There always seems to be a holiday around the corner, and most of the time when you travel abroad, you are subject to changing your money into another currency. Some of us still change our money at the airport, but the truth is that you always get a bad deal at airport currency exchange offices. It is a good thing to plan ahead if you have a holiday coming up, and check out how you can get the best foreign currency exchange rates.
Ordering Ahead for the Best Deals on Foreign Currency
One of the best things to do if you want to take your travel money with you in cash, is to order ahead. Most UK banks offer a special service and will always give you a better exchange rate than if you walk in and ask for the cash.
If you work in a town center, or close to your own bank, this is one of the best way to get a good deal on travel money. Some banks have special rates if you order a higher amount of travel money. In the long run, it may just pay you to exchange more money to get a better foreign currency deal.
The Post Office in the UK
If you often travel abroad and need travel money often, you may be surprised that the UK Post Office offer travel money as well as banking services. Look a little bit closer, and you will find the Post Office will surprise you with both their financial services and foreign currency exchange service. Many of them have extended opening hours, so making the most of this service is easy.
A Foreign Currency Prepaid Debit Card
Foreign currency prepaid debit cards have been around for a while now. There are some which charge next to nothing for the service of using the card.
All cards are different, so you need to make sure that you pick up the right prepaid debit card for you, and ensure it operates in the currency that you would you will be needing. Some foreign currency prepaid debit cards are now so flexible that you can change the currency in which they operate. That is really handy if you travel to different destinations around the world.
The most common foreign currencies this applies to are US dollars and the Euro, but you can find other currencies as well. Make sure that you don't pay too much for the service, but having one prepaid foreign currency credit card, could save you the trouble of having several cards and paying out extra fees.
As always, do check the foreign currency rate before you travel, and invest in your travel money. If you are a frequent traveler, it may even pay you to set up a bank account in a specific currency with your bank , or one of their offshore partners.
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