Questions and Answers

Hi Lucky – I hope all is well!

I searched through the archives, but couldn’t seem to find a post on this topic. Given the amount of travel you do, how do you manage moving between all the currencies you come across? Do you have a good system? I realize most everything can be paid for via credit card, but as an ex-pat I recently did a clean out to find OMR, QAR, EUR, GBP, USD, SCR, HKD, PHP and a few rubles lurking in my house. Some I will use again and others the denomination is too small to change to something useful. Most likely they’ll end up getting donated to the Emirates Airline Foundation…

Bonus question: which currency is your favorite? (I’ve always liked the AUD). 🙂

All the best from Dubai,

Ann
[URL=’https://atozaatar.wordpress.com/’]A to Za’atar[/URL]

Good question! [USER=4]@Lucky[/USER]

Ann, I think with this hobby a few odd notes and coins are unavoidable despite my best efforts to spend everything before I leave a country. I just think of them as souvenirs :).

Oh this is fun! My solution is two-fold:
[LIST]
[*]Have a debit card that reimburses ATM withdrawals, so I don’t feel compelled to take out more cash than I’ll actively need.
[*]If it’s a country I doubt I’ll be returning to in the near future, I’ll put any extra cash on my Starbucks card as I’m leaving the country
[/LIST]
Otherwise, I just keep it. I probably have ~$500 in foreign currency at any given point in time. It stays organized in my credit card binder, so I can easily grab whatever currency I need before a trip.

[QUOTE=”Gaurav, post: 13442, member: 79″]Ann, I think with this hobby a few odd notes and coins are unavoidable despite my best efforts to spend everything before I leave a country. I just think of them as souvenirs :).[/QUOTE]

Oh – I definitely agree! I enjoyed recalling all the trips that accompanied the currencies. 🙂

[QUOTE=”Tiffany, post: 13446, member: 7″]Oh this is fun! My solution is two-fold:
[LIST]
[*]Have a debit card that reimburses ATM withdrawals, so I don’t feel compelled to take out more cash than I’ll actively need.
[*]If it’s a country I doubt I’ll be returning to in the near future, I’ll put any extra cash on my Starbucks card as I’m leaving the country
[/LIST]
Otherwise, I just keep it. I probably have ~$500 in foreign currency at any given point in time. It stays organized in my credit card binder, so I can easily grab whatever currency I need before a trip.[/QUOTE]

Believe me, I’m hoping for a return trip to the Seychelles! Hopefully those rupee will come in handy one day soon. 😉

The EUR, GBP and USD will always be useful and are good to have some on hand – saves a trip to the money exchange. Thanks for responding!

[USER=7]@Tiffany[/USER] How well does the Starbucks app work in foreign countries? Are there fees? What about exchange rates?

Thanks!
David W

[USER=29]@David W[/USER] — Oh, I haven’t used the app overseas, so I don’t know. And I don’t worry much about exchange rates when it’s $5-$10 worth of loose cash going back on a gift card. Maybe someone else knows!

So you just buy a starbucks GC locally and they work when you come back to the US? Good idea to keep in mind!

Almost — I put local currency on a US card. It might work both ways, I’ve never tried it.

[USER=7]@Tiffany[/USER] [USER=4]@Lucky[/USER]

Would love a formal post on this. I’m about to go on a RTW trip that will have me going from USD > EUR > GBP > AED > AUD > YEN > USD. Some sure fire strategies like using gift cards to move currency would be helpful!