My experience with Canadian money
in [Cruise Ship]
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From: Barbara Brown on 11 Jul 2010 13:16 I misspoke on the returning of money to the exchange. My husband reminded me that they charge big to take it back. That's where they make their money. And that's why we always tried to use what we had (or save it for a future trip). Funny thing though on saving money for future trips. When we went to NZ in 2009 I brought some money that we had left over from our 1994 trip there. Guess what, they changed their coins and no longer accepted the older ones! On 7/11/2010 11:10 AM, Barbara Brown wrote: > I don't know if it changed but several years ago my husband worked in > England for 3 months. I went over twice. We used this currency exchange > and they were much better than any place else. He even found it was > better than in London so he had me bring money to him. And they didn't > charge a fee for returning money. > > Don't ATM's charge a fee too? I've never used an ATM other than at my > own bank. All my credit cards except Discover (which I don't think is > accepted in Europe) has a 2-3% fee. > > When we went to New Zealand we got some money to take with us, plus Am > Ex travelers checks. The only drawback was that the exchange rate went > down considerably after we got there so we could have gotten more NZ$ > for our US$. But who can plan for that. By the time we were leaving 3 > weeks later, it changed and we would have gotten less NZ$. So it's a > gamble either way. > > I'd rather have some cash going in to deal with tips and transportation > from the airport so I don't have to deal with finding an ATM at the > airport. We'll be in London & Amsterdam several days before the ship > leaves. I just wish England was on the euro too. > > > > On 7/11/2010 9:57 AM, Bill wrote: >> On 7/11/2010 10:28 AM, Barbara Brown wrote: >>> There is a currency exchange near us where you can buy all different >>> types of currencies. I was just figuring out about how much we'll take >>> for our transatlantic cruise in August. I want to get pounds, euros and >>> Canadian dollars. >> >> You will probably get a much worse exchange rate than you would if you >> waited to do it overseas. Even better, use your ATM card to withdraw >> money when you get there or use your credit card for everything. Note >> most credit cards do add a 3% foreign currency fee. Capital One does not. >>> >>> One thing nice about this place is they will buy back any bills (not >>> loose change) when you return. >> >> At a very poor rate with added fees, I am sure. And I'm not sure why you >> think this is "nice", it's their business, and they're not doing it for >> free. >> >>> Although we are also going to Iceland and Greenland and I don't want to >>> get their money as we'll be on tours and probably won't spend much. Can >>> you still get local currencies on the ship before you go ashore? >>> >>> And if so, do you need cash to pay for it or does it go on your >>> shipboard account? >> >> If it's at the purser's desk (which I think it is), I am sure you need >> to have the US$ with you. You can get US$ cash from your account at the >> casino, but you'll pay a few percent for the privilege (it was a great >> deal when they did not charge this). Or use the ATM machine on-board, >> although last time I used one the fee was $6. Fortunately, my ATM card >> refunds foreign ATM fees, so I got the $6 back (I never would have used >> it otherwise). >> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Barbara >> >> Bill >
From: Charles on 11 Jul 2010 13:19 In article <26OdnXpuccVCcaTRnZ2dnUVZ_oKdnZ2d(a)wow.com>, Barbara Brown <babrown99(a)wowway.com> wrote: > I'd rather have some cash going in to deal with tips and transportation > from the airport so I don't have to deal with finding an ATM at the > airport. We'll be in London & Amsterdam several days before the ship > leaves. I just wish England was on the euro too. There is no problem finding ATMs at the airport. At Heathrow there are many as every bank likes to have their own. -- Charles
From: Charles on 11 Jul 2010 13:23 In article <4C39F3FB.1070500(a)prodigy.net>, Bill <billrubin(a)prodigy.net> wrote: > As for returning money, unless the exchange rate for buying and selling > is the same, you're being charged a fee. Maybe they don't add anything > extra onto the transaction but the fee is built into the rate. When I was getting Yen for my nieces from American Express as long you had the receipt that showed you had exchanged for currency there they did not charge extra for the return of any currency. -- Charles
From: peter on 11 Jul 2010 14:15 X-no-archive: yes On 7/11/10 7:16 PM, in article ALudnZ1pkLfuYaTRnZ2dnUVZ_judnZ2d(a)wow.com, "Barbara Brown" <babrown99(a)wowway.com> wrote: > I misspoke on the returning of money to the exchange. My husband > reminded me that they charge big to take it back. That's where they make > their money. The typical money exchange shop makes money selling and buying forex; they have the equivalent of bid and ask prices. Most add a commission on top. When you'll get to London you will find out: they typically dislay their prices and you will see the large spreads. Many have closed because of competition from ATMs and increased police focus on money laundering. You don't need foreign cash until after you land. Airports in London and Amsterdam have plenty of cash machines within walking distance of the baggage claim areas.
From: gmbeasley on 11 Jul 2010 22:40
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:54:42 -0400, Charles <fort(a)his.com.remove.invalid> wrote: > >I never get any cash in advance when I travel overseas. I get it an ATM >when I get there if I need some with my bank ATM card. You will not get >the best rates at the currency exchange and ditto in reverse if you >return the money there. I did have to do this for my nieces but only >because they had no ATM card or credit cards when they were going to >Japan and I was the one who could use the AMEX currency exchange as I >have an AMEX card but I did that holding my nose. > >And no way I would do an exchange for local currency on the ship >either. You will get the worst rates. Use your credit card or get cash >from an ATM machine if you really need cash. I would not use a credit card as they charge from the day of withdrawal even if you pay your balance off every month. The only way I know of to avoid this is to put in money in advance so your credit card is over paid. I just us a debit card which does not charge interest on the withdrawal. I also do not use my bank's ATM card as they charge a fee, and my debit card does not. |