Currency exchange rate - online vs instore

bobblebob

Went into my local Thomas Cook today for a quote on some Euros. 400 euros would be £367 @ an exchange rate of 1.089

Looked on their own website and with reserve and collect i would get 400 euros for £337 @ a rate of 1.186

Now i know online is always cheaper, but a 30 quid difference? If im not mistaken, reserve and collect you pay instore anyway so its not really online.

knightstyle

You would probably get a better rate with a Halifax Clarity credit card!

bobblebob

Probably. Im sure ive been in before and got roughly the same rate as online, thats why i never bothered to reserve money

phatbear

So buy it online and collect in store! Happy days.

No different to the likes of travelex, they have some of the most competitive rates online, which you then collect at the airport. However if you go to a travelex in the airport and buy it there and then you will get some of the worst rates about because they make their money on people needing cash last minute.

ferf1223

same with most of them...we use https://www.bestforeignexchange.com fast track collection and generally stand in the queue feeling smug when looking at the rate offered for walk-ups...I was chatting with someone once who lived nearby and decided to go home and reserve then come back later to collect as the difference was not insignificant.

knowledge is power and all that good stuff.

zagfles

knightstyle wrote: »

You would probably get a better rate with a Halifax Clarity credit card!

Yes 1.219 today.

Changing cash is out of the ark.

ferf1223

zagfles wrote: »

Changing cash is out of the ark.

In general I agree but I have a thing about cash advancing a credit card...it's an outdated thing, I'm a proper adult now and not a young-un who would go mad with it but it's a long-standing thing and difficult to get past...we normally take enough cash for our first few days and draw out the rest from ATMs on our 'good' debit cards (soon to be card with MetroBank's changes).

I would not be comfortable landing without some coin of the realm to get us started...so we seek out the best deal we can.

stephb34

1.089 is the general rate that Thomas cook shops would have offered yesterday, you would have got that if you didn't ask what the rate was. If you are a TC travel customer ie a regular or you have booked a holiday with them you would have got 1.1616 and the other rate they do is the reserve and collect at 1.186. I'm afraid its a case of you need to be in the know or if you don't ask you don't get. If you were offered the 1.08 rate you obviously didn't ask what's your best rate.

InsideInsurance

Differential pricing is the norm these days for shopping, currency and pretty much everything else.

click and collect is normally an option. With a few of the London ones like ICE you just print their webpage off and they honour the rate (no option to click and collect)

zagfles

ferf1223 wrote: »

In general I agree but I have a thing about cash advancing a credit card...it's an outdated thing, I'm a proper adult now and not a young-un who would go mad with it but it's a long-standing thing and difficult to get past...we normally take enough cash for our first few days and draw out the rest from ATMs on our 'good' debit cards (soon to be card with MetroBank's changes).

I would not be comfortable landing without some coin of the realm to get us started...so we seek out the best deal we can.

I just take some GBP cash which I can change at the airport in the unlikely event there's no working ATM. Quite often foreign airports are better value than the UK high street!

For EUR I usually have a bit left over from the last time in Euroland anyway.