"Padraig Breathnach" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > <nightjar> wrote:
    >
    > >My personal view is that chasing the best exchange rate is rarely worth
the
    > >difference. It can, however, be worth looking for High Street deals, like Thomas
    > >Cook's recent no commission exchange offer (they always do a no commission
    > >exchange back of money if you bought from them) and buying
Euros
    > >when they are around.
    > >
    > I read only yesterday that in Ireland at least, Thomas Cook gives some of the worst
    > exchange rates for Sterling/Euro and Dollar/Euro transactions. My own experience
    > tells me that standalone Bureaux de Change are even worse. The best rates for
    > typical tourist-scale exchanges are generally obtainable from the commercial (high
    > street) banks. The "no commission" deal is worth nothing if the exchange rate
    > applied is poor.

Agreed, but in my UK High Street, the banks' commission charges more than make up for
their slightly better rates. I generally find that the best rates are those I get
when using my credit cards. As I prefer to hold Euros at home, it is fairly academic
anyway. Whatever rate I get them at, by the time I come to use them their value in
Sterling has gone down.

Colin Bignell

In article <[email protected]>, "Oliver Lfc"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    > "Hatunen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > On Sun, 4 Aug 2002 23:27:00 +0100, "Oliver Lfc" <[email protected]>
    > > wrote:
    > >
    > > >Please could you help me with my problem, I am going to Spain in a few
    > days
    > > >and don't know if I should buy travellers cheques in pounds sterling and
    > > >exchange them there or buy them here in England in euros and cash them there,
    > > >How do I find out which will give the better deal?
    > >
    > > Can you not just use a money card (ATM/debit card)? They have holes in the wall
    > > in Spain, too.
    > >
    >
    > I could do that, but I would have nothing to fall back on if the card was lost,
    > dont the banks also use a basic rate of exchange I thought you could "Shop around"
    > for a higher rate.

traveler's checks always hit you coming and going on exchange. I'd get a few as back
up or have other backup means, get the TCs where you can get them free, change them
back to cash when you get back -- this means you get them in your own currency.

Excuse me but... what's ATM???

Hanna

"Padraig Breathnach" <[email protected]> escribió en el mensaje
news:[email protected]...
    > <nightjar> wrote:
    >
    > >My personal view is that chasing the best exchange rate is rarely worth
the
    > >difference. It can, however, be worth looking for High Street deals, like Thomas
    > >Cook's recent no commission exchange offer (they always do a no commission
    > >exchange back of money if you bought from them) and buying
Euros
    > >when they are around.
    > >
    > I read only yesterday that in Ireland at least, Thomas Cook gives some of the worst
    > exchange rates for Sterling/Euro and Dollar/Euro transactions. My own experience
    > tells me that standalone Bureaux de Change are even worse. The best rates for
    > typical tourist-scale exchanges are generally obtainable from the commercial (high
    > street) banks. The "no commission" deal is worth nothing if the exchange rate
    > applied is poor.
    >
    > Personally, I favour ATMs.
    >
    > PB

"Hanna" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Excuse me but... what's ATM???

Automatic Teller Machine - the American name for the automatic equipment you can use
for your banking needs, provided you don't mind (in most places) standing in the
street to do so.

Colin Bignell

On Mon, 5 Aug 2002 19:37:02 +0200, "Hanna" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >Excuse me but... what's ATM???

American: Atuomatic Teller Machine. Sometimes called "cashpoint", "hole in the wall",
etc. I don't know the Spanish term.

************ DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) ***********
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * ******* My typos are
intentional copyright traps ******

<nightjar> wrote:

    >
    >"Padraig Breathnach" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news:[email protected]...

    >> I read only yesterday that in Ireland at least, Thomas Cook gives some of the
    >> worst exchange rates for Sterling/Euro and Dollar/Euro transactions. My own
    >> experience tells me that standalone Bureaux de Change are even worse. The best
    >> rates for typical tourist-scale exchanges are generally obtainable from the
    >> commercial (high street) banks. The "no commission" deal is worth nothing if the
    >> exchange rate applied is poor.
    >
    >Agreed, but in my UK High Street, the banks' commission charges more than make up
    >for their slightly better rates.
    >
Which prompts me to make an observation: the commission on small transactions is
often the same as on large ones, so it is a bigger percentage. Don't change small
amounts (unless, being a student or otherwise limited in your opportunities, you have
no choice).

    >I generally find that the best rates are those I get when using my credit cards.
    >
My experience also.

    > As I prefer to hold Euros at home, it is fairly academic anyway. Whatever rate I
    > get them at, by the time I come to use them their value in Sterling has gone down.
    >
The recovery is on!

PB

"Padraig Breathnach" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > > As I prefer to hold Euros at home, it is fairly academic anyway. Whatever rate I
    > > get them at, by
the
    > >time I come to use them their value in Sterling has gone down.
    > >
    > The recovery is on!

I do hope so. My business sales in Euros are much greater than my purchases.

Colin Bignell

"Hanna" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Excuse me but... what's ATM???
    >
    > Hanna
    >

Cajero Automatico

Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:
    > ZombyWoof <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> 9 times out of 10 you are better off making the charge to your AMEX and they do
    >> the conversion when they bill you. While traveling in Korea & Japan, this
    >> consistently got me the best rate. I have never paid a commission on conversion.
    >
    > The sbject isn't commissions, it's exchange rates. These are two different things.
    > Typically, you get good exchange rates and pay a commission or you get a worse
    > exchange rate and pay no commission.

By the way, an easy way to assess the value of the exchange rate you're getting is to
compare the buy and sell rates for the same currency pair. The farther apart they
are, the worse a deal you're getting (unless maybe you're on the good side of some
anomalous skewed market where one currency has poor liquidity, not generally an issue
in Europe).

For instance, at a booth in the UK today you might see dollars buying 0.6175 pounds
and selling for 0.6825 pounds. Divide the difference between those two (0.063) by
the sum (1.3), and you can see the hit is about 5%. Compare this to ATM
transactions, which for US$ withdrawals in the UK would be between 0.5% (i.e.,
1/10th the penalty) and 2%.

On a trip to the UK where you spend 1000 pounds, thats about $70 you save just by
using the more convenient ATMs rather than messing around exchanging checks or cash.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu New mini
photo-feature: Life in DC: http://travel.u.nu/dc/

Thanks...

"Peter McGurk" <[email protected]> escribió en el mensaje
news:[email protected]...
    >
    > "Hanna" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Excuse me but... what's ATM???
    > >
    > > Hanna
    > >
    >
    > Cajero Automatico