currency question

[sorrymama]

We will be spending 8-10 hrs in Denmark, Norway, Scotland and Ireland. Not enough time to bother to exchange a lot of USD..We will need enough to tip tour guides and buy a beer, or two. Does anyone have experience with this. Do they take USD? Thanks 

[CruiserBruce]

No, they don't take USD. But credit cards are used extensively.

[LHT28]

you could  get some local currency  at an ATM  but usually people use CC even for small things

Tip in local currency not in USD

 

[GastroGnome]

You can't tip on a CC.  You can certainly buy a beer or two - but in all probability it would be contactless (just touch the card to the plate) and so the exact amount only.  Less of course up to 4.5% which is what non European CC companies can charge retailers.  (Also why many do not take Amex).

 

You can tip by hand in USD - but it isn't very nice.  Its hard to change small bills (and impossible to change coins).  You put the individual to the hassle of having to try to find somewhere to change the bills and the loss on the transaction.  Unless you plan on tipping a fairly serious amount of USD it is actually somewhat insulting.

 

Why not get small amounts in appropriate currencies?  If you do the exchange before you travel you usually get better rates than sticking your card in an ATM at port.  You will need GBP, Euros and Kroner which - I accept - is less than ideal.  But that is what traveling the world is all about - we don't all use the same currency!

[gnome12]

50 minutes ago, GastroGnome said:

Why not get small amounts in appropriate currencies?  If you do the exchange before you travel you usually get better rates than sticking your card in an ATM at port.  You will need GBP, Euros and Kroner which - I accept - is less than ideal.  But that is what traveling the world is all about - we don't all use the same currency!

Note that Norwegian Kroner and Danish Kroner are 2 different currencies.

 

I'm not sure that I agree with your statement that you will get a better rate before you travel; currency exchange varies drastically from one outlet to another. I'm lucky enough to live in a big city with lots of choices and a few places that I can get a reasonable exchange rate. For many people, this must be done through their bank, and the rates are likely to be awful.

 

Rates (not the final conversion) are probably better from an ATM; the question is what your bank does with that. Mine currently tacks on a 3.5% foreign currency fee - higher than the 2.5% that they charge on their credit cards which I don't use for travel since I have one that doesn't charge a foreign currency fee - plus a fee of $5 per withdrawal, which is waived with my banking package. The $5 makes it expensive to get small amounts of currency; the 3.5% fee hits you whatever amount you withdraw.

 

Ultimately, I will need 3 currencies for my trip; 5 days in Denmark; cruising in Norway, and then 5 days in London. I will definitely get some Danish Kroner and some GBP before I go, and maybe throw in a few Norwegian Kroner too.

[cft8]

We got our foreign currency before we traveled from our AAA office. I’m not sure if we got the best rate, but it saved us the hassle of finding an ATM, particularly when we were in port for a short time.


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[GrJ Berks]

Not sure with currency question, it turns to tipping. There is no need for the currency in these countries as tipping is not usual. In the UK tipping is now minimal, just rounding up, in both Denmark and Norway tipping is not usual, prices are high here, good wages- no need to top up below par levels. Also both Denmark and Norway are increasingly cashless economies with card payment normal, which again takes out cash tipping.

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Note that Norwegian Kroner and Danish Kroner are 2 different currencies.

 

I'm not sure that I agree with your statement that you will get a better rate before you travel; currency exchange varies drastically from one outlet to another. I'm lucky enough to live in a big city with lots of choices and a few places that I can get a reasonable exchange rate. For many people, this must be done through their bank, and the rates are likely to be awful.

 

Rates (not the final conversion) are probably better from an ATM; the question is what your bank does with that. Mine currently tacks on a 3.5% foreign currency fee - higher than the 2.5% that they charge on their credit cards which I don't use for travel since I have one that doesn't charge a foreign currency fee - plus a fee of $5 per withdrawal, which is waived with my banking package. The $5 makes it expensive to get small amounts of currency; the 3.5% fee hits you whatever amount you withdraw.

 

Ultimately, I will need 3 currencies for my trip; 5 days in Denmark; cruising in Norway, and then 5 days in London. I will definitely get some Danish Kroner and some GBP before I go, and maybe throw in a few Norwegian Kroner too.

 

 

I think the "other" gnome is a Brit - we Brits get decent exchange rates from a variety of outlets including large grocery stores, but I'm aware that Americans get poor rates in their own country - and I'm guessing from your post that it's the same in Canada.

 

OTOH yes, you make the point that ATMs have a minimum service charge (or a minimum withdrawal), which for small sums makes them poor value too.

 

So for small amounts of cash, ship's purser just might be a better bet despite their abysmal exchange rates - esp if, as some do, they change-back unspent bills at the same rate..

 

But, as LHT's & Bruce's posts, plastic is widely used in all those places even for just a couple of beers.

 

Tips

I used to drive coaches, including cruise transfers, and often received tips in USD. No worries, I'd build a decent stack before exchanging them, or trade them with friends who were heading to the States, the Caribbean etc.. A couple of years I used them myself for spending-money in the States.

If the guides are used to dealing with foreign visitors I'm sure they do the same.

And a tip in Europe isn't in place of a decent salary, it's totally optional. So it's the guest's option to use whichever currency they wish.

When I cruise, any tips over and above the daily charge are often in my left-over currencies - but paper bills only, not coins..

Tipping in Europe just isn't the big deal that it is in North America.

 

JB 

Edited March 29, 2019 by John Bull

[LHT28]

I bought some GBP  today at the local currency exchange 

YIKES  $1.70 for  1 GBP

glad  I booked and paid the hotel a few months  ago  😉

 

[gnome12]

46 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I bought some GBP  today at the local currency exchange 

YIKES  $1.70 for  1 GBP

glad  I booked and paid the hotel a few months  ago  😉

 

I'm surprised at how low that rate is. XE Currency is showing over 1.75 Canadian for 1 GBP, and you are a fellow Canadian. Where did you get such a good rate? I'll have to check them out when it is time for me to buy my foreign currency.

[Bob++]

When you are buying small amounts, there's no point in worrying about the rate. What can hurt is the fees some organisations, like credit/debit cards add on for each transaction.

 

What we do in Europe is to use a credit card for every transaction. If they don't take cards, we go elsewhere, but that's rare these days.  On our recent Baltic cruise, I bought some US Dollars in advance to pay for the St Petersburg tour (we got a discount for that). We had a few Euros which we used in Talin, but that was it. I had some Dollars left at the end, so I used them to pay off our cruise account - much better than changing them back into GBP.

[gnome12]

I will be doing multiple walking tours in both Copenhagen and London. In Copenhagen I have already asked and he wants cash. I assume that London Walks is also cash only. I'm quite happy to use my credit card for everything I can, but there are always small items where cash works better. (I wish that my credit card that doesn't charge foreign exchange fees was contactless, but it isn't, and there are very few cards that don't so switching isn't currently a possibility.)

[John Bull]

6 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I wish that my credit card that doesn't charge foreign exchange fees was contactless, but it isn't, and there are very few cards that don't so switching isn't currently a possibility.

 

Huh? 

Perhaps I've mis-read your post, but .........

 

No need to have a contact-less card in Europe. 

 

We have one card that is contact-less and I dislike that intensely for the same sort of reasons that I dislike "keyless" cars.

But  cards without the contact-less feature can still be used the old-fashioned way by swiping them thro' contact-less POS readers.

So, being old-fashioned, for all purchases I ignore the contact-less option, swipe that card, and keep my copy of the till-roll.

And in any case it can be used contact-less only for quite small purchases - for any transactions over about £30 it has to be swiped and the PIN entered (PIN not necessary for Americans etc whose cards don't have a PIN).

And our other cards aren't contact-less, but I've never had a problem swiping them in any card-reader.

 

So I don't understand why you can't use your "no foreign-exchange fee" card in Europe.

 

BTW, when I saw the exchange rate given to LHT I too went on XE, intending to demonstrate the poor exchange-rate from banks etc in North America. But like you I found that rate to be almost identical to XE's wholesale rate!!!

 

JB 

 

 

[gnome12]

11 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Huh? 

Perhaps I've mis-read your post, but .........

 

No need to have a contact-less card in Europe. 

 

We have one card that is contact-less and I dislike that intensely for the same sort of reasons that I dislike "keyless" cars.

But  cards without the contact-less feature can still be used the old-fashioned way by swiping them thro' contact-less POS readers.

So, being old-fashioned, for all purchases I ignore the contact-less option, swipe that card, and keep my copy of the till-roll.

And in any case it can be used contact-less only for quite small purchases - for any transactions over about £30 it has to be swiped and the PIN entered (PIN not necessary for Americans etc whose cards don't have a PIN).

And our other cards aren't contact-less, but I've never had a problem swiping them in any card-reader.

 

So I don't understand why you can't use your "no foreign-exchange fee" card in Europe.

 

BTW, when I saw the exchange rate given to LHT I too went on XE, intending to demonstrate the poor exchange-rate from banks etc in North America. But like you I found that rate to be almost identical to XE's wholesale rate!!!

 

JB 

 

 

Sorry, I obviously wasn't clear. I can use the card. It is just that when you are using it for quite small purchases it is much faster to tap and pay (which I do here with my other cards for amounts up to $100 Canadian). It is only the simplicity that I miss;  if I have to enter my PIN it isn't a big deal. (If it were contactless I believe I could also use it instead of getting an oyster card; but I actually prefer not to be clicking my card in busy places like that anyway.)

 

The rate I am seeing on XE now is 1 GBP costs $1.75087. If XE got his GBP for $1.70 they were really cheap. The rate has been fluctuating between 1.75 and 1.78 for the last little while.

[LHT28]

GNOME12

 UPDATE 

The rate  was not $1.70  as I thought  it is actually  $1.8145  which was worse
The  TD bank  was $1.8117

Scotia  was $1.8119

The XE  may be $1.75   so if you can buy it at that rate  buy it now

I am not buying massive  amounts so have to pay the going bank rate

 

What  I am annoyed at is the place advertised $1.70  it was not until later I noticed on my receipt the rate  was higher

I guess  the moral of my rant  is to ASK  what the actual rate you will be charged  will be  & not believe the signage posted in exchange place

Lesson learned

 

My  debit card does not charge a fee if I use one of the Global partners & if  I do not  they charge $2 per transaction

some ATM's  do charge  their own fee  so If there is more than one bank  in the area I just use the one with the lower fee

 

I agree having the Tap feature  with Home Trust  would be  more convenient it is not an issue though ..at least they do not charge the FTF 😉

 

 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, LHT28 said:

GNOME12

 UPDATE 

The rate  was not $1.70  as I thought  it is actually  $1.8145  which was worse
The  TD bank  was $1.8117

Scotia  was $1.8119

The XE  may be $1.75   so if you can buy it at that rate  buy it now

I am not buying massive  amounts so have to pay the going bank rate

 

What  I am annoyed at is the place advertised $1.70  it was not until later I noticed on my receipt the rate  was higher

I guess  the moral of my rant  is to ASK  what the actual rate you will be charged  will be  & not believe the signage posted in exchange place

Lesson learned

 

My  debit card does not charge a fee if I use one of the Global partners & if  I do not  they charge $2 per transaction

some ATM's  do charge  their own fee  so If there is more than one bank  in the area I just use the one with the lower fee

 

I agree having the Tap feature  with Home Trust  would be  more convenient it is not an issue though ..at least they do not charge the FTF 😉

 

 

The rate you saw advertised was for people selling GBP. They get only 1.70 while you pay 1.81 to buy. The spread is a bit wide but not that huge. I don't expect to get the XE rate; I know I will pay somewhat more at retail, but it gives me an idea.

 

The banks generally don't have great rates, but if you don't have a good and convenient currency exchange specialist nearby (not all of them have good rates) you have to do whatever works best. In the greater scheme of things it probably isn't a lot of money.

Edited March 29, 2019 by gnome12

[LHT28]

so where do you get the good rates?

 

[gnome12]

45 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

so where do you get the good rates?

 

I've been pretty happy with Calforex on Queen W west of Beverley. I think their spread (the difference between buy and sell rates) on popular currencies is fairly small. Obviously, the spread is higher on less popular ones. The only currency I wasn't able to get there was Croation many years ago. Give them a call, they'll give you rates over the phone although not guaranteed until you purchase. They charge only one fee for multiple currencies (or did the last time I was there). I think they will also ship currency, but I've never done it.

[LHT28]

Just now, gnome12 said:

I've been pretty happy with Calforex on Queen W west of Beverley. I think their spread (the difference between buy and sell rates) on popular currencies is fairly small.

thanks

will check them out next time   or might just use my CC  & debit if need  be

 

 

[markeb]

14 hours ago, gnome12 said:

I wish that my credit card that doesn't charge foreign exchange fees was contactless, but it isn't, and there are very few cards that don't so switching isn't currently a possibility.

 

Just out of curiosity, can you do Apple Pay or Google Pay with your card?

 

I admit that we pay for data roaming in Europe, but with Apple Pay, my US based credit card suddenly becomes contactless (GBP 30 limit in the UK), and I'm not forced to sign a slip just to demonstrate that US banks think we're all too stupid to remember a much more secure PIN, and identify myself as an American.

[LHT28]

Just now, markeb said:

 

Just out of curiosity, can you do Apple Pay or Google Pay with your card?

 

 

I have the same card  not sure  we can use Google/Apple pay  with it

I am cell phone challenged  so I will just use the PIN 🙂

 

 

We are Canadian so we can choose a PIN we can remember  😉

 

[markeb]

26 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

I have the same card  & do not think  we can use Google/Apple pay  with it

we are Canadian so we can choose a PIN we can remember  😉

 

 

And you gave the world one of the most disgusting and delicious comfort foods...

 

Meanwhile, pretty much every bank in the US thinks we can't remember a PIN and an unintelligible scribble is secure...

[Turtles06]

12 hours ago, markeb said:

 

Meanwhile, pretty much every bank in the US thinks we can't remember a PIN and an unintelligible scribble is secure...

 

I'm with you.  It makes me crazy how hard it is to get a genuine chip and PIN card here in the U.S.   As for those scribbles --- so many purchases don't even require those any longer.  

[gnome12]

On 3/29/2019 at 2:38 PM, LHT28 said:

thanks

will check them out next time   or might just use my CC  & debit if need  be

 

 

@LHT28

Just a note that Calforex is closing the Queen W. location and moving into the Eaton Centre. The new location opens April 8. I haven't decided how I feel about it, but the hours will be considerably longer.

[dogs4fun]

On 3/28/2019 at 4:42 PM, gnome12 said:

Rates (not the final conversion) are probably better from an ATM; the question is what your bank does with that. Mine currently tacks on a 3.5% foreign currency fee - higher than the 2.5% that they charge on their credit cards which I don't use for travel since I have one that doesn't charge a foreign currency fee - plus a fee of $5 per withdrawal, which is waived with my banking package. The $5 makes it expensive to get small amounts of currency; the 3.5% fee hits you whatever amount you withdraw.

Agree - I never convert in the states. I use an ATM in the city I am visiting - much better rate.