Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
Using your Chase ATM card in the country to get local currency is generally a more economical approach versus money changers.
Agreed, even with the 3% + $5 most Chase cards charge.
Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
Even better if your Chase card has no forex.
Are there any that offer this? I've not seen any.
Still, at $5+3% you would need to have a VERY small transaction to pay more than what Travelex would charge. Last time I did the math Travelex was charging a 15% commission on USD->EUR transactions. It is brutal.
Even the idea of "getting a great rate on the street" is generally more risky and still not likely to do much better than the 3% hit. Maybe you get down to a 1% margin which is still pretty impressive. But I'd rather not risk dealing with the money changers on the street for the change to save $25 on $1000. And that's even assuming the destination is one where cash is so prevalent.