Hi OB's
I have around 3k cash USD that I need to change into USD, everything seems to attract fees.
As it's a substantial amount, I'm wondering the best way to go about it?
I have bank accounts with CBA and ANZ.
I have travel cards (that I've never used) with Velocity and Qantas.
I am picking someone up from the airport soon (but I assume that'll mean even more fees)
Any advice would be very much appreciated, I'd love to not lose too much money :-)
Money Changer? Avoid the ones in the airport.
Swap with friends or families who need USD.
Or banks.
or ozbargainers
hey mate, any chance you would be visiting sydney or can get the money to sydney?
indeed! i was hoping he was in Sydney too :(
Sorry guys, not heading to Sydney any time soon unfortunately.
perth?
@Davo1111: Unfortunately not, no plans to leave Melbourne in the next couple of months. Although it's probably cheaper to buy a flight and exchange with a person rather than go into a bank and do it :')
For Melbourne, you will get the best rate at one of the currency exchange places near Flinders Street Station (look at all of them, they are all close to eachother).
best bet is to ask around friends etc if they want cash
then you can both save! I'm sure you will find someone who is going to usa in the next 6 months!
I think 2.5% less than the spot price is what you'd expect to pay. There's a group that we use, but they are not in VIC. You may want to try smaller companies like the ones that have kiosks in malls.
Some people do it via Gumtree, but at the cost of losing their life…
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/man-charged-with-…
Oh, you just beat me to it.
I might ask around, I was almost tempted to post online (I work at a Uni, would be students probably willing) but remembered that some Korean student got murdered in Bris after meeting up to exchange dollars =\
do it at a bank, in front of cameras, tell them to smile at the camera
then bank money!
remembered that some Korean student got murdered in Bris after meeting up to exchange dollars =\
link?
or tl;dr version
Dont you love our banks, they sell you currency at a huge spread compared to the spot rate then also charge you a big admin fee as though they are doing you a favour.
The money that I have is in cash?
If you asked me a week ago I'd say maybe hang on to it for a bit longer given it's been appreciating in value against the AUD pretty significantly.
Still got it? I'm going to the US in January- maybe we can trade at market rate? In Melbourne right?
I ended up calling Travelex and OzMoney, haggling them both down to their cheapest price, then advertising it at work for a little more, ended up losing maybe $50 AUD. There was so much interest I think I could have even sold it and broke even/made a slight profit (I work at a University).
This is like saying: I want to buy a house but want to avoid paying bank fees, how do I do that
Regardless if it's the Bank or a Currency Converter, there are fees as currency conversion is a type of business
The current rate is 1USD = 1.404 AUD
You will never get that rate of exchange for your 3,000 USD even if you worked at the RBA.
Shop around at the currency converters and see how you go.