Do I go ahead and trade fx in the UK? Should I wait? Do I take advantage while it’s up? What happens if it goes down?
And before you ask, no, this isn’t a Year 7 sex education class. These are, in fact, the questions I found myself asking on Wednesday, April 6 when wondering whether or not I should cash in on the high trading Australian dollar.
In just over four weeks, I will be venturing back over to Florida and needed to decide whether or not I should take advantage of this incredible rise. It didn’t take too long for me to realise that the answer was indeed yes and before I knew it, I was out comparing exchange rates. I found that, despite the Aussie dollar being at an all time high, it still pays to shop around a little when exchanging foreign currency.
Stop 1: Australia Post
For those of you not from here, Australia Post is the major postal system in Australia; similar to that of the USPS in the United States.
You can purchase foreign currency at most major Australia Post outlets. I’ve always been a fan of purchasing a portion of my currency in advance and Australia Post has always been my first option for doing so for the following reasons…
Advantages:
a) No Conversion Fees: Yep, that’s right, Australia Post does not rip you off by charging you up the ass for their conversion service.
b) Best Exchange Rates: American Express is the company behind Australia Post’s currency conversion and although they don’t offer 100% of what the going exchange rate is on any given day, I’ve found they always offer the highest from those available. On Wednesday, the Aussie dollar was trading at $1 AUD = $1.034 USD and Australia Post offered it to me for $1.015 USD.
Disadvantages:
a) Minimum Order Amount: If you’re after a large sum of money, then this isn’t something you need worry about. If you’re looking at only getting a very small amount converted though, Australia Post have a minimum conversion amount of $200 AUD. This was not an issue for me, but I can see how it might be for some.
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Stop 2: Flight Centre
Advantages:
a) No Minimum Order Amount: I asked if there was a minim order amount, the girl behind the counter wasn’t sure, but after trying $50, the system was going to allow it – good to know if you’re only in need of a small amount of foreign currency.
Disadvantages:
a) Crap Exchange Rates: When I asked what rate they could exchange my currency for, I was told that for every $1 AUD I would be getting back $0.98 USD. WTF?!? Below a dollar? Hell no! Not sure which company is behind Flight Centres currency conversion, but this was unacceptable.
b) Conversion Fees: This shit-house exchange rate led me to believe that even though Flight Centre endorse a ‘no conversion fees’ policy, someone is still making a profit from the lowered exchange rate being offered when compared to that of Australia Post.
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Although, in reality, there are only a few cents difference between Australia Post and Flight Centre, if it is a large quantity of money you are looking at converting and you are a budget-conscious traveller, it all adds up…
Australia Post: $1000 AU = $1015 USD
Flight Centre: $1000 AU = $980 USD
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That’s already an extra $35 USD for your vacation…
and let me tell you, $35 in the USA buys you quite a few beers!
Oh, and while at it, as the image above suggests, I picked up some Malaysian Ringgit for the trip to Kuala Lumpur that I won and leave for in exactly four days. You can choose my Malaysian adventure here!
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How do you convert your currency before embarking on overseas travel?
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I tend to just use my keycard once I’m overseas at ATMS!
Hi Fiona! I do that too, but I find myself withdrawing large amounts of money ($300-$400) at a time to avoid the ATM fees, usually it’s a $5 withdraw fee as well as a conversion fee which increases depending on the amount you take out! Having said this, though, I usually do use ATMs while abroad but I like to know I have a small amount of currency on me when I land in a new country.
This is a good one. I have been thinking about this too lately because I have a wad of euros (I mean a “wad” haha, I’m not rich) that I’ll need to find out what to do with when I go back to the States and eventually Oz.
Not sure if it’s best to change before hand of if there is a way to actually deposit euros into my bank (I mean don’t banks keep a bit of foreign currency around?). You got me thinking!
Annie… You’re (eventually) coming to Aus?!? :O
Do you have a time in mind? Would love to get a drink if you’re down Melbourne way!
And yeah, most banks you can convert at, just depends how much you’re after – I’m pretty sure a lot of them keep a small amount on property… I did look into them but Australia Post offered the better exchange rate!
Yea! I should be there in September… well in Sydney but I mean… we can always plan something! When do you head back to FL? It seems like we are all changing places!
I’ll be in the US for the whole summer pretty much and although FL wasn’t on our original travel plan I know that the boyfriend is dying to see Miami…
I’m heading back to FL in 28 days! But only for a few weeks, then onto Cancun for a few days on the way home. I’ll be in Melbourne in September, but may venture off to Sydney on business if need be. If you’re in Aus, I definitely recommend not missing out on Melbourne… you’ll be SO close!
Miami is sooooo much fun! I loved it there. We’re heading to Naples, FL for a few days while I’m over… you know… to hang with the retired folk 😉 haha.
ooo perfect! Well, we’ve been to Melbourne once but of course we’ll be back! We’re actually like… moving to Aus! Well, moving as much as a WHV allows! I’ll let you know when I know more! Enjoy FL and KL! 😉
Great post! I’ve been thinking about currency exchange a lot lately as I’m wondering if the Aussie dollar can remain at such a high until December when I head to the US.
Generally speaking, I just change all my money with my parents/friends money at the local Harvey World Travel/Travelex booth. Not always the greatest option but it’s worked okay until now!
I have been a bit of a goose in the past and left the money changing until I arrived in the countries airport (I do not recommend this!) but generally I’m pretty good.
Hey Nicole, thanks for the comment! They are predicting the dollar to hit $1.12 and then start to fall around August, so if I were you, I may cash in earlier before your December vacay!
I’ve found travelex to be a bit of a rip off over the years hence why I stick to Australia Post these days, also, waiting until you get to the airport to cash over is always a bad decision!!!
Lynda recently posted…A Brief Guide to Kuala Lumpur
hey lynda thanks for that.
ive got a question re the other direction. i am an aussie living in berlin and about to head back to melbourne in feb.
ive got a heap of euros to convert. will it be just the same if i wait until i get to an aus post? or do u know of the best place in germany to convert? am i best to go to the deutsche post?
cheers
bruce
I am coming from U.S. to Melbourne 🙂
where is best place for me to convert U.S. dollars to AUD?
Thanks
KC
Well infact Travelex also has great exchange rates. They have special discounts for online reserve and both their delivery and pick up service are very convenient.