Best Options for Exchanging Currency

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Is travel to a foreign country on your calendar?  Do you need to exchange some currency but don’t know where to start?  Then this article is for you.  We get calls on a regular basis wanting to know how to exchange currency.  Here in Boise, it is not as clear-cut as it should be.  Most bank branches do not exchange currency.  You can; however, call the main offices downtown and many of them will.

 

Don’t have time to drive downtown or not sure how much you really need?  Good news!  There are other options available to you.  You do not need to have currency in hand when arriving in the country.  Check with your credit card to see what their exchange fees are.  You really should be notifying them of your travel plans anyway, so make the phone call count double by checking their rates and fees at the same time.  More often than not, they are better than the banks and better than the airport.  The airport is by far the worst place to exchange your currency.  You can lose up to 19% of the value of your currency.  Use your credit card to get from the airport to your destination then find a reputable ATM machine to get walking around money in the currency you need.

 

In our experience, we have used our cards more than cash.  It is our opinion that using the card is a better deal (depending upon your credit card’s fees) than using a bank or the airport to exchange currency and using cash.  We always have some money for tips or emergencies but all other expenses and purchases go on our cards.  This method also reduces the risk of having to convert our cash back into dollars upon arriving home.

 

If you plan to travel more frequently, it is well worth your time and energy to find a card that rewards you for your travel.  These types of cards generally waive foreign currency exchange fees making it even more advantageous to use them.  Since we are doing more and more traveling, we are switching all of our credit cards to travel reward type cards.  It’s a win, win!