Posing to make a change of currency when we visit certain countries abroad is very common. Doubt is always there and the rules are not always the same. That if we use ATMs, changes at the airport, at a local or remote bank, exchange agencies or even with people who are on the street. Each of these forms has their pros and cons and today we will try to analyze each of them.

Currency exchange in our trips

The first question we ask ourselves when traveling is whether we take the already exchanged currency from home or we do it directly at the destination. The first is obvious. We live in a country where we trust in a certain way and speak a common language. Therefore, it is very easy to find out. In fact there are three very clear options, go to a bank, exchange office or process it online.

Change in a bank before traveling

First of all comment that the change of currency in a bank usually requires several days in advance. Most banks require a reservation so that in 24 hours or more they give you the currency. This operation has a commission and therefore does not have to come out better than the exchange offices. Also, if we later want to return part of the money changed, the current change will apply, be it better or worse. Of course, as a general rule, changing at a bank is more important than changing directly at the airport of departure. In fact, the more we change the better the operation will come out, obtaining an average gain of 5%.

In general, and especially at the airport, these transactions, despite indicating that there is no commission, this applies to the exchange rate instead of the final amount. The main advantage is that you get the currency on the spot and in some situations a role to be able to return the currency at the same price you bought it in case the value of it changed. Very useful for the dollar for example. If there is no hurry, it is better to change it in the bank or through online currency exchange dollar to yen .

This method is very novel. We are used to getting the currency exchange in a physical way and almost on the spot. With this method we simply indicate what amount we want to change and then it is delivered at home in 48h and free of charge if the amount is more than $ 500. Store collection is also available, but of course it will depend a lot on our location. But the best part is that the offered change is really good.

An option that we can account for depending on the bank to which we belong. If we are in the Euro zone, we will not pay anything since we use the same currency. If we are outside the Euro zone, the average is around 3% in each operation, so it's time to get accounts.

This is a double-edged sword. If we do it within the Euro zone we will have to pay the bank's commission, around 3.7% and 4.7% according to Kelisto. If we are outside of it, we will have to add about 3% for the currency exchange. Therefore, if we make calculations it is possible that in many occasions this does not come out profitable.

By the way, there are several banks that do not charge commission for withdrawing money abroad, only the currency exchange. Some are online and other physical entities depending on the type of card usually debit.

As we discussed earlier, the airport is not usually the best option. In the destination, the ideal is to go to the center and look at the commissions and the cost of the currency from agency to agency. The normal thing is to find things that neither come to us badly nor come to us well, but rather half. They are simply to fix a problem that we had to have solved in our country of origin. However, I must admit that in some circumstances the commission is not so high.