Searching for the best holiday exchange rates
By Darren Cronian on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

A popular question that I am receiving at the moment is where the best place to buy foreign currency is. Interestingly, a few work colleagues have been searching around to find the best rates, and the top performers are actually online.

Searching for the best holiday exchange rates

Online and free delivery

Whilst I cannot recommended either of these companies, both Crown currency exchange and Saga give slightly better tourist rates, and will also deliver to your home address for free. Bear in mind though that during peak periods they ask you to give them two to three weeks notice.

Shop around

The last time I wrote about this subject my advice was to not waste time shopping around but, with the recession, weak pound against the Euro and Dollar; it means more of us are trying to compare the best exchange rates.

This afternoon I quickly asked work colleagues where they have found the best currency exchange rates and Tesco, Thomas Cook, and Marks & Spencer came out on top in the high street. The worst performer appears to be the Post Office at the moment.

Debit and Credit cards

I use my Nationwide debit card because I am not charged for withdrawals abroad, it’s well worth opening an account just for your holiday money. Saga, Post Office and Abbey Zero credit cards are apparently the best to use abroad because they offer the lowest charges.

Please feel free to share your experiences searching for the best holiday exchange rates.


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15 responses to “Searching for the best holiday exchange rates”

Itinerant Geoff | 29 January, 2009 at 11:23 am

I really don’t see why anyone would need to look any further than getting a Nationwide debit card. It’s more convenient (and safer) than carrying loads of cash, meaning you can just take money out as and when you need it, plus there is zero commission, zero charges, and zero loading on the exchange rate – so it really can’t be beaten. It still stuns me people do anything else, to be honest.

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Rebecca | 29 January, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Hi Darren

In the past Which? Money report on exchange rates back in July, First Choice were giving the best deal, followed by Marks and Spencer, HSBC and Post Office. From what i remember, M&S did well the previous year, so they might be a good bet.

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Ally | 29 January, 2009 at 2:50 pm

The Post Office is offering slightly more for your £ than Tescos and Marks – about 3 euros on roughly £800 when I checked just now. You can compare yourself online.

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Lisa Corcoran | 29 January, 2009 at 3:27 pm

I can absolutely recommend Crown Currency Exchange. You just have to be organised, the earlier you order your money, the better rate you get!
It ’s a great feeling when you know the exchange rate has tumbled but you’re still getting a good rate because you ordered well in advance. The money has always been delivered on time- excellent service!

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Jack | 29 January, 2009 at 4:45 pm

I’m with Geoff on this one, why bother getting money exchanged before leaving? It’s a security risk as you got all your cash on you, and the best/worst time to be robbed is when you’re just arriving…

On top of that, ATMs / Cash points often give you the best rates, esp with a Nationwide or Post Office card.

This naturally becomes moot in some countries, where finding anywhere your card will work may be a question of luck!

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Jonathan | 29 January, 2009 at 4:58 pm

I have to agree with Darren and Geoff. Before i moved overseas my main bank was Nationwide and i never bothered with getting curency on my frequent trips to the U.S. The Nationwide Debit card was by far the best option.

Since moving i have discovered that Barclays have an agreement with Bank of America for free transactions. It works for my B of A Account in Barclays cash machines when i travel home so i assume it works the other way. Worth noting for those of you who plan to travel to the U.S.

I wrote about that (for U.S. travellers goint to the UK) yesterday.

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Darren Cronian | 29 January, 2009 at 5:15 pm

@ Jack

The problem with just relying on your debit / credit card is if anything happened (machine took your card, bank froze card etc) then you’d be left stranded abroad with little or no money. It’s best not to stick to one method of payment.

@ Jonathan

So, when I hit New York, Toronto in September I will be able to use my Nationwide card without any problems? I’m going to take some dollars, debit and credit card for backup.

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Nomadic Matt | 30 January, 2009 at 4:41 am

Never buy currency ahead of time. You get the worst rates. Simply use the ATM when you get there or a credit card. You will receive a much better fx rate. Keep some extra cash with you for an emergency but I’m going with Jack on this one..

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Joanne | 30 January, 2009 at 12:33 pm

ditto! always use my nationwide debit card, in turkey in the summer got much better exchange rates than on the small amount of cash i changed up before hand!

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AnnaE | 30 January, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Yes, debit cards are the way to go. Plus I’ll always carry some US dollars with me as backup – you can exchange them pretty much anywhere in the world.

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Jonathan | 30 January, 2009 at 3:13 pm

Darren. I think you’ll be fine with your Nationwide card, however i would double check with them becuase it’s been a few years since i used mine. Even though i don’t really use it i have kept me Nationwide account live and active. You will get charged any fees that the ATM operator charges, usually abot $1.50. Try and stick to bank ATMs and avoid the ones in stores and the like, they usually charge higher fees.

Also for N.Y. If you open a Barclays account you should be totally fee free at Bank of America ATMs

I think it will be an interesting experiment for you to investigate what happens when you travel and report back.

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Andy | 4 February, 2009 at 7:24 pm

@Jack

“It’s a security risk as you got all your cash on you,”

You could lose your card. Risky.

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Jack | 4 February, 2009 at 10:16 pm

@Andy
Could lose the card, but probably not the second one in another pocket, unless I get robbed of my clothes as well as my wallet / bag!

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Dee | 5 February, 2009 at 9:51 pm

I disagree that you should *never* buy your currency ahead of time, you’ll get the worst rates. For example, if I were going to the US this month, I would rather have bought my money a few months ago…;-)

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Jonathan | 6 February, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Dee, Thats not buying ahead of time, thats just currency speculation :-) . Plus, it can work both ways, as they say in commercials, rates can go up or down :-)

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