How to Get Your Hands on Foreign Currency

Currency exchange gets some travelers, especially new ones, very nervous. I suppose it's the fear of being abroad without money or access to it. Personally, it's never been a source of anxiety (it can't compete with bedbugs!). In fact, in the last two decades—with the rise of ATMs, the demise of traveler's checks, and the introduction of the euro—obtaining foreign currency has only gotten easier.

ATMS ARE EVERYWHERE. Only if you're heading somewhere exotic and/or rural should you worry about having the local currency upon arrival. Any major airport is going to have an ATM at this point; the smaller the airport, of course, the higher the risk that there will be few ATMS and that they may not work. Changing money at a kiosk, however, is generally a bad deal (and doing it at your hotel is worse).


YOUR BANK WILL COPE. It's a common refrain in the media that travelers should warn their banks if they'll be traveling abroad, lest the banks freeze their accounts when they try to use an ATM. I've never had any trouble along those lines—and I can only imagine how the conversation would go if I called my bank to let it know I was planning a vacation. Calling can't hurt, and it may help your peace of mind, but it's probably unnecessary.

CASH OR CREDIT? Both. Either way you have to pay a fee (unless you have certain credit cards; see below), so there's not much of a financial incentive to use one over the other. I rely on cash for incidentals and credit cards for hotels, meals, and substantial shopping.

DON'T GIVE AWAY MONEY. Banks charge a fee for each ATM withdrawal, and it's the same whether you take out €20 or €200, so minimize the number of ATM visits by getting a serious chunk of cash at a time. Naturally, there's a risk that you'll be robbed or lose your wallet; on the other hand, ATMs are common places for thieves to target tourists, so the less time you spend hanging around them, the better.

KEEP AN EYE ON CREDIT-CARD FEES. Most credit cards charge a percentage fee (around 3 percent) on foreign transactions, but credit cards are easy and they often offer purchase protection. People who travel abroad a lot should check out credit cards from Capitol One and HSBC (Premier World MasterCard), which don't charge a foreign transaction fee.

A NOTE ON PASSWORDS. Perhaps I'm the only person whose PIN is a word, but I'll never forget getting off the plane in Iceland, bleary-eyed from the five-hour overnight flight, and trying to figure out what my PIN would be in numbers because the ATM keypad had no letters (and was in a quirky shape to boot). I've since memorized the numbers....

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