The use of one currency and cash machines in most countries makes using cash when traveling easier. However, you can easily become extravagant with cash if you are not careful. It’s also easy to be robbed off your money if you carry a lot of cash. Here are travel tips for cash and currency to help you make the most of your money.
Avoid Buying Foreign Currency before the Trip
Some people feel like they should have British pounds, euros, or dollars in their pockets when boarding the airplane. As such, they end up paying for bad exchange rates. To avoid this, withdraw money at your travel destination. Most airports have ATMs where you can withdraw money in the local currency.
Avoid Cash Exchange
In places like Europe, cash exchanges are a major rip off. For instance, changing dollars to another currency at a local bank can mean losing up to 8% of your money. You can lose even up to 15% if you use a currency exchange booth at the airport. To avoid this, find a place where you won’t be charged a commission. Ideally, choose a place where you won’t lose more than 10%.
Use the Local Cash
You may be excited to find a store that accepts dollars in Europe. However, what you don’t know is that the purchase will cost you about 20% more due to the exchange rate of the store. Thus, you end up changing your money at a rate that is lousy whenever you use dollars to shop.
Use Credit Cards for Emergencies Only
Use credit cards to get cash advance via ATM of your debit card gets lost or damaged. However, bear in mind that you will pay a significant fee for cash advance and you must have your PIN.
Travelers are shortchanged in most places when it comes to cash and currency. Nevertheless, following these travel tips for cash and currency will enable you to get the most from the money that you spend when traveling.