Is it best to get foreign currency before you travel?

Buy currency before you travel. Doing so gives you time to shop around for the best rate. Plus, when you arrive, you won't have to immediately find a bank or currency exchange. Do some research ahead of time to see if US dollars are widely accepted at places you plan to go to.



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Banks and credit unions are generally the best places to exchange currency, with reasonable exchange rates and the lowest fees. Here's how financial institutions — and a few other places — can help travelers exchange currency.

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Resist the urge to buy foreign currency before your trip. Some tourists feel like they just have to have euros or British pounds in their pockets when they step off the airplane, but they pay the price in bad stateside exchange rates. Wait until you arrive to withdraw money.

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A good rule of thumb, though, is that, on average, you should plan to carry between $50 and $100 per day in the currency of the country in which you're travelling.

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So if you're on holiday or traveling for work, our advice is to decline the option of paying in your home currency and instead opt for the more reasonable conversion fees charged by your bank. Your travel experience could end up much cheaper if you do.

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The general consensus is that you should have $50 to $100 in cash per day for each traveler.

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3 tips to avoid foreign transaction fees
  1. Get a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card. Though most credit cards do charge foreign transaction fees, there are a number that don't. ...
  2. Use a debit/checking account with no foreign transaction fees. ...
  3. Pay in the local currency.


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It all depends on where you're going and what you plan to do during your trip. As you can see from our travel costs table above, some European cities are cheaper or more expensive than others. As a general rule, though, it's a good idea to budget at least $100 a day for your vacation.

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Identification will be required. Foreign Currency orders will be held at the financial center for 5 business days before being returned to Global Foreign Exchange. (Please note that the exchange rate applied to the returned foreign currency may be different from the original transaction.)

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