All good until you get to a country that charges like $10 for an ATM fee. Guatemala was horrendous for it. I spent as little money as possible in that country as a result and still got stung a couple of times.
Although this is good advice and what I usually do, it doesn’t always apply. Just returning from Albania, where there are no ATMs / banks that don’t charge €5 to € 10 for each withdrawal. My domestic bank has a branch with ATMs here, but I’d still get charged . As I knew all this I had cash with me and found a no commission with low spread exchange office.
For Americans, Charles Schwab not only charges nothing for the exchange (always withdraw or charge in local currency), but they also reimburse ALL ATM FEES with no limit. At all.
I travel internationally multiple times a month.
Same is true for me with a USAA debit card. No fees, reimburses ATM, including internationally, and no surcharge for foreign transactions. I just get money from any ATM and travel internationally constantly.
I presume because banking is a minute part of their business. Their business is investment side. The banking is just a tiny extra piece most people don’t even know exist
>Get a bank account with a company that doesn't charge foreign exchange or ATM fees
If your bank doesn't charge these fees, then there isn't any other part of the process where you can be charged a fee. They will convert the currency at the current rate and you get your money in the local currency without paying any additional fees.
Yeah it was a weird take, I wonder how they would explain regular ATMs in their own country. The bank losses money putting in and maintaining their own ATMs that have no fees and no exchange rate.
When you pull money from the ATM if you have a no fee card, then there is no percent, and the exchange rate is also usually quite good.
Based on a recent Japan trip though - watch for the “withdraw in USD” option instead of the “withdraw in yen” option. DONT DO USD it's a trick. If you pick yen, the exchange rate is determined by your card. In most cases the exchange rate will be the visa or mc rate plus whatever foreign transaction fees your bank charges, if any. If you pick USD then there is an added percent fee from the konbini, not your bank
Same thing for credit card transactions: I have a no fee credit card, but only if I pick the local currency. It's a bit of a scam they are trying these days.
I do the same thing, I also pick up some of my change at the local coin shops. For Euros at least they have .50 cent , 1 and 2 Euro coins and I usually get them dollar to the Euro. I just get the bills, if I get any, from the bank before I leave. This is to supplement, in case I run into places that don’t take cards. Doesn’t happen a lot, but it still happens.
A rough guide to gauge whether the exchange rates for currency exchange are any good is to deduct the buy rate from the sell rate. If the difference is small, then it means the exchange rate is good. Places that have buy/sell rates far apart are not your best option.
Best -- Credit cards that don't charge a foreign currency transaction fee and give you the spot rate for exchange.
Next Best -- Credit cards that give you the spot rate but charge a 3% foreign currency fee.
Next -- ATM withdrawals that charge you an ATM fee and a bank fee, but give you a good exchange rate. Can cost you around 5% for small withdrawals, say $100 to $200. Not so bad if some of the fees are waived by the bank.
Worst -- Exchanging money at your home bank in the US to have cash when leaving. Can charge you a transaction fee and give you the worst exchange rate around. This will cost you 5% to 7% for exchanges of around $200 and up to 10% for smaller amounts.
Just remember some atms may charge an additional amount regardless how much you take out.These are normally the ones at shops not banks.
The banks have no control of these
When I had to use these machines I used to take out the full amount allowed even if I just need a quick tener .
Really depends where you are in the world and how popular the currency you’re changing is. Extremely hard to find good currency exchange rates in the U.S. for cash of any kind. I’ve never seen anything with less than 3% markup there.
But that’s rather unusual in my experience. Most countries you can find something around 1-1.5% markup if you search around and your currency is relatively popular.
But if you’re, say, changing EUR into HUF in Hungary, you could probably find something with <0.5% markup for a EUR 5K+ kind of amount.
If it allows for it, I’d recommend either getting a Curve or Revolut account. Rather than taking out money at a bank’s rate, the currency conversion is done at a market rate. So you won’t get dinged on exchanges. Source: I have a Curve account and have used it in Japan and will use it in the Netherlands later this month.
Another vote for Revolut here.
Recently visited the USA (from the EU) and for a 200 USD payment, my regular bank where I have a credit card charged me 195€, while in Revolut it would be 188€. It does not seem like much, but it adds up.
I did all the payments with Revolut, except for that 200 USD hotel deposit, as that will come back anyway and I did not need to get closer to the limit in my free Revolut account.
Without knowing where you're from or where you're going, hard to advise. But generally using a local ATM has least charges/interbank exchange rate, assuming your bank doesn't charge for foreign withdrawals
lol .. nothing beats just trying few ways out and find out yourself. As others have said, withdraw from atm locally abroad with a debt card is the cheapest way to get money. But also google dynamic currency conversion and avoid pos that offers to exchange it in your home currency.
For Thailand, there's a ~6 USD charge for ALL atm withdraws regardless of whether your own bank wavied their transcation fee or not.
Edit: I should note that this is for Canadian banks only.
Not just Canadian banks. Thailand banks charge 150b service fee, so roughly US$4.50, or $6 CAD, for all foreign ATM withdrawals. Happens to me on my US atm card.
That's why many of us here recommend using a bank like Schwab because they automatically refund those fees on their end at the beginning of every month.
I would recommend avoiding it.
Get cash out of the ATM at the airport when you land.
Many countries have a modest fee at the ATM, say $3 USD.
I certainly would not do business with a bank that charges you additional exchange fees. My bank, when I do the math on the rate they gave me, it is basically identical to rate google shows.
Getting paper cash out at home and flying with it to another country to pay to exchange is almost guaranteed to be most expensive unless you are talking some unusual situations like Cuba.
I find people get all fuzzy about the ‘exchange rate’ when they are talking only about $2k/$3k or even less for their trips. Even with a 3% cost, you are talking about $60-$90 only, and that’s on the higher end.
If you were doing a lot more then the difference would be more noticeable, but i personally don’t mind it in smaller amounts as i see it as the cost of travelling. Considering this, i always go with the easiest option, not the one that’s gonna save me a few bucks.
I go to SEA often and always find great rates at local places along the way.
Because using an ATM is fucking easy and now I’m apparently $90 richer than you.
You spend a lot of time in SEA? Then you should know that with $90 you can pay for meals for a week.
Good for you.
I was in Vietnam and Bali recently, and i always check the FX rate before exchanging money. At a couple of locations the rate was the same as the spot rate found online.
So yeah, im never losing $90. And even if i was so what. People get very worked up on saving pennies when travelling.
Also, so fucking easy until the ATM doesn’t give the money. In that case i’d be richer than you. And yes it happens, not everywhere, and not often, but it can happen.
Anyways, enjoy your $90. Seems like you really need them more than i do.
70-80% of my spending is usually with CC. Even in SEA many countries have plenty of places where CC works. Like for taxis using Grab/Uber, then a bunch of restaurants take cards as well. Usually stuff that is cash is quite cheap, so im really not carrying a ton of money either.. and i have my cards as a backup.
So max im carrying around $1k cash.
Edit: money spent goes towards food, transportation and shopping.
Shopping most stores accept CC unless street markets or smaller stores, again, those are cheap places.
Transportation, apart from a random tuk tuk drive, you take a ride app and those are paid with CC.
Food is the main one, and while a lot of small or street places are mainly cash, we are not talking about expensive outings.
As an example, and to close this conversation:
I just spent 4 weeks in Asia, did Taipei, Vietnam, and Bali. In cash i had around $800 US and around $300 in local currencies i had already. That’s it, everything else was paid with CC.
Now, good luck with your travels, and enjoy your $90 ;)
>Considering this, i always go with the easiest option, not the one that’s gonna save me a few bucks.
How are these different though? Using ATMs with a no-fee card is waaaay easier than carrying USD/EUR/whatever and finding an exchange booth.
Some people either don’t have no-fee debit options (Canada had maybe a couple only), and sometimes ATMs abroad depending on the country can be hard to work with.
A friend was in Morocco last week and had 2 transactions processed, and neither gave the cash. He then had to contact his bank, and go through a whole ordeal to get his money refunded. He got it.. but it took a few days for that to happen, and he was lucky his bank refunded him.
We're the same -- I always try to have cash on me (it definitely helped with bus fare lol) and I've just had to suck up the exchange rate, sucks but having it handy has made all the difference and calm my anxiety
Are you asking about
* Percent loss on currency exchange (ie $US -> British pound, and what the % loss on the US funds will be b/c of the actual exchange rate)?
* Currency conversion fee that banks will charge when you use a card to pay/withdraw cash?
* ATM service charge fee (ie the amount (usually $5-10) that a local bank charges when you withdraw money from their ATMs)?
* transaction conversion fee (ie when you make a credit card purchase or ATM withdrawal and select 'US Dollars' to see the purchase in you own currency as opposed to "local currency" to pay in the local currency (ALWAYS select LOCAL))?
There are so many possible fees involved when dealing with transactions and ATM withdrawals.
The best way to minimize these fees is to use a Credit Card and Debit Card from a bank/company that does not charge these and reimburses ATM fees.
Capital One, Chase, and I think Revolut all have cards that score pretty well (if not perfect) on minimizing/eliminating these fees.
The only 'charge' you can not eliminate is the actual currency exchange rate. Whenever you exchange currency that doesn't have a 1:1 exchange you will lose or gain a little based on the exchange rate. (NB4: Yes this is obvious to many, but the question is ambiguous)
More and more places take credit these days. Don’t discount a 0% foreign tx fee credit card. Way better to have a credit card stolen than a lump of cash. And you get points using cards. Use it where you can. I’ve needed cash 1 time in the last 13 countries I visited.
[This is about money in Italy](https://romevacationtips.com/how-much-cash-should-i-bring-to-rome-on-vacation/) but the advice is good in most other countries.
It depends. But you're looking at around 5% the worst. In "Black Market" (basically non official channel, cash only, directly at hotel, store, some guy, etc), if available, it's possible that you could get better rate than the official posted rate. With your debit/credit card, a bit worst rate + fee, or the fee is built-in/added to the rate. With kiosk, probably the worst rate.
Hey hey-- if you're in the USA, I recently did it at the bank and it was abt 4% to 5% of the amount you're exchanging it (i.e. $1000 USD and I had to pay additional $50 on top of it so it cost me $1050)
Use your credit cards and bring some emergency USD, but don’t exchange it unless necessary. Also see if your bank has an ATM agreement with another bank in the country you’re visiting. That way you can withdraw money directly from the ATM. If so, I’d do something like this:
(1) Use Visa/Mastercard credit cards with no transac fees for day-to-day, (2) Withdraw some money ($25 per day if my rule of thumb) from ATM with no fees on Day 1-2 for street food or incidentals, (3) Bring USD (usually $250 per trip for me) and ONLY exchange them in an emergency (you’re in a small town with no ATM and no credit cards are accepted, for example)
I was in Madrid in 2022 and exchanged $100 for €62. That’s how badly those scumfucks rip you off.
Go to an atm and take money out that way. Depending on where you go, you won’t even need money. Went to the UK a few years ago and never used cash at all for a month.
Of course it's best to use an ATM or card to pay for things. But if you are exchanging cash it depends on the currencies involved. USD/EUR to local currency is usually 2-3% lost. Maybe more at an airport or touristy location. Then you will lose again when you exchange back into USD or the currency of your next destination.
If you want to exchange less common currencies, idk like Albanian LEK, you could struggle to find someone who agrees to it, or you might lose 50% or more.
Are the fees included in the exchange rate on Google? I put yen onto my card with USD and was charged exactly what I got when I googled the exchange rate.
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We have a Charles swab account for this! We travel to Asia a lot and just pop into a 7/11 if we need cash
Is the swab account a knockoff Schwab account 🤣
O shit, I thought that guy behind my Denny's was legit.
Yes, and it trades under the symbol QTIP
This. 100%.
And pay by credit card as their conversion rates are usually good because they’re a giant bank and get the best exchange rates.
This. As long as you don’t have foreign transaction fees
I dont think this option is possible for asian people Usually the bank that doesnt have atm fees is from usa
All good until you get to a country that charges like $10 for an ATM fee. Guatemala was horrendous for it. I spent as little money as possible in that country as a result and still got stung a couple of times.
Schwab refunds you all fees. when I got back from Colombia they made a deposit of like $74 that was for all the atm's I used with fees.
Yeb i have 3 card that charge 1% at most for FX. One of them doesn’t charge atm, but they will add charges next month.
Although this is good advice and what I usually do, it doesn’t always apply. Just returning from Albania, where there are no ATMs / banks that don’t charge €5 to € 10 for each withdrawal. My domestic bank has a branch with ATMs here, but I’d still get charged . As I knew all this I had cash with me and found a no commission with low spread exchange office.
For Americans, Charles Schwab not only charges nothing for the exchange (always withdraw or charge in local currency), but they also reimburse ALL ATM FEES with no limit. At all. I travel internationally multiple times a month.
Same is true for me with a USAA debit card. No fees, reimburses ATM, including internationally, and no surcharge for foreign transactions. I just get money from any ATM and travel internationally constantly.
USAA used to have a limit of $10 a month reimbursement, not sure if they still do. Schwab is literally unlimited
Google agrees with you. I've never hit it, so it would make sense why I didn't know of it.
How does fee reimbursement not affect their bottom line? Esp if the checking account is also no fee. Is this just a gift type product?
I presume because banking is a minute part of their business. Their business is investment side. The banking is just a tiny extra piece most people don’t even know exist
Not always.
Protip: instead of just saying "that's wrong", say what is right. Otherwise what's even the point?
The point is to be a total fucking dickhead
That's wrong.
Happy Cake Day! 🍰
Thanks!
But like, it will always beat travelex exchange rates
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>Get a bank account with a company that doesn't charge foreign exchange or ATM fees If your bank doesn't charge these fees, then there isn't any other part of the process where you can be charged a fee. They will convert the currency at the current rate and you get your money in the local currency without paying any additional fees.
Yeah it was a weird take, I wonder how they would explain regular ATMs in their own country. The bank losses money putting in and maintaining their own ATMs that have no fees and no exchange rate.
When you pull money from the ATM if you have a no fee card, then there is no percent, and the exchange rate is also usually quite good. Based on a recent Japan trip though - watch for the “withdraw in USD” option instead of the “withdraw in yen” option. DONT DO USD it's a trick. If you pick yen, the exchange rate is determined by your card. In most cases the exchange rate will be the visa or mc rate plus whatever foreign transaction fees your bank charges, if any. If you pick USD then there is an added percent fee from the konbini, not your bank Same thing for credit card transactions: I have a no fee credit card, but only if I pick the local currency. It's a bit of a scam they are trying these days.
I have cards that use the Mastercard or Visa rate at time of transaction and no fees, same for ATM withdrawal
I do the same thing, I also pick up some of my change at the local coin shops. For Euros at least they have .50 cent , 1 and 2 Euro coins and I usually get them dollar to the Euro. I just get the bills, if I get any, from the bank before I leave. This is to supplement, in case I run into places that don’t take cards. Doesn’t happen a lot, but it still happens.
A rough guide to gauge whether the exchange rates for currency exchange are any good is to deduct the buy rate from the sell rate. If the difference is small, then it means the exchange rate is good. Places that have buy/sell rates far apart are not your best option.
How would you define "small" in this case?
Don't subtract, divide. The percentage of money lost is what you care about after all.
Best -- Credit cards that don't charge a foreign currency transaction fee and give you the spot rate for exchange. Next Best -- Credit cards that give you the spot rate but charge a 3% foreign currency fee. Next -- ATM withdrawals that charge you an ATM fee and a bank fee, but give you a good exchange rate. Can cost you around 5% for small withdrawals, say $100 to $200. Not so bad if some of the fees are waived by the bank. Worst -- Exchanging money at your home bank in the US to have cash when leaving. Can charge you a transaction fee and give you the worst exchange rate around. This will cost you 5% to 7% for exchanges of around $200 and up to 10% for smaller amounts.
Just remember some atms may charge an additional amount regardless how much you take out.These are normally the ones at shops not banks. The banks have no control of these When I had to use these machines I used to take out the full amount allowed even if I just need a quick tener .
Some atm cards refund those fees. I had a €6 fee refunded by Fidelity.
Really depends where you are in the world and how popular the currency you’re changing is. Extremely hard to find good currency exchange rates in the U.S. for cash of any kind. I’ve never seen anything with less than 3% markup there. But that’s rather unusual in my experience. Most countries you can find something around 1-1.5% markup if you search around and your currency is relatively popular. But if you’re, say, changing EUR into HUF in Hungary, you could probably find something with <0.5% markup for a EUR 5K+ kind of amount.
Nothing, because my bank doesn't charge for conversion anything other than the actual conversion spot rate at the moment of withdrawal.
If it allows for it, I’d recommend either getting a Curve or Revolut account. Rather than taking out money at a bank’s rate, the currency conversion is done at a market rate. So you won’t get dinged on exchanges. Source: I have a Curve account and have used it in Japan and will use it in the Netherlands later this month.
Another vote for Revolut here. Recently visited the USA (from the EU) and for a 200 USD payment, my regular bank where I have a credit card charged me 195€, while in Revolut it would be 188€. It does not seem like much, but it adds up. I did all the payments with Revolut, except for that 200 USD hotel deposit, as that will come back anyway and I did not need to get closer to the limit in my free Revolut account.
Glad I could give some insight into some options.
I use my credit card often as possible… a. It tracks for safety reasons and b. The exchange rate is basically not a factor when using it
Without knowing where you're from or where you're going, hard to advise. But generally using a local ATM has least charges/interbank exchange rate, assuming your bank doesn't charge for foreign withdrawals
lol .. nothing beats just trying few ways out and find out yourself. As others have said, withdraw from atm locally abroad with a debt card is the cheapest way to get money. But also google dynamic currency conversion and avoid pos that offers to exchange it in your home currency.
For Thailand, there's a ~6 USD charge for ALL atm withdraws regardless of whether your own bank wavied their transcation fee or not. Edit: I should note that this is for Canadian banks only.
Not just Canadian banks. Thailand banks charge 150b service fee, so roughly US$4.50, or $6 CAD, for all foreign ATM withdrawals. Happens to me on my US atm card.
That's why many of us here recommend using a bank like Schwab because they automatically refund those fees on their end at the beginning of every month.
Oh I see! Sorry, I'm Canadian and we don't have an equivalent of Schwab. None of our banks would refund those.
I would recommend avoiding it. Get cash out of the ATM at the airport when you land. Many countries have a modest fee at the ATM, say $3 USD. I certainly would not do business with a bank that charges you additional exchange fees. My bank, when I do the math on the rate they gave me, it is basically identical to rate google shows. Getting paper cash out at home and flying with it to another country to pay to exchange is almost guaranteed to be most expensive unless you are talking some unusual situations like Cuba.
Even Cuba was easy to get cash out of an ATM on arrival. They still cater to everyone other than USA for the most part.
Cuba offical rate is 24 to the $, rate in the street is 4x that. So you don't want to use ATM Argentina had a similar problem until recently as well.
Go with Wise, Revolut or Nomad. All of them are great options for avoiding bureaucracy and fees
I find people get all fuzzy about the ‘exchange rate’ when they are talking only about $2k/$3k or even less for their trips. Even with a 3% cost, you are talking about $60-$90 only, and that’s on the higher end. If you were doing a lot more then the difference would be more noticeable, but i personally don’t mind it in smaller amounts as i see it as the cost of travelling. Considering this, i always go with the easiest option, not the one that’s gonna save me a few bucks. I go to SEA often and always find great rates at local places along the way.
Tbf I had to exchange some USD to AUD in Melbourne and lost like 10%, that sucked
Airport?
Nope, in the CBD
Because using an ATM is fucking easy and now I’m apparently $90 richer than you. You spend a lot of time in SEA? Then you should know that with $90 you can pay for meals for a week.
Good for you. I was in Vietnam and Bali recently, and i always check the FX rate before exchanging money. At a couple of locations the rate was the same as the spot rate found online. So yeah, im never losing $90. And even if i was so what. People get very worked up on saving pennies when travelling. Also, so fucking easy until the ATM doesn’t give the money. In that case i’d be richer than you. And yes it happens, not everywhere, and not often, but it can happen. Anyways, enjoy your $90. Seems like you really need them more than i do.
So you’re just carrying around enough cash for your whole trip? Sounds like a liability with zero upsides.
70-80% of my spending is usually with CC. Even in SEA many countries have plenty of places where CC works. Like for taxis using Grab/Uber, then a bunch of restaurants take cards as well. Usually stuff that is cash is quite cheap, so im really not carrying a ton of money either.. and i have my cards as a backup. So max im carrying around $1k cash. Edit: money spent goes towards food, transportation and shopping. Shopping most stores accept CC unless street markets or smaller stores, again, those are cheap places. Transportation, apart from a random tuk tuk drive, you take a ride app and those are paid with CC. Food is the main one, and while a lot of small or street places are mainly cash, we are not talking about expensive outings. As an example, and to close this conversation: I just spent 4 weeks in Asia, did Taipei, Vietnam, and Bali. In cash i had around $800 US and around $300 in local currencies i had already. That’s it, everything else was paid with CC. Now, good luck with your travels, and enjoy your $90 ;)
>Considering this, i always go with the easiest option, not the one that’s gonna save me a few bucks. How are these different though? Using ATMs with a no-fee card is waaaay easier than carrying USD/EUR/whatever and finding an exchange booth.
Some people either don’t have no-fee debit options (Canada had maybe a couple only), and sometimes ATMs abroad depending on the country can be hard to work with. A friend was in Morocco last week and had 2 transactions processed, and neither gave the cash. He then had to contact his bank, and go through a whole ordeal to get his money refunded. He got it.. but it took a few days for that to happen, and he was lucky his bank refunded him.
We're the same -- I always try to have cash on me (it definitely helped with bus fare lol) and I've just had to suck up the exchange rate, sucks but having it handy has made all the difference and calm my anxiety
I fully agree. Often, valuble holiday time can be lost trying to find better deals. Personally, i change at airports because it's convenient to me.
Are you asking about * Percent loss on currency exchange (ie $US -> British pound, and what the % loss on the US funds will be b/c of the actual exchange rate)? * Currency conversion fee that banks will charge when you use a card to pay/withdraw cash? * ATM service charge fee (ie the amount (usually $5-10) that a local bank charges when you withdraw money from their ATMs)? * transaction conversion fee (ie when you make a credit card purchase or ATM withdrawal and select 'US Dollars' to see the purchase in you own currency as opposed to "local currency" to pay in the local currency (ALWAYS select LOCAL))? There are so many possible fees involved when dealing with transactions and ATM withdrawals. The best way to minimize these fees is to use a Credit Card and Debit Card from a bank/company that does not charge these and reimburses ATM fees. Capital One, Chase, and I think Revolut all have cards that score pretty well (if not perfect) on minimizing/eliminating these fees. The only 'charge' you can not eliminate is the actual currency exchange rate. Whenever you exchange currency that doesn't have a 1:1 exchange you will lose or gain a little based on the exchange rate. (NB4: Yes this is obvious to many, but the question is ambiguous)
less than 1%
More and more places take credit these days. Don’t discount a 0% foreign tx fee credit card. Way better to have a credit card stolen than a lump of cash. And you get points using cards. Use it where you can. I’ve needed cash 1 time in the last 13 countries I visited.
[This is about money in Italy](https://romevacationtips.com/how-much-cash-should-i-bring-to-rome-on-vacation/) but the advice is good in most other countries.
It depends. But you're looking at around 5% the worst. In "Black Market" (basically non official channel, cash only, directly at hotel, store, some guy, etc), if available, it's possible that you could get better rate than the official posted rate. With your debit/credit card, a bit worst rate + fee, or the fee is built-in/added to the rate. With kiosk, probably the worst rate.
I'm an American that uses Wells Fargo and got $500 in euros without paying a percentage. I'm sure the buy back might have a percentage tho
Not much, 5% loss at worst
Hey hey-- if you're in the USA, I recently did it at the bank and it was abt 4% to 5% of the amount you're exchanging it (i.e. $1000 USD and I had to pay additional $50 on top of it so it cost me $1050)
Fuck sake man, who knows.. just go and change it and move on
Use your credit cards and bring some emergency USD, but don’t exchange it unless necessary. Also see if your bank has an ATM agreement with another bank in the country you’re visiting. That way you can withdraw money directly from the ATM. If so, I’d do something like this: (1) Use Visa/Mastercard credit cards with no transac fees for day-to-day, (2) Withdraw some money ($25 per day if my rule of thumb) from ATM with no fees on Day 1-2 for street food or incidentals, (3) Bring USD (usually $250 per trip for me) and ONLY exchange them in an emergency (you’re in a small town with no ATM and no credit cards are accepted, for example) I was in Madrid in 2022 and exchanged $100 for €62. That’s how badly those scumfucks rip you off.
There is loss. Even if you don’t pay a transaction fee the bid/ask spread will cost you 5%.
Go to an atm and take money out that way. Depending on where you go, you won’t even need money. Went to the UK a few years ago and never used cash at all for a month.
If you look for low fee (without hidden fee), check Wise, they're really good! [https://wise.com/gb/card/](https://wise.com/gb/card/)
Don’t you have revolut ?
Depends where you're going. Please remove or remedy post. Not enough information.
Of course it's best to use an ATM or card to pay for things. But if you are exchanging cash it depends on the currencies involved. USD/EUR to local currency is usually 2-3% lost. Maybe more at an airport or touristy location. Then you will lose again when you exchange back into USD or the currency of your next destination. If you want to exchange less common currencies, idk like Albanian LEK, you could struggle to find someone who agrees to it, or you might lose 50% or more.
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but your own bank can also provide foreign currency. Generally at a better rate. Hope this helps
We bank w. Chase and they can give you the foreign money at your request if you give them a few business days before you travel.
I never take some money but only on ATM, it is the best to do.
Revolut is one of the best travel accessories I’ve found.
Crazy how many people think they aren't paying fees. There is always a fee, sometimes it's just hidden in the exchange rate.
Are the fees included in the exchange rate on Google? I put yen onto my card with USD and was charged exactly what I got when I googled the exchange rate.
Was that from a merchant, or cash conversion/withdraw?
From my credit card to my Suica card Edit to say USD from credit card to yen on the Suica
And what is the annual fee in the credit card?
$0 it's capital one's basic card
Dumb question, you didn’t even put the country