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3 replies
to euro or not
Mon, 05/29/2006 - 10:08
sparks
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so im down at the currency exchange booth today
and id kill for an ounce of trust and a thimble of truth

who do u believe?

the girl behind the glass is telling me ( golly for a sec i thought id be wedged in their like some wench in stocks!)..
shes telling me ‘dont use ur debit atm card’ ..that even tho my credit union wont charge fees the conversion rate is very poor
so then i take up the offer of the cashpassport ( like a plastic traveller cheque that can be used at an atm to withdraw cash..used it last year ) but she tells me to buy it in euros to fix the rate

so i do that
and ibuy 100 euros for 186 aussie dollars ..oh groan

im getting like 55c!

anyway..i ring my guy and tell him hey, u better get some euros b4 we go
he goes down to flight centre and they say ..no just use ur atm debit card and ur credit card..even my teachers credit union told me to use my credit card for everything i could…but we get hit twice cos the stuff we spend gets converted to usd b4 it hits aussie currency!
see… the exchange booth lady told me ( shes in a little space with the travel agent in a mall) that u buy euros cos that way the conversion rate over in europe is better since its a major currency and when i change over to czech or croatian currency its a better rate ..cos noone wants our pretty aussie money

so i run this past the boss at work and he nods sagaciously
and i run it past my guy who is no dummy either
and noone knows whats truth
any gurus out there?
i guess theres a bit of truth in it all..just gotta figure who has the most to gain
not the poor aussie at the exchange counter..thats for sure! lol
anyway
im still going
im still splurging
and ill have the depression when i get home lol

Mon, 05/29/2006 - 14:05
#1
Don
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If your debit and credit cards must indeed convert AUD to USD and then USD to EUR (I’ve never heard of that before), and the fees are steep for each conversion, then yes, in this case you might be better pre-purchasing the "cashpassport" in Euros IF there are no fees and the exchange rate is good. However, I’ve never heard of cc and debit cards converting to USD first, then to another currency.

Of course the counter girl wanted you to get the cashpassport—they get commission on those.

And of course your bank wanted you to put it all on credit card—they make money off you if you carry a balance on it!

I live in Norway and have a US bank account. I use my Mastercard-branded credit union debit card in Norway, and I get a good exchange rate and no conversion fee. On my Mastercard credit card, I get same rate, but pay 1% conversion fee.

Mon, 05/29/2006 - 22:42
#2
sparks
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thanks for the input Don!

all it amounts to is : aussies virtually pay double and u just have to forget it and get on with it!

dealing with financial bodies is like dealing with telephone companies…its a complex exercise trying to compare deals

i have figured that my trip is going to cost me 7290 aussie dollars…ill see how off i am when i get back …if i can calculate all the rates

Sun, 06/11/2006 - 18:45
#3
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ATM cards give you the best exchange rates. I was not even charged an access fee at any atm I used on my entire trip in Europe. WTF would they need to convert Australian dollars to USD just to give you Euros? Sounds like someone is trying to rip you off big time. If you take a cash advance on credit cards, you usually pay a high interest rate starting IMMEDIATELY when you withdrawl (not a good idea). Currency exhange booths are a HUGE rip off!!! Credit cards also give you excellent exchange rates, but sometimes the retailer (or whoever is charging your credit card) will add on their own fee to make the transaction. I would wait to get to Europe and get your Euros there from the local ATM. Good luck, and have fun!!!