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When you travel overseas, it
is tempting to get a better exchange
rate. First off, if you must change
currency, usually the worst exchange rates
can be found at airport exchange booths. They
ten to take advantage of you as you just depart
a long airplane ride, are unfamiliar with the
country and area and just want to start your
trip.
However, if you are in a
major international city you may consider
departing the airport in search of find other
options to change your money. However, you
need to do your homework before you leave the
airport. if you are traveling to regions
where ATMs are rare, you will have little choice
but to revert to the usual suspects, if not the
airport exchange booth, then the ones at hotels.
Make sure to research what's available before
you leave home.
If your homework dictates
that better money changing options may be found
in town, you will first be bombarded by what
seems to be currency exchange windows on every
corner. If you are tempted to
use them, be wary of some of the scams used to
rip you off. Here are a few of the typical
scams you may be exposed to:
You meet a nice man just
outside bank or exchange booth. He is nice
looking and does not look like a crook by any
means. The man tells you the banks charge
way too much in commissions and tells you he
will help you with rates way better. He
hands you a roll of bills ands asks you to count
them. You find it a few bills short, and he
apologizes profusely, and either finds the
missing ones or goes to his friend and borrows
them to demonstrate what a lot of trouble he's
going through to make sure everything's all
right. Then he counts the bills twice and hands
them to you. Later, you find that in the process
of all that changing and counting he's folded a
whole bunch of the bills and swindled you good.
Another scam is to mix currency that has no
value in that country or currency from somewhere
else and has an exchange rate worth half as
much. You can see how easy it is to fall
for a scam. It's best to stay away from the
street when changing money. Official rates are
usually pretty close to street rates, and it's
always safer to go through an authorized agency
or bank.
In the high-tech 21st century, there are more
ways than ever for travelers to deal with money
abroad. The best strategy, financial experts
say, is to use a credit card whenever possible
and ATM cards to get local cash.
However, you must remember that is you use your
credit card abroad to obtain cash, many foreign
ATMs only accept four-digit PIN numbers. If your
PIN is longer, check with your financial
institution about changing it before you leave
the country. Sometimes it's as simple as going
to your own bank's ATM and changing it yourself.
If you prefer to use an ATM
but want to keep an eye on the amount you are
charging while traveling, you might consider one
of the most recent ATM option recently offered
by the credit card companies, the prepaid ATM
card. Visa offers one called
"Travel Money", available through
Travelex, (877) 394-2247, travelex.com.
It has a minimum amount to be preloaded with;
$300, but then it is used just like an ATM card.
It's kind of like using traveler's checks.
But you also have to consider the two
major drawbacks. One is that unlike
credit cards, Travel Money cards cannot be
replaced if lost or stolen. Secondly, they
can be used only at ATMs, not at retailers such
as restaurants or souvenir shops. However, a PIN
number that can be customized is issued for
protection.
You can also change money on the Internet.
Several of the largest travel sites, including
Travelex, allow you to purchase currency and
traveler's checks over the World Wide Web. And
many travel sites also have links to currency
converters.
Finally, there is a currency black market in
many countries, especially for highly valued
U.S. dollars. The street rates may be temptingly
low, but watch out: Selling dollars on the black
market could land you in a foreign jail.
So be sensible and plan ahead and you may end up
saving yourself money and hassles. These days,
you definitely need more of the first and less
of the latter
An important point to
remember is in regards to changing you money
back to US currency. When you're ready to
go home and considering changing your remaining
foreign currency back to U.S. dollars, the
exchange rates get worse and the commission fees
jump--to 9.5% at one some money exchanges.
Try not to exchange more money than you plan to
spend, save the extra currency for another trip
to the same country, or use the leftover cash to
pay off all or part of your hotel bill, or for
tips or shopping.
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