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Where to Get the Best Deals?

The frequency of this question is not surprising given the banking and tourist's trades history at giving travellers very poor rates of exchange. These days, with a little planning and thought it is possible to avoid the worst rates of exchange.

Typically, the airport should be the place of last resort, yet invariably it is the most frequently used by many travellers. Exchange booths at the airport, however, despite the fact that there are often a few competing booths, give very poor rates of exchange. The primary reasons for this are the fact that they know you are stuck (its your last chance - at the airport they call it a 'distress purchase') and secondly beause they have to pay a lot of money and commission to the airport authority in return for the priviledge of having a booth at the airport.

Banks

Exchange rates at Banks in Spain and banks in the UK vary dramatically between each other within the same country and between the two different countries due to the differences in the relative efficiencies and demand. Banks within tourist regions, such as the Costa Blanca, know they have a captive audience of regular and impatient tourists. Banks in the UK, however, compete against each other for your business before you leave the country. So it is usually better to buy your Euros in advance. Bear in mind, however, that many banks 'outsource' their foreign exchange booths to companies such as Thomas Cook or American Express. Our experience is that this tends to limit the competition to a degree. Overall, however, our experience is that by shopping around between different banks, you can make the effort very much worthwhile.

Travel Agents

The competitive advantage enjoyed by travel agents is that they 'have first bite of the cherry'. That means that having just booked your holiday, they are the first to talk to you about your currency exchange requirements. However, they also have the competitive disadvantage that the volumes of currency they purchase from the banking community is sometimes a lot smaller than the banks themselves. This can result in you having to pay for both the bank's commission and the enlarged travel agent's commission.

Hotels

Absolutely the worst place to change currency, try to avoid this if at all possible!

Specialists in Currency Exchange

As distance selling and the internet has coninued to grow, specialists such as Currencies Direct and Travelex have become increasingly popular services. These are particularly popular with those who live out in Javea and have bank accounts in Euros, as these companies will transfer the exchange automatically between accounts for often much less than your own bank.

Minimize the Number of Transactions

One of the most frequent mistakes made by travellers is when they change lots of small amounts at different times. This really drives up the cost as the exchange dealers make a minimum amount on each transaction. So, if at all possible, buy your Euros in advance and in a lump sum.

Javea is a wonderful place and this Internet site is packed full of information aimed at helping you discover why we believe that to be the case. So if you are thinking over your next holiday destination orconsidering buying a property in Spain, we hope you will enjoy browsing our web site with a view to being tempted to consider the lovely town of Javea.

A Little Understanding is Useful

The financial community is watched very closely by governmental financial service organization in both the UK and Spain. This is because of the extensive amount of 'money laundering' that now takes place across Europe. This adds to the beuaracracy and paperwork when undertaking currency exchange transactions. So don't be surprised if you are asked to show your passport, fill out a couple of forms, or pay higher commissions at certain locations. But you can save yourself moeny by shopping around in advance.

Travellers Cheques, Debit Cards and Credit Cards

In years gone by, travellers cheques were given preference when it came to exchange rate transactions, but the popularity of travellers cheques has waned across Europe as more and more travellers are preferring to use their credit cards to make purchases, or to extract money in Euros from bank teller machines as they travel. The exchange rates offered by credit card compaies can be very enticing. This is good to bear in mind if you don't owe money on credit cards and clear the balance each month. However, it can get very expensive if you are having to pay interest on the extra transactions you undertake whilst travelling abroad. The attractive rates offered by banks on debit cards, where you can use machines across Europe are primarily due to the fact that they savour on the labour costs, so we find this a good method if we want to take out small amounts. Taking cash out on credit cards though can be expensive, as cash withdrawals usually incur extra charges from credit card accounts.

The Post Office

The management within the British Post Office Counters have tried very hard to find way of saving regional post offices by coming up with extra products they can sell to customers and have enjoyed good success with travel insurance and foreign currency exchange. This is particularly the case with pensioners who pick up their pension and buy their exchange at the same time. This is very convenient for them and the Post Office knows this, so just make sure their current rate of exchange is as good as that on offer from your bank. Rates and offers do change a lot across the finance world.

'Free' Currency Exchange or 'No Commission' Advertising

Companies make their money on the difference between the price they sell the currencies for and how much they have to pay for the currency. There are other costs involved, but these tend to be non-variable costs. Some companies offer you low rates of exchange, but no 'charges or commissions'. Others will charge you a flat fee and no commissions, or a fee and a commission. The worst will charge you a fee, a commission and also give you very poor rates of exchange. Don't be confused by their offers. Just take the total currency you get and divide it by what you have to pay to get it and use this value to benchmark different exchange rates.

WIthin Javea

Once you are in Javea the Spanish banks in the Old Town have cash machines where you can take out Euros if you have a standard cheque guarantee / Switch / Maestro card and a PIN number. There are three banks in quite close proximity, which have reasonable rates of exchange, so just check the daily rates on offer between them. If you are wiring money through from the UK to a bank in Javea due to some mishap, and you bank with Barclays, you may want to go directly to the local branch in Javea, which is located behind the Arenal and slightly up the Cabo de la Nao Road.