ige

I want to buy some American express cheques in dollars and later cash them in Aussie and then change them to AUD .
Is this possible?
Can i cash them when i get to Australia.
And if i cash them in American express office in Aussie would they
take commisions.
Please any advice

bob and ginnie

American Express take about a 1% commission, from memory. Can be expensive if you have buckets of money to bring over!

mlbonner

If you cashed them in Australia, they would automatically be changed into AUD unless you requested it otherwise. There is usually always a commission charge when you change money, especially when changing it in the foreign currency. If you have a lot of money you're probably better off opening up an Australian Account whilst offshore and getting it transfered straight into if for a fixed rate/fee.

I'm pretty sure I answered a very similar post from you about this the other day??? Might help to have a look at their website, I've gone from the English one, but I'm sure there's one for your country too
http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...nav=homepagehp

bob and ginnie

The major Australian bank . . . . Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Bank of Australia, Australia and New Zealand Banking Corp., Westpac (Western Pacific) Banking Corp. . . . . all have branches in London for you to put funds into and they will remit to a branch in Australia.
Check on their exchange rates. Obviously if they give $2.60 to the GBP and only give 1GBP if you cough up $2.80, they are making a chip between buying and selling.
Also see if they charge a commission on funds too.
My advice, in any case, is to hang onto Pounds till the last minute for this year, because the Reserve Bank of Australia isn't going to raise interest rates on the Australian Dollar, whereas the Bank of Engliand is in the process of raising interest rates on the Pound already, making it more attractive for currency investors and pushing the Pound up in value compared to the Aussie. You'll get more Aussies to the quid if the B of E raises rates thro' the year.

ige

Thx for the reply.
My question is if i Cash Travellers Cheques in an American express office would i pay a commision.
And is the 1% commision from the total amount or on each USD i cash.
ANY HELP?

marco121068

1% is 1%.

ige

Can you explain please!

marco121068

Well - as far as I understood your question you asked if the 1% was on the total amount or for each USD. Say you have 2000 USD, then the comission at 1% would be 20 USD. If you change only 1000 USD first then the other 1000 it'll be 10USD each time - total 20USD.

Apologies if I'm wrong on this or if I've misunderstood your question.

BTW - many times you get a better rate of exchange using your ATM card.

ige

ok thx alot
If i need more info i will let you know.
So can i buy the cheques in USD and take to over to Australia
or is it better to buy checks in AUD?
B-cos i was thinking of cashing it in USD in Australia and later change them to AUD.
Let me kow please!

madankumars

The last i remember when i did such a transaction 6 months bk in sydney with ANZ...

1. if you BUY AMEX TC it cost you 1.1% commission


2. If you SELL AMEX TC back to the bank it was a flat rate of $A7 per occassion.


see this link from ANZ Bank - fees and charges:

http://www.anz.com/documents/au/feec...bnkgenfees.pdf

hope this helps
cheers
Madan

PS : and for the people especially from the USA, australia is NOT backward. if it can be done in the united states, it can be done in australia too.

Signman Glen

Hope this will help

why not buy amex cheques in aus dollers when the exchange is high ( you gey moor $ to £)

you can then cash them at a westpack bank in aus and it's commission free so you get the same exchange rate as you did when you buy.

I have done this twice so fare and hade no probs.

Good look
Signman Glen

bob and ginnie

I don't know about other parts of the planet, but here in Australia, American Express sell traveller's cheques in a variety of currencies, including Australian dollars, depending on where you're heading.
It's not much use buying in American dollars if you're going to England, for example . . . . might as well buy traveller's cheques in Pounds Sterling and be done with it (no further exchange rate hassles or commissions on cashing them!) and many hotels, shops, etc will accept them in the local currency without problem.
If you're trekking around Australia, just buy cheques in Australian dollars if they sell them in your home country.

ige

Like how much money can i take with me when entering Australia?
Are there any limits?
And i guess i have to declare it.
Any help?

madankumars

u have to declare anything over $A10000.

your disembarkation card has this option.

Signman Glen

Signman Glen Here

How much money can you take with you when entering Aus?

Well at present it is $10,000 per person that you don’t need to declare, you see it plastered all over the immigration points in Aus so its not worth trying any more than this, not a very good start to a new life down under if they count your money.

Also don’t forget you can use a Commonwealth Bank account or other account opened prior to going over to transfer your serious cash in advance of your move and activate it when you land, and get interest as well. Another thing to think about is Forward buying currency (forward contract with bank or currency company) and securing your exchange rate in advance, so if you can buy when it’s high (more $!) this can be done up to 12mths in advance, most of them will only give you 3-6 months though. When to buy is always a pain in the a*s so just keep your eyes on the rates every day is you can before you buy.
We are in the process of sorting out banks & money etc. it’s a pain & somebody always wants a cut don’t they.

Sorry for waffling on and hope this helps I little

All the best Signman glen (can’t wait to get out there)