Exchanging money and fees

[AKJonesy]

The last time I had to exchange money was years ago.  On my upcoming cruise to Japan, I'm staying only a little more than 24 hours so was just thinking of not exchanging or withdrawing (ATM) any money.  I know I could just catch the HAL shuttle from HND to Yokohama, but I'm re-thinking this because we will have 2 port stops in Japan and those mom and pops probably don't take CCs. 

 

First, my question is not HOW to exchange or withdraw money and which machines accept which cards, etc.  Since I'm giving my CC notice that I'll be out of the country and don't want any hassle when I use the card, I also asked about ATM withdraws and that seems to have changed significantly.  I looked into having our bank order some money for us and that seems to be a better way to go.

 

Can any of you who have done either comment on your fees and which might be the better way?  Not asking people to comment who haven't looked back at their fees or know what they were.  Recent experiences would be more beneficial.  Thanks for the info. 

Edited March 21 by AKJonesy

[wcook]

Yes, you want cash yen for Japan. If your bank will arrange it, I would choose that option. It may cost you a couple bucks more, but it’s more than worth it in my opinion. Plus, if your bank is like mine, you’ll get a better mix of large and small bills than you would get from an ATM. 
 

But if you do go the ATM route, it’s easy enough. Warn your bank you’ll be making withdrawals in Japan - there are ATMs everywhere with English as an option. One warning - you will probably be asked if you want your bank to be billed in yen, or USD. Pick yen! Same with credit card transactions. Always have them ring you up in local currency and let your bank do the exchange. 

Edited March 21 by wcook

[Philob]

Look at your ATM/Debit card, if it has any MasterCard/Visa/Cirrus/Plus, whatever logos, then you can technically use an ATM that displays the logo. Be mindful of the fees that may be charged.

 

 

[Toofarfromthesea]

What we did was get a travel debit card to use for ATM withdrawals.  It was safer than using a regular debit card or a credit card because we pre-loaded it with a set amount so it couldn't be used to fraudulently access our credit line or checking account.  We could transfer more money in, if necessary, but the travel card could not initiate the transaction.  Plus there were no foreign currency fees and gave a good exchange rate.

 

Then follow the advice to select the local currency at the ATM so your bank does the exchange, which will be a better rate than the ATM.

[Flatbush Flyer]

8 hours ago, Philob said:

Look at your ATM/Debit card, if it has any MasterCard/Visa/Cirrus/Plus, whatever logos, then you can technically use an ATM that displays the logo. Be mindful of the fees that may be charged.

 

 

Not necessarily. Recently, in Thailand, among all ATM machines we tried to use (that had our card’s logo), a couple of them rejected the cards (two different cards) while most ATMs were OK.

 

And, for others (with little experience abroad) reading this thread, never use your credit card in an ATM machine since a cash withdrawal will immediately start the accumulation of interest on your entire CC balance. Also, be aware that some machines are bank ATMs while others are Exchange Bureau machines with significant transaction fees (e.g., Travelex).

And I agree with others here who have said always indicate that you want your credit card charges made in local currency so that your regular home bank exchange rate and fees will be used (almost always a better deal than their banks).

[K32682]

As you are not certain you will need cash I would suggest waiting until you are there and decide. ATMs are very common in Japan and consider any transactions fees as the cost of convenience. In the greater scheme of things the difference between a good deal and a bad deal on currency exchange is not that significant or worth jumping through hoops over.   

[AKJonesy]

Thanks to everyone that posted.  I looked into all the suggestions and sadly found that CCs now have a new...well, new since using my card in ATM overseas, that has a hefty charging scheme as @Flatbush Flyermentioned and I confirmed.  HND airport does have the machines to use US based cards like Seven Bank (7-11).  But, in the end, we are getting a good exchange and have ordered some yen from our bank.  I know what the fee is going to be versus wondering in the end, what the fees will be over there.  Plus, we are getting mixed currency which will be nice.  We decided to get more than enough and can always use the excess when paying off the hotel bill.  This is going to be the first time in probably a decade or more having to use local currency even though we traveled outside many many times.  Japan has a lot of mom and pops and getting by without yen would've been fairly easy, but then I would not have all of the options available to me in terms of getting around, etc.  I see that chip cards like SUICA and PASMO are hard to get your hands on due to chip shortages.  So, just another reason to have the Yen in the end.  Thanks to all.  

[clo]

6 hours ago, K32682 said:

As you are not certain you will need cash I would suggest waiting until you are there and decide. ATMs are very common in Japan and consider any transactions fees as the cost of convenience. In the greater scheme of things the difference between a good deal and a bad deal on currency exchange is not that significant or worth jumping through hoops over.   

All over the world really, we wait until we arrive and get a really small amount in the airport if, say, we need to take a taxi from the airport. Then we go to bank ATMs and use our debit card that has no foreign transaction fees and rebates us any ATM fees.

[trtog7]

When did a cruise in Japan. we only used a credit card to pay. Did not exchange money. Had tickets to a Suma Wrestle event but bought them on line at home. Stopped in South Korea and was able to use a credit card to buy lunch at a train station.

Have a wonderful time

[CPT Trips]

4 hours ago, clo said:

All over the world really, we wait until we arrive and get a really small amount in the airport if, say, we need to take a taxi from the airport. Then we go to bank ATMs and use our debit card that has no foreign transaction fees and rebates us any ATM fees.

This . . .

 

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, clo said:

All over the world really, we wait until we arrive and get a really small amount in the airport if, say, we need to take a taxi from the airport. Then we go to bank ATMs and use our debit card that has no foreign transaction fees and rebates us any ATM fees.

 

We do the same with one difference.  We get the taxi money, or whatever you call it, at our local bank.  Any local currency beyond that is from bank ATMs like you say.  If Europe is the destination, we seem to have accumulated enough Euros to no longer have to worry about the taxi money.   We just got back from a two week road trip in Germany.  We used very little cash.  

[clo]

11 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

We do the same with one difference.  We get the taxi money, or whatever you call it, at our local bank.  Any local currency beyond that is from bank ATMs like you say.  If Europe is the destination, we seem to have accumulated enough Euros to no longer have to worry about the taxi money.   We just got back from a two week road trip in Germany.  We used very little cash.  

I'll have to check and see if we have any euros left. We have a 'document case' that holds passports, money, etc.

 

[Hlitner]

I am a little confused by the OP's post, so will simply answer with our own experience.  We are out of the USA as much as 7 months a year (on various trips all over the world) and have not "exchanged" currency for more then 20 years!  We completely rely on ATM machines, whether we are trekking around Europe, traveling in Japan, in South America, etc.  As a rule, we find we get the best exchange rates via ATMs, do not have to deal with money exchange places that have limited hours, or various exchange rules (such as found in Mexico).  I should add that many banks. around the world, will no longer exchange cash for non-customers.  

 

Because we rely on ATMs (sometimes for many months of travel) we travel with 3 different ATM cards, each drawn on a different account in a different bank.  Not only does this allow us to easily get a lot of cash in a single day, but it is security in case an ATM card gets "eaten" by an ATM machine or gets lost/stolen.  

 

Hank

[ldubs]

On 3/21/2024 at 9:40 AM, AKJonesy said:

 

Can any of you who have done either comment on your fees and which might be the better way?  Not asking people to comment who haven't looked back at their fees or know what they were.  Recent experiences would be more beneficial.  Thanks for the info. 

 

Have done, but dog gone it, can't recall what if anything the bank charged us.  The amount we get from our bank prior to a trip is typically only a couple hundred dollars worth, so whatever fee, if any, might apply was/is not significant.  

[Kellyann]

Do cruise ships offer the ability to exchange dollars for euros or pound sterling?  Traveling on a Princess ship.

 

[AKJonesy]

No need to further comment unless for benefit of others.  I don't use debit cards and amazingly have gotten by all of these decades!  My nephew also recently traveled to Japan and had some leftover Yen so I took that off his hands for a great exchange rate that he offered. 

[SbbquilterUT]

I did not want to use our bank debit card for ATM so opened a Charles Schwab account as a buffer for travel - card refunds foreign transaction fees so it worked great in European travel.  We did not have trouble in finding a bank ATM for transactions.  

[ldubs]

On 3/30/2024 at 7:54 AM, SbbquilterUT said:

I did not want to use our bank debit card for ATM so opened a Charles Schwab account as a buffer for travel - card refunds foreign transaction fees so it worked great in European travel.  We did not have trouble in finding a bank ATM for transactions.  

 

We did something similar by opening a second checking account with our bank that we use for travel.  It is not linked to our other accounts.  We keep relatively small balances in that account to reduce risk if the debit card is ever hacked.  It is easy to transfer additional money as needed from our regular accounts.  We learned to do that from folks here on Cruise Critic.  It has worked well for us. 

[Toofarfromthesea]

On 3/31/2024 at 3:28 PM, ldubs said:

 

We did something similar by opening a second checking account with our bank that we use for travel.  It is not linked to our other accounts.  We keep relatively small balances in that account to reduce risk if the debit card is ever hacked.  It is easy to transfer additional money as needed from our regular accounts.  We learned to do that from folks here on Cruise Critic.  It has worked well for us. 

 

I do something similar but at my bank, Wells Fargo, I didn't need to have a second checking account.  They gave me what, in effect, was a pre-loaded debit/ATM card.  It was restricted to the amount of the pre-load, but I could initiate a reloading if necessary from my checking account, but the debit/ATM account could not initiate any reload, so it was secure.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

On 3/23/2024 at 8:44 PM, Hlitner said:

I am a little confused by the OP's post, so will simply answer with our own experience.  We are out of the USA as much as 7 months a year (on various trips all over the world) and have not "exchanged" currency for more then 20 years!  We completely rely on ATM machines, whether we are trekking around Europe, traveling in Japan, in South America, etc.  As a rule, we find we get the best exchange rates via ATMs, do not have to deal with money exchange places that have limited hours, or various exchange rules (such as found in Mexico).  I should add that many banks. around the world, will no longer exchange cash for non-customers.  

 

Because we rely on ATMs (sometimes for many months of travel) we travel with 3 different ATM cards, each drawn on a different account in a different bank.  Not only does this allow us to easily get a lot of cash in a single day, but it is security in case an ATM card gets "eaten" by an ATM machine or gets lost/stolen.  

 

Hank

Yes- multiple cards for different accounts at different banks.

 

Also, my DH and I carried different cards in our wallets, so if one of us "lost" our wallet, the other person still had good credit cards that were not compromised.  [We also cross pack our suitcases so that all suitcases have a combination of his and her clothes.  Ensures that each of us will have clothes if a suitcase is lost en route.]

Edited April 2 by CruisingAlong4Now