Currency for Jordan
Jul 19, 2012, 1:45 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 46
Currency for Jordan
Heading to Jordan in a few weeks, it;s our first time there. We are flying with BMI from LHR T1.
Normally I use Travelex and book online a few days beforehand for personal and business trips.
For this trip, we need to have more cash than I would normally take, so wanted to get some advice on best place to exchange UK £s and also what currency to carry.
Our tour documentation confuses matters a little by mentioning US$.
So guidance would be welcome on should we just book through Travelex Dinar's or change money in Jordan at the airport so we can pay the Taxi driver ;-)
Or what other suggestions do you have ?
The current Travelex exchange rare today is : 1.04 to the £
Thanks
Normally I use Travelex and book online a few days beforehand for personal and business trips.
For this trip, we need to have more cash than I would normally take, so wanted to get some advice on best place to exchange UK £s and also what currency to carry.
Our tour documentation confuses matters a little by mentioning US$.
So guidance would be welcome on should we just book through Travelex Dinar's or change money in Jordan at the airport so we can pay the Taxi driver ;-)
Or what other suggestions do you have ?
The current Travelex exchange rare today is : 1.04 to the £
Thanks
Jul 19, 2012, 4:01 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: NTTB
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,649
1.04JD to the £ is not good. You will do better in Amman.
My suggestion is to either take advantage of the kiosk in the passport control area or use Travelex for your initial costs. You'll need 30JDs to get into Amman, in addition to the 20JDs per person for the entry visa unless you have a Jordanian passport. The only downside to the kiosk is that it'll put you a little further behind in the line, which may be worth the 5% premium for using Travelex.
Once you're in Amman, visit any bank and you will get a couple extra points out of your cash.
My suggestion is to either take advantage of the kiosk in the passport control area or use Travelex for your initial costs. You'll need 30JDs to get into Amman, in addition to the 20JDs per person for the entry visa unless you have a Jordanian passport. The only downside to the kiosk is that it'll put you a little further behind in the line, which may be worth the 5% premium for using Travelex.
Once you're in Amman, visit any bank and you will get a couple extra points out of your cash.
Jul 20, 2012, 5:34 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 46
Thanks, so the recommendation is that we change £££s into JDs in country. I can probably get some JDs in the UK to get me into the country and to the Hotel. Are there typically commission charges to consider as well ?
The Travelex rate is commission free if I do it online a day or so before.
The Travelex rate is commission free if I do it online a day or so before.
Jul 22, 2012, 9:23 am
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 24,153
Thanks, so the recommendation is that we change £££s into JDs in country. I can probably get some JDs in the UK to get me into the country and to the Hotel. Are there typically commission charges to consider as well ?
The Travelex rate is commission free if I do it online a day or so before.
The Travelex rate is commission free if I do it online a day or so before.
Go to http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=GBP&To=JOD
as you can see the GBP-JOD is just under 1.11 while travelex is giving you 1.04 (vis poster above) thats a 5+% difference. sure they may not charge a commission offically but they will make up for it in the Rates. I genenerally found Travelex to offer me the worst rate in most cases and never once exchanged with them. Best is usually from an ATM in the Country you are going to just make sure that ATM doesnt charge you a fee of if it does its not more then any of the others
Jul 22, 2012, 4:33 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: AA PLT MM, BA, UA, AC
Posts: 798
Commission Fee is simply in most cases simply pulling the wool over your eyes as usually its hiding a very lousy exchange rate thats against you
Go to http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=GBP&To=JOD
as you can see the GBP-JOD is just under 1.11 while travelex is giving you 1.04 (vis poster above) thats a 5+% difference. sure they may not charge a commission offically but they will make up for it in the Rates. I genenerally found Travelex to offer me the worst rate in most cases and never once exchanged with them. Best is usually from an ATM in the Country you are going to just make sure that ATM doesnt charge you a fee of if it does its not more then any of the others
Go to http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert/?Amount=1&From=GBP&To=JOD
as you can see the GBP-JOD is just under 1.11 while travelex is giving you 1.04 (vis poster above) thats a 5+% difference. sure they may not charge a commission offically but they will make up for it in the Rates. I genenerally found Travelex to offer me the worst rate in most cases and never once exchanged with them. Best is usually from an ATM in the Country you are going to just make sure that ATM doesnt charge you a fee of if it does its not more then any of the others
Op, I don't know the fariness of exchange rates in GBP once in Jordan, but found some currencies while accepted and easily changeable had lousy exchange rates and USD were favoured.
Amman isn't exactly an easy city to navigate and it's huge. Unless you know there is a bank near where you're staying that will be open I'd exchange some money at the airport once you arrive and make sure you have some JOD left over after you pay for visas and transfer to the city.
Jul 22, 2012, 8:17 pm
#6
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: NTTB
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Plat
Posts: 4,649
You can also try calling some banks in advance to see what current exchange rates are as a snapshot. The largest Jordanian banks include Bank of Jordan, Housing Bank, Arab Bank, etc.
There are banks everywhere in Amman and they are usually in clusters. You won't have a problem finding or perhaps even walking to a bank.
There are banks everywhere in Amman and they are usually in clusters. You won't have a problem finding or perhaps even walking to a bank.
Jul 23, 2012, 6:20 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 46
You can also try calling some banks in advance to see what current exchange rates are as a snapshot. The largest Jordanian banks include Bank of Jordan, Housing Bank, Arab Bank, etc.
There are banks everywhere in Amman and they are usually in clusters. You won't have a problem finding or perhaps even walking to a bank.
There are banks everywhere in Amman and they are usually in clusters. You won't have a problem finding or perhaps even walking to a bank.
Last question on this topic, relates to opening hours for the banks.
We arrive mid afternoon a Friday, what are the normal banking hours ?
Thanks
Mark