Is it worth the hassle to get Euros? The math...

[sleepbestonships]

I have been trying to figure out if it is worth the hassle to get Euros to avoid the 10% extra fee for exchanging USD to CUC.

 

Here is my math:

 

I can get an exchange to Euros for no fee, but of course the bank gives a less favorable rate than the "official" rate. The bank exchange rate today is $1.2014 to 1 Euro

 

If I exchange $500, I would get 416 Euro

 

According to exchange rates listed today, 1 Euro buys 1.14 CUC, plus there is a 3% exchange rate: 416 Euro x 1.14 = 474 CUC less the 3% fee = 460 CUC

 

If I exchange $500 usd I get .87 CUC per dollar (this is what I have read here- 10% penalty plus 3% exchange fee): 500 x .87 = 435 CUC

 

So, I get 25 more CUC on $500 by exchanging to Euro before I leave for Cuba. Our time is all worth different amounts- so each person can decide if this is "worth it" to them.

Of course, different days and different banks will also differ in their USD to Euro exchange rate.

[Magnetchief]

Not really when just exchanging funds for a day or so.

[FredZiffle]

You're exactly right in your calculations. The general rule of thumb is that you will save a few dollars by converting your US$ to Euros or CAN $ only if you can do so without paying a transaction fee. Otherwise, it can actually be a slight disadvantage for you to do so, depending on the day's exchange rate.

[RaiderDuck]

Remember also that the vast majority of merchants will accept US dollars. When we visited Cuba in 2017, everyone took dollars.

 

If you're just going to be in Havana for a few hours, I'm not sure I'd even exchange anything.

[Firstin87]

Thank you, sleepbestonships, for this post. We were just wondering the same thing and I was about to do the math myself, so I appreciate you doing it for me.

[sleepbestonships]

Glad to share!