if you payoff everything at the end of each month.

Credit cards are OK for purchases, again you will do no worse than the Post Office here. Be aware that most gas stations charge extra for using credit cards, and on one of my trips to Hicksville USA, no bank would exchange my Sterling for US$ unless I had an account with them.

On my recent trip to Las Vegas, the Post Office here was offering a rate of $1.55, at my hotel the rate was $1.60. I assumed the rate had improved, as hotels are not usually known for offering good exchange rates. I checked on my return, and the rates had remained pretty constant.

[sitges]

As of today at 2:15pm you will get $1.42 for 1 Euro. This is good for you but bad for us. And Hymie is correct in that you get the best rate using a debit card. You will get the latest exchange rate each time you get money from the machine. Just make sure that you are using a visa or mastercard debit card and you will be able to use any ATM machine. Your only charge will be about 1% for your bank to do the paperwork. I usually try to get enough out each day for the entire day just to keep transaction costs to a minimum.

[dzug]

I usually try to get enough out each day for the entire day just to keep transaction costs to a minimum

That's a BAD idea if your debit card charges a set fee instead of or as well as a percentage. You'll be paying say �2 a day rather than �2 every few days for fewer larger transactions.

The eaxct arithmetic depend on your particular card.

[Fiery125]

My card states:

If you use your Visa debit card abroad, there will be a service fee of �1.50 plus a currency conversion fee of 2.75% of the total amount, for each transaction. Overseas cash machine providers may also charge for cash withdrawals.

Is this better or worse than getting the money from the post office for example

[dzug]

<Is this better or worse than getting the money from the post office for example >

It depends how much cash you get out of the ATM at a time. If you get �10 (equivalent) that �1.50 is 15%; if you get �150 it's 1%.

So 17.75% or 3.75% total on those examples.

The Post Office charge (in their exchange rate) 5 to 6% - so provided you get a large enough sum out it beats the PO.