Holidays – Exchanging Money
More and more of us are paying astronomically high prices to change our hard-earned cash into foreign currency, holiday money at the last minute – but you don’t have to pay the overpriced rates at the bureau.
Are cards becoming the new holiday cash alternative? Yes, if you have the right card you will almost certainly save money by using it when compared to exchanging your personal cash for foreign notes. However, for some, any forms of cards, can be off-putting and of course the wrong card can carry high risks. Although cash is by far the easiest to use, it is also the easiest to lose or have stolen. And therefore, I advise you not to take any more than your travel insurance has agreed to cover. If you believe cash is still the way forward, exchanging money is probably right for you – but still make sure you’re getting the best deal, the key to this is looking around.
You must not assume that a sign saying ‘commission free’ automatically means you’re going to get a great rate. actually, you should be very wary of those companies which claim to be ‘commission free’ as they will often try and charge a worse rate than what the bureau itself is being offered, in order to allow them to keep making profit. The only way that you can tell is to simply ask how many euros/dollars, for example, you will get in exchange for your pounds. It’s as easy as that!
Some companies don’t have commission charges at all– so if their rate is competitive and their exchange is good, then they are definitely worth a look. However, this does not mean that you should completely discard the companies that do charge commission because there rates can be just as good.
You should always be wary however, of flat fees and minimum charges. Minimum charges make it extremely difficult to change over small amounts of money. In comparison, flat fees can offer good value if you are changing larger sums of money. You should also keep a look out for handling fees too, which are normally about £3 but can be higher and should also be considered before choosing where you are going to exchange your money. It may also be worth considering your own bank or building society as they might have preferential rates for their account holders.
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