Best place to change currency?

[malazn mafia]

Hi guys, where's the best place to purchase foreign currency (USD)? Looking for the lowest commission rates thanks.

[Meg's GT's]

Surprisingly the Post Office gives a good deal.

[RG]

I've found American Express branches to consistently give better rates.

[zdcol71]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Hi guys, where's the best place to purchase foreign currency (USD)? Looking for the lowest commission rates thanks.

I have just purchased a travel card for a trip os in November.
There is a $15 establisment fee but you then load the card with (in your case) $US at the current exchange rate(no commission) and only pay a transaction fee when you use the card for withdrawal (in that currency) os.

[MYVYSS]

Hard Currency..

Post Office - No Fees, Usually a better rate than anywhere else...

Is there anything more you could really ask for...

[EBII Ghia]

Use Travelex online and pick up from a branch.

[tranquilized]

Anyone who is planning on travelling overseas needs to know about this card:

http://www.wizardclearadvantage.com.au/

It is the ONLY Australian card with absolutely no fees for overseas withdrawals. I travel a lot, I've done the research. (after forking out AU$1000 in bank fees alone over 4 months in Central America) The travelex pre loaded cards and the like dont even come close. You pay a 1 or 2% currency conversion fee when you first load it up, then another fee everytime you use it overseas. A normal bank ATM card charges 2 or 3% currency conversion, plus $5 ATM fee. I paid AU$40 for one ATM transaction when I took out US$500 one time.

The Wizard card doesn't charge the conversion fee, or ATM use fee. Truly is one of a kind. The secret is you dont use it as a credit card - pre load it with cash so your account is in credit, then just make cash withdrawals. Remember that if your cash withdrawal makes your account go into debt you'll pay lots of fees and lots of interest. This card saves me hundreds of dollars every time I go OS when used properly.

phew

just hate seeing our ***hole banks rip people off, no where else in the world do bank fees come close...

[Yellow_Festiva]

I just got, well ordered I should say a small sum of greenback to hide under the mattress for a 'rainy day'.

Don't look at commissions / rates / transaction charges as individual things. The best way to quote the conversion is to say "If I give you $X how much $US will you give me". Then they will try to explain to you that they need to round up / down the figures as they offer small notes / coins. Just tell them that you are using it as a comparison and will worry about rounding at time of purchase.

I found Arab Bank to give the best deal from the banks. I did not know that Aus post does money exchange and will look into that today as I want to buy more.

I like how in both branches (Arab Bank / Comm Bank) they quoted without the fees etc even though I specifically asked for an in hand amount.

So be very specific that the quote you get is a what you will get in hand.

Also. Arab Bank and Comm Bank had no money to sell. The guy at Comm Bank said they sold their 30K allocation in the first 10 minutes of trade!

Thank you very much for that info tranquilized, I will look into that card. After having 2 Travelex Cash Passports I was not impressed with their fees etc and resorted to carrying some $US and my own bank cards when overseas.

Edit:

Just looked at the Aus Post site regarding this, and the info is a little conflicting. If you want to over $2000 you need to show extra ID (Fine by me) but then at the bottom they say no transactions over $1500??

http://auspost.com.au/personal/foreign-currency.html

Anyone confirm that they got more?

[Yellow_Festiva]

I'll add further.

Looks like Arab bank is the best rate (that I have found).

$5421AUD bought me US $5000 (the most they would give me) (Arab bank) Fees of around $54.21 plus a separate fee of $7.XX) can't remember exactly as the receipt is at home. Rate was .9327 on the 23/9/10.

Comm Bank would only give me US $4945 for the same amount of AUD, even though I was a long term customer with several Comm bank products. They would not match Arab Bank. Rate was 92.5 on the 23/9/10. So walking 200m up the road to 'shop around' got me an extra $55US, well worth it.

Looking at the Aus Post site, they go through Amex. Their rate today is .9177. Yes, they don't charge a 'commission' but this is stated at the bottom of the Aus Post page regarding Amex exchanges:

"Exchange rates may include a service charge. Financial institution fees and limits apply. Please visit American Express External Link for more information."

Looks like I may be visiting Arab Bank again this afternoon. Happy if others can post actual exchanges as I have to see if we can all get a better deal.

More money in our back pockets and less behind bank counters is always a good thing!

[ltd]

This sounds radical but I always take a fair bit of Australian Currency to the currency traders at LAX. You see, AUD is in short supply and lots of Americans want it when they're about to get on a plane to Australia. In fact, most don't even realise that Australia has a different currency than the USA until they get to the airport. Long story short, they pay quite a premium for it. Just under 2 weeks ago when I was there they were paying $0.95US for $1.00 AUD. This was when the exchange rate was hovering around $0.84 here. Give it a go, it does actually work.

[Full Noise]

I usually get my currency changed by this bloke. I’m not sure what the exchange rate is… too scared to ask, but I’m sure that it’s pretty good.

[Jastel]

I got my mother to get me some via Amex
My $$ but she did the transaction
As a senior she pays NO fees

I too had to wait a few days as the bank had sold out

When overseas I take notice of the rates but at the end of the day you need the local currency and will go nuts trying to save $5 on a transaction. You have spent thousands of dollars getting there and then you stress over $5???
Enjoy the holiday.

We will look back on this post in a years time and say WOW we got .95c or what idiots NOW it is worth $1.50......who knows