US Dollar or Barbados Dollar?

lezsez

Anybody know which of the above is better value to the pound. I'm going to Barbados in a few weeks time and both rates of exchange have dropped since last year at this time.

Thanks

andycris3107

http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

Current rates are:

USD$ 1.48208 (assuming you are using a credit card)
BBD$ 2.96417 (as above)

Barbados dollar has always been 2 x USD$ as these are pegged currencies. Therefore it makes little difference which you take or use. Both are widely accepted across the island.

Depending on how much you want you may want to use a service such as currencies direct http://www.currenciesdirect.com/en/uk/personal/our-services/travel-money

They are currently showing a rate of 1.521240 which is excellent.

NiftyDigits

andycris3107 wrote: »

http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

Current rates are:

USD$ 1.48208 (assuming you are using a credit card)
BBD$ 2.96417 (as above)

Barbados dollar has always been 2 x USD$ as these are pegged currencies. Therefore it makes little difference which you take or use. Both are widely accepted across the island.

Depending on how much you want you may want to use a service such as currencies direct http://www.currenciesdirect.com/en/uk/personal/our-services/travel-money

They are currently showing a rate of [STRIKE]1.521240[/STRIKE] 1.4862 which is [STRIKE]excellent[/STRIKE] dire.

I've corrected your statement for you. Your post is confused.

visidigi

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I've corrected your statement for you. Your post is confused.

Yeah thats very sly...

Rates are indicative, get in touch for a full quote.

In tiny text below a quote box.

Naughty.

andycris3107

NiftyDigits wrote: »

I've corrected your statement for you. Your post is confused.

A somewhat blunt response. Remember that rates change constantly however they compare well to the competition.

I mention currencies direct as (1) I use them myself & (2) the come recommended on this site:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange

benjus

Currencies Direct specialises in money transfers, not travel money cash. They give a generic converter that just shows the current mid-market spot rate, but I have no idea what their transfer rates are like as I haven't signed up. They don't sell travel money cash at all - the site just redirects you to ICE (their "partners") which offers terrible rates.

OP - if you must change cash before you go, take USD. The Travel Money Maximiser (link on the right) will show you where to get the best rates. However, getting a card such as Halifax Clarity will get you better rates.

lezsez

Thanks for the info, guys, and I hope you sort your differences out.

Nick_C

andycris3107 wrote: »

Current rates are:

USD$ 1.48208 (assuming you are using a credit card)
BBD$ 2.96417 (as above)

Barbados dollar has always been 2 x USD$ as these are pegged currencies. Therefore it makes little difference which you take or use. Both are widely accepted across the island.

To clarify, the exchange rate for the barbados $ is always twice that of the US$.

1 Barbados $ = $0.50 US
(1 Barbados $ is not equal to 2 USD as the post suggests!)

NiftyDigits

lezsez wrote: »

Thanks for the info, guys, and I hope you sort your differences out.

We are all agreed...apart from andycris3107...who is a little confused.

Don't bother changing money unless you are still living in the 70s.
Get a Halifax Clarity or a Kalixa Pay Prepaid card.
If you ask nicely, someone here might recommend you and you'll get £5 off the fee for the Prepaid card.
Once you arrive, head for the ATM and draw out a chunk of cash.
That's it. Easy wasn't it?

loobs40

NiftyDigits wrote: »

We are all agreed...apart from andycris3107...who is a little confused.

Don't bother changing money unless you are still living in the 70s.
Get a Halifax Clarity or a Kalixa Pay Prepaid card.
If you ask nicely, someone here might recommend you and you'll get £5 off the fee for the Prepaid card.
Once you arrive, head for the ATM and draw out a chunk of cash.
That's it. Easy wasn't it?

Well not quite...... Nobody actually wants Barbados currency, and I am fairly confident that the ATMs dish out Barbados dollars.

We are going to the Caribbean soon, and unless someone can point me in t he direction of a US$ ATM (for which I will be very grateful) I will be taking US$ with on hols.

And I am a dedicated Clarity card fan, who in the rest of the world uses airport ATMs to get the local currency

NiftyDigits

loobs40 wrote: »

Well not quite...... Nobody actually wants Barbados currency, and I am fairly confident that the ATMs dish out Barbados dollars.

We are going to the Caribbean soon, and unless someone can point me in t he direction of a US$ ATM (for which I will be very grateful) I will be taking US$ with on hols.

And I am a dedicated Clarity card fan, who in the rest of the world uses airport ATMs to get the local currency

You've excelled yourself today. What utter nonsense!

I travel to the Caribbean on a regular basis and can confidently write that your statement is ludicrous.

In Barbados, I use the local currency exclusively, as I do on every other island and country in the region. I have never met a vendor who refused or attempted to charge me more for using the local currency.
I use my fee free cards for purchases where possible.
Only an idiot purchases US$ for travel to the Caribbean unless for speculative purpose.
There is absolutely no benefit in buying US$ and paying for the privilege.