Question of the Week: When should I buy my foreign currency?

Moneycorp_representative

It’s worth noting we haven’t seen these levels since November 2011; a 16 month high for the Euro against sterling.

Sterling has had a sustained period of weakness in 2013. There is little doubt that faced with a possible triple dip in the UK that the hidden political agenda is to keep sterling as weak as possible to further support exports.

AAA rating fears were only one issue, the weak fundamentals of UK growth have suggested that sterling should be weaker against most of its main currency competitors. The reversal of safe haven has also hurt sterling recently.

Comments by Mark Carney, next governor of the Bank of England, suggest he will be more active in trying to stimulate the economy, which is likely to be through keeping interest rates low and undertaking more quantitative easing, which in turn, drives sterling down.

headgirl49

my question exactly..kchad..shud we buy now then?

Bob_the_Saver

headgirl49 wrote: »

my question exactly..kchad..shud we buy now then?

shud ! ............................

jayu619

I'm off to the States this summer, and was wondering when the best time would be to buy USD? I've been keeping an eye out over the comparison sites but have no idea whether it will get better or worse if I wait

Rachylou1981

Does anyone know if you can return currency back 2 days after purchasing because the rate was poor and you feel mis-sold?

The agent told me on the phone that I would get 'best rate' due to travelling with them but on checking afterwards the rate online would give me about $30 more and another travel agent would have given me $70 more for my money. I feel so upset and angry but don't want to make a fool of myself by going into store and asking for a refund/better rate when they will probably say I agreed at the time

gevicvilla

I stay in Turkey 6 months of the year, always change your stirling at the bank always a better rate that money exchange shops. Today the rate at the bank is 2.97TL to £1.00 stirling. Even if you have money left at the end of the holiday change it back to stirling at the bank you will be suprised at the rate, which is not much above the exchange rate stirling to TL.

agarr

I go to Canada in a few weeks and was hoping to get my dollars tomorrow but I've just noticed the rate has dropped somewhat so now I don't know if I should wait a bit more or just go with the rate I've seen.

Paris2314

Hi Everyone,

I've spent all day sifting through forums and Martin's blogs on prepaid, credit and debit cards to use abroad, but am left a little a confused!

Previously I've never been on holiday for more than 2 weeks so taken cash, except for when I went to Spain for a month so I took a pre-loaded card, loaded with euros of course.

Now I am off for 3 weeks to Mauritius, Dubai and then Sri Lanka. As this trip will be our wedding/honeymoon we will probably be spending quite a lot!

I have done my research and found that in each of those countries, the currency exchange rate is better on arrival in each country (and easy to find banks/exchange booths etc).

My question is how exactly do I take my money? We will take some pounds stirling in cash, but obviously will not want to carry too much.

As the pre paid cards do not load in any of the currencies we require, do I still load in pounds and then exchange in each country, paying with that card? Or would I be better off using a debit/credit card to exchange and withdraw money? I can't seem to find the answer as to how these pre-paid travel cards work when you load GBP on to them!

I will also be taking a good for spending abroad credit car for emergencies, but the limit on these cards is probably not enough for my whole trip (unless I load the credit card up!)

Any help/suggestions will be gratefully received!

DTDfanBoy

Paris 2314

Get yourself a Halifax Clarity card, its the easiest way to ensure you get the best rates. If you don't get a credit limit large enough to cover the entire trip set up a couple of payments into your CC before you leave or make payments via internet banking while overseas.

If I'm away for a while I'll pay off the balance on a weekly basis to keep the interest rate charges as low as possible

benjus

Paris2314 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,

I've spent all day sifting through forums and Martin's blogs on prepaid, credit and debit cards to use abroad, but am left a little a confused!

Previously I've never been on holiday for more than 2 weeks so taken cash, except for when I went to Spain for a month so I took a pre-loaded card, loaded with euros of course.

Now I am off for 3 weeks to Mauritius, Dubai and then Sri Lanka. As this trip will be our wedding/honeymoon we will probably be spending quite a lot!

I have done my research and found that in each of those countries, the currency exchange rate is better on arrival in each country (and easy to find banks/exchange booths etc).

My question is how exactly do I take my money? We will take some pounds stirling in cash, but obviously will not want to carry too much.

As the pre paid cards do not load in any of the currencies we require, do I still load in pounds and then exchange in each country, paying with that card? Or would I be better off using a debit/credit card to exchange and withdraw money? I can't seem to find the answer as to how these pre-paid travel cards work when you load GBP on to them!

I will also be taking a good for spending abroad credit car for emergencies, but the limit on these cards is probably not enough for my whole trip (unless I load the credit card up!)

Any help/suggestions will be gratefully received!

You seem to have fallen into the trap (like many others) of thinking that you must get a prepaid card in the currency of the place you're travelling to.

In fact this is nonsense - you get a better exchange rate with the Kalixa Pay card, which is denominated in Sterling and converts to foreign currency as you use it. Even if you were travelling to Spain you'd get a better rate with this card than with a EUR-denominated card.

However, if your credit rating is OK your best option is to apply for a Halifax Clarity card and use this for cash withdrawals and purchases. Try to pay off the cash withdrawals as soon as you can to minimise interest charges, but even if you don't do this the interest charges will be less than the charges for getting foreign currency by other means.

Remember to take a backup card in case you have to cancel your main card due to loss, theft or someone cloning it (the latter happened to me recently in Brazil - the bank reversed all the disputed transactions so I didn't end up losing anything).