currency exchange

[=112=]

anyone know where i can get chinese yuan in the los angeles area? gonna make a trip to china and wanted to have some cash before i left. thanks.

[Jeffbx]

I don't know about China specifically, but when I travel internationally I just head for the nearest ATM when I land & take out money in the local currency. Much cheaper than exchanging your $$, since the bank (at least my bank) doesn't charge extra for the transaction.

I've done this in Canada, Japan & several European countries. YMMV, however, because I wasn't able to do it in India.

[kimchicowboy]

what bank do you have? does anyone know if bank of america charges a fee to exchange into new zealand dollars?

[Cheesypuff]

err...don't know where to exchange money in the US.

hey...if you're heading to hong kong...don't forget to hit me up. =)

[Markel]

I've heard that AAA can arrange for foreign currency exchanges (if you are a member) even for countries which are usually not available at typical exchanges (for example, I know someone that got Dominican pesos before they went down there). It can be an advantage to have an initial amount of the currency before you arrive (so you don't have to do an initial exchange in the airport, where the rate is usually very sub-par).

[Paymaster]

I also use Jeffbx's ATM idea, but be warned: The ATMs don't always have an "english" option, and they don't always have letters along with the numbers on the keypad. (So if your pin uses letters, figure out what the corresponding numbers are *before* you leave the US.)

[Houdini]

I've found that using ATMs or credit cards generally work the best. The banks will always give you the best exchange rate possible, as they don't want to lost money.

H <---was amazed a couple of years ago when he ordered something from amazon.co.uk and his credit card was billed in Nepalese Rupees.

[gaemul]

You can always change money at the airport. There are money changing places there

[Markel]

You can always change money at the airport. There are money changing places there
Exchange rates at airports are usually quite poor.

[yippiekiyeh]

what bank do you have? does anyone know if bank of america charges a fee to exchange into new zealand dollars?

Sorry about the late reply, but BofA does currency exchange for free provided you have an account with them...though there are only certain "currency" centers for them...

As for all the other kinds of currency exchange (airport/street/etc etc) Got to shop around, some places the exchange rate is horrible! other places the rate is pretty good, and they can change from one wing of the terminal to the other wing!