I searched and found a thread, but my situation is different. Plus that thread is 5 years old

-

I am working an internship here in Europe and getting paid in cash. Its only for 10 more weeks, but I'm curious as to the best way to convert whatever I have left back into USD. I found travelex from the other thread,

http://www.travelex.com

but they don't list their rates on their website and I would have to go to a store location to do it, since they don't buy foreign currency online.

I've learned airports are the absolute worst places to convert cash, and I should have a few hundred so I won't do that.

I may have the option of giving the cash to a foreign relative, then he writes me a check, and I give it straight to my bank, but I haven't asked him about it yet.

Thoughts?

6/14/2010 10:01:04 AM

when i lived in a small town in mexico for a summer, there were several places (not all one chain) to exchange money. are there not places like that there?

the best way i found though was to deposit in an ATM to your account, then you don't have to deal with an exchange and it's just like depositing dollars.

6/14/2010 10:03:56 AM

Quote :

"I've learned airports are the absolute worst places to convert cash"

Why??

I know I probably didn't have as much money as you will, but I came back to DC with 3 different types of currency and got it all converted at the airport.

6/14/2010 10:10:24 AM

traditionally poor rates^

6/14/2010 10:13:19 AM

Ahh. I thought that shit was the same across the board.

Shows how much I know.

6/14/2010 10:15:56 AM

plus high 'convenience' fees.

6/14/2010 10:17:09 AM

Your best bet may be to get one of your coworkers to convert it at their bank.

6/14/2010 10:18:36 AM

Quote :

"are there not places like that there?"

I believe there are, thanks for the heads up. I did search on Travelex and there isn't a location in my city (really small place), closest one is in Brussels an hour away by train. I still wouldnt really know if they had the best rate though. There are a few banks here, so maybe I can ask in town.

I managed to find an ATM so maybe I can try to deposit my cash in that. It doesn't have to be your bank's atm right? I'll have to look online and see if it charges any fee for that...

Quote :

"When your Navy Federal credit card is used outside the United States and its territories, Visa and MasterCard charge 1% of the transaction amount. Previously, this fee did not apply to overseas transactions conducted in U.S. dollars; it was only assessed on items completed in a foreign currency. Originally this fee was added to the purchase price and a lump sum total appeared on your statement. Since April 2005, the International Transaction Fee (formerly the Currency Conversion Fee) has appeared as a separate line item on the statement and is no longer added to the purchase. Effective 1 May 2008, Visa and MasterCard began applying this fee to all transactions made outside the U.S., regardless of the currency that applies to the transaction. Because these fees are not charged by Navy Federal, we cannot refund them. However, the fee will not normally be assessed on transactions originating on U.S. military bases, embassies, consulates and territories. "

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 10:22 AM. Reason : qsdf]

6/14/2010 10:21:53 AM

Uh yeh, because your transaction has to go through a longer series of tubes and takes 0.0484848 milliseconds longer than an in-country transaction, we're going to need to charge you an international transaction fee.

ugh. banks. those transactions really cost something like 18 cents. in-country, non-bank member, ATM transactions cost something like 13 cents and you get charged $2+ typically.

6/14/2010 10:33:04 AM

Quote :

"It doesn't have to be your bank's atm right?"

right.

i don't remember what fees were associated with those transactions. this was in 2000. i'm sure it's different now.

6/14/2010 10:40:04 AM

cool! maybe i can check it out on my way home today. deposit like 50€ and see what my bank statement says, or if it even comes up as an option at the ATM

6/14/2010 10:44:52 AM

if its only a couple hundred euro i would go ahead and spend it. bring back gifts and liquor/wine that you wouldnt normally be able to buy here

6/14/2010 11:12:53 AM

That's an idea, but I also need the money. Still working on that whole "find a job" thing

Though I certainly will be buying gifts...just hope I don't run out of bag space, haha. I need to figure out the postal system here too...

6/14/2010 11:23:19 AM

I went to the SECU when I came home from Italy

6/14/2010 11:29:59 AM

when i came back last october my 2 bags each weighed 3x what they were supposed to and us air didnt charge me any extra. i had brought back a lot of shit

6/14/2010 11:30:22 AM

1. go to bank
2. exchange money
3. profit!

Really, dont do it anywhere but a bank. here or there. Most banks can do this, but you might have to let them know a week or two in advance. Its probably easier since you want USD to do it here, rather than there, as the bank here has dollars, but would need to acquire dollars if you did it in europe still.

also, banks have the best exchange rates, airports the worst, anywhere else... depends.

6/14/2010 11:41:18 AM

As far as I know Wachovia charges a minimum fee of 30 USD for currency conversion, so its a rip off too. Travelex and other airport types are major rip off. Can you buy travellers checks and cash them out in the US in dollars?

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 12:46 PM. Reason : a]

6/14/2010 12:44:44 PM

For the banks, I looked at my own bank (Navy Federal) and Bank of America. For Navy Fed, they don't do conversions, and BoA you have to be a member of the bank. I might be able to find a friend who is in with them, but that's beside the point. SECU might work, I think my g/f is a member there.

^^^Weight wouldn't be an issue, space would be I already used vacuum bags to pack my stuff and there wasn't much room left already.

^I don't know much about traveler's checks, especially here, but that's worth an investigation.

6/14/2010 2:24:35 PM

where in Europe are you? i've had different experiences in different places

6/15/2010 4:21:52 PM

I'm in Belgium

6/15/2010 4:59:53 PM

Why can't you deposit it into your bank in the United States? Is that something that typically isn't done?

6/15/2010 5:09:35 PM

I'll email the bank and see what they say. I don't really need the physical cash converted, I just need it to go into my bank account one way or another

Apparently not, since I got a canned answer back from Navy Fed when I emailed them this:

Quote :

"Your Message 06/14/2010 : Will I be able to use an ATM to deposit euros into my account while in Belgium, and will I be charged for this? Navy Federal Response 06/16/2010 : Navy Federal manages our depository accounts in U.S. currency. Currently, we do not exchange foreign currency into U.S. dollars or vice versa. If you have any questions, please let us know. "

[Edited on June 16, 2010 at 4:18 PM. Reason : dammit]

[Edited on June 16, 2010 at 4:19 PM. Reason : lkj]

6/16/2010 4:15:24 PM

Hey what about USAA? Do you qualify for an account there? Then you could just mail a check (or checks) to them for deposit. I'm pretty sure they even refund foreign ATM transaction fees up to 15/month.

Quote :

"Can I still mail in foreign checks? Yes. You may mail foreign checks to USAA Check Distribution at the address below. USAA Check Distribution will begin processing the check within two business days of receipt. USAA Federal Savings Bank Attn: Check Distribution Unit 01456 10750 McDermott Freeway San Antonio, TX 78288 210-282-8668"

Or BofA, it seems there is some sort of alliance in place for international banking. What kind of exchange rate does Paypal use, would there be any way to manipulate that system over the next 10 weeks to get your money here?

[Edited on June 16, 2010 at 8:49 PM. Reason : .]

6/16/2010 8:44:11 PM

I'd have bmel check into the SECU, they are typically really good about perks for members because they are non-profit. Its a shame that you don't actually have an account with them, because they don't charge any transaction fees for ATM deposits no matter whose they are (you are still subject to that bank or ATM's rates and fees though, they range from free to $10 in the US)

Now that I've contributed something, I won't feel bad about making a joke in the lounge:

Quote :

"Buying bread from a man in Brussels He was six foot four and full of muscles I said, "Do you speak-a my language?" He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich"

6/16/2010 10:30:39 PM

Hopefully bmel will see this and check SECU online to see if I can bring cash in or something to have it changed out.

Quote :

"Hey what about USAA?"

My parents may have an account with them, I'll check and see. Seems like I'm going to have to get this cash converted into a foreign check first one way or another

6/17/2010 7:22:21 AM

Nvm...I see you're juSt figuring out logistics

[Edited on June 17, 2010 at 8:14 AM. Reason : ]

6/17/2010 7:47:51 AM