Foreign Exchange Cash Conversion
 

Hi - If there is already a forum for this please point me to it but I was unable to find one.

I recently returned from a trip from Europe and ended up with excess Euro's and Pounds that I was unable to transfer back to USD prior to returning home to New York. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas on the best way to change my foreign currency back to USD without getting hit with significant currency spreads and fees.

The best thing to do with is to save it for a future trip. You'd be taking somewhat of a risk that the Euro and pound will have weakened against the dollar by then, but you also have the chance of avoiding changing a weaker dollar.

If you really want to change them, I recommend going to a currency converter like oanda.com, and seeing how many dollars you'd get for that bundle of currency at the bank rate. Then see what that bundle will bring you if you go to a bank, AMEX, or another forex service in the US, "what it will bring you" meaning how many dollars you will have left after the exchange at that institution's rate, deducting fees and, if you do it by distance, deducting also any shipping or mailing charges (which are just as much a transaction cost as a fee or commission, so it makes sense to deduct them.) My experience suggests that you'll end up with at least 15% less dollars than the bank rate.

Of course, you won't get the bank rate anywhere. But my experience is that at bank foreign exchange windows in Europe and Asia as an individual exchanging small amounts you end up with 3% - 6% less currency after the exchange than the bank rate. It seems only in America that banks and forex services look on changing small amounts for individuals as an opportunity for legal pickpocketing.

I recently changed some Canadian dollars to US currency at Bank of America (where I have an account). There wasn't a flat fee commission but I received about 7% less than Oanda's rate.

As noted by the previous poster, I'd probably just hold on to the currency unless you think you won't be using it within the next year or so.

1. Hold on to it for the next trip.

2. If you know someone else going to the place that use the currency, sell it to him/her at the oanda.com rate.

3. Next time, when you are checking out of the hotel on your way out of a country (or currency zone) and you have lots of excess currency, use some of it to pay the hotel bill (keep enough for whatever needs you have on the way out, like bus/taxi/train fare to the airport).

How about a nice winter trip to Martinique where the Euro is legal tender. Also, you'd have no problem spending your pounds in Jamaica.