I need to exchange a large sum of dollars for euros in the United States. The rate my bank is quoting me is scandalous (at least compared to what I see when I go on xe.com and other exchange sites). Can anyone speak from experience or offer advice on the best forum for making this exchange? I somehow had the idea that banks were supposed to be the best place to do that, but hopefully that's not the case.
Just saw this. Hope I didn't miss you. Whereever possible, pay with a credit card. That will get you the best exchange rate possible. Just call your bank and let them know you will be overseas before you go. I would exchange some small pocket change at the airport and then get out more cash as you need it from ATMs in train stations and other safe parts of town.
Thanks for the response. I actually am not traveling; I am taking a large sum of money to relatives, so I need to exchange all of the money in the US before I leave. It's kind of an unusual situation, which is perhaps why it's been so hard for me to find the right kind of information. I really do appreciate your response though. And it seems to be the perfect suggestion for someone traveling to Europe, based on my research.
Can you send a check? It is not safe to travel with large sums of cash (more than $5,000). There may be limits on the amount of cash you can take out of the country or you can bring into the other country. Edit to note there is no limit to the cash you can take out of the country, but you do have to report any amount over $10,000. Good luck.
You honestly should speak with your bank, or at least a bank. As Sachin wrote, you do not want to travel with that much money on you. Check into this thread for an idea of what can happen: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=604682 Pay the fees the bank wants and play it safe and don't waste anymore personal time of yours. The saying about tripping over dollars to pick up dimes applies to the amount of time you will spend trying to find the best exchange rate. However, you may want to look at possibly upcoming events where the dollar could possibly make gains and hold your exchange until then. When I lived overseas I would look at trends and then do a "SWAG" (Sophisticated Wild Arse Guess) for doing exchanges when it came time for me to convert currency.
I don't think we'll go the mattress / cash-in-dufflebag route. The problem here with my bank is I live in the boonies, and the lady I spoke to about the exchange rate barely knew what a Euro was. (The bank actually doesn't carry any foreign currency; they exchange by mail, even for small amounts.) I doubt my bank's financial advice would be up to par. We thought about sending the money to ourselves Western Union, but we'd lose even more. I just can't believe that there isn't a credible, reliable way to change money in the US with a better exchange rate than a bank -- but maybe there's not. Maybe it's time to ask questions: Are the exchange rates I see on the news and on sites like XE.com an average of the price to buy or sell the currency? Is it unrealistic to expect to get an exchange rate even close to those when I'm buying Euros? For example, I lose 10 percent more of my money when I convert the money with my bank than I do when I plug it into XE.com. That seems quite high to me.
Can you take travelers checks over and then exchange them in the country you are visiting? If you get AE travelers checks and exchange them in an AE bank/location, there are no fees.
The banks are looking to make money on your transaction, so you have to expect to pay for the service they are providing. It appears as if you'll have to head to a larger city where your bank has a branch or at least have your bank contact the bank. When I've exchanged currencies at the bank their first question asked is if I have an account there. The rates you see online will be for large transactions, and you need to think a lot more than what you are going to exchange. You will always pay a fee for the service.
Did you ever find a good way to get this done?? Yeah, but that doesn't mean you should throw up your hands and pay a 10% fee. That's ridiculous!
Nope, so far we're still sticking to the bank -- and waiting out a big exchange until the dollar strengthens. I'm still looking for suggestions and will update if I come across a better solution.