I don’t know much of anything about the currency markets, just that I read that the dollar is “weak” these days.
My wife and I will be travelling to Korea next week and I’m not sure what the best process is for spending, exchanging, and just carrying money around. The way I see it, we can:
Take cash American and spend that in places that accept it.
Immediately upon arrival go someplace (bank?) and exchange the whole trip budget into the local currency.
Don’t take much money at all, and just pay with the ol’ credit card. (We have a MasterCard credit card, and a Visa-labelled card attached to our checking account).
Take traveller’s checks purchased in the U.S. (or buy Korean traveller’s checks upon arrival??)
Other?
Someone please educate me on the ins and outs of this. I don’t want to get overcharged for conversion fees. For what it’s worth, my wife is Korean. She knows nothing about currency exchanges either, but at least we won’t have to negotiate a language or cultural barrier.
Are there exchange opportuntities that locals can use that are better than what they offer the tourists?
Stay away from Traveller’s checks. They made sense in the days when cash was your only other option but nowadays they are just stupid. Usually you pay a fee to get them, then a fee to exchange them AND you get the “retail” exchange rate on them.
Paying with credit cards is a smart choice, you will receive the “wholsesale” or “bank to bank” rate on all your transactions. Beware that some credit cards do institute a foreign exchange fee. Call your card company an inquire.
CCs are nice when you can use them but of course some transactions require cash. In this case I would use (Korean) ATMs to withdraw cash from local banks. As long ago as 1997 I was able to use ATMs in some fairly sketchy untravelled parts of Eastern Europe, so I would presume that the international banking networks (PLUS, Cirrus, etc.) have penetrated to places like Korea by now. Once again you receive the “wholesale” exchange rate, and withdraw only as much as you need at any given time.
I would not, not, not, repeat not do #2 from your OP. That’s just foolhardy.
Just to give you an idea, in Seoul alone there are the following ATMs that accept PLUS-network ATM cards:
11 Citibank
18 Kiupbank
201 Kookman Bank
18 Korum Bank
14 Seoul Bank
37 Shinhan Bank
(info courtesy of Visa International ATM locator)
That’s 299 ATMs that will accept your bank’s ATM card. You should be fine finding one of them
I think HelloAgain has it right: use credit cards for most purchases, and withdraw cash as needed from ATMs. You may need to be a little careful about ATM fees - they can be relatively high (as a percentage) on small transactions.
I haven’t been to Korea, but I suspect it’s like most countries with regard to option #1: few places will take foreign currency, and those few not at a dependably fair exchange rate.
I’m unsure about Korea, but Japan is a country where ATMs surprisingly are hard to find and even harder to find ones that let you draw money out on an American account.
Yet I was able to do so all over Europe well before the establishment of the Euro.
I can ask my boss tomorrow what she recommends as she travels to Korea extensively.
I went to Europe in 2000 and was able to use my Canadian debit card (not credit card) in PLUS-system ATMs all over without problem. And the Royal Bank of Scotland machines didn’t even charge me extra! I had some US dollars as an emergency backup, but didn’t use them till the end of the trip. I fell into a routine: get off train in new country, find ATM, withdraw local cash, go looking for food/accomodation… sightsee and repeat.
One recommendation: Before you leave the US (preferably before you even go to the airport: The airport moneychangers charge more), convert about $50-100 into the currency (cash) of your destination, including some coins. That way, when you get off the plane, you can grab a meal or other miscellaneous purchases without having to hunt for someplace that’ll accept your ATM card immediately. There are a lot of small transactions for which it’s inconvenient or impossible to use a credit card.
Thanks for the responses. It’s looking like the credit card route is the way to go. I will call my MasterCard provider (USAA) and my bank (Visa card) to compare fees and see what else they might have to say.
