Currency Exchange at Suntrust Bank near DTD

[HalloweentwnPrincess]

Hello!

I'm wondering if anyone would be able to help me out with info/your experiences with exchanging AUD to USD at Suntrust Bank near DTD.

I will be travelling with a certain amount of USD exchanged prior to leaving Sydney and the rest will be in AUD, I know I'll need more then my starting amount for the rest of my trip after WDW (I don't want to exchange all of it prior to leaving just incase I don't use it all) and also I can use my debit pay & wave visa card but I'd prefer not to, as I get charged $5 everytime I withdraw cash as well as 3% of the amount withdrawn. Also I'm not a big fan of credit cards.

So, if you have been there before, what was your experience like? Do they allow you to exchange amounts around $1000 or more?

Thanks

 

[PrincessInOz]

Are you carrying the AUD as cash? I haven't used the Suntrust bank.

I tend to convert my AUD to USD and store it in a travel card. The one I've got is a CommBank one. I can use the travel card like a debit/credit card and because the balance is in USD, there are no charges associated with that particular transaction. If I withdraw cash at an ATM, then I get charged.

Should I need more USD, I can go on-line and 'top-up' the travel card. The thing is that I need to allow 24 - 48 hours before the AUD to USD transaction goes through; and I'm also accepting the exchange rate of the day.

I tend to work out my budget for the US and change the money over time; before the trip. This allows me to monitor the exchange rate and change at a rate that is acceptable to me.

 

[aussietravellers]

I'm sorry I'm not much help either. I've never used it and to be honest, I didn't even know it was there.

Like PIO, I always take enough money exchanged (in cash and travellers cheques), this trip I'm going to try the travel card. I kind of roughly work out what I'll need and exchange it before I go and if there is any left at the end... well... it never comes home I always go shopping so there isn't any need to bring any home.

 

[Luisa]

I'd ask Suntrust directly if they charge a fee for exchanging cash and what their exchange rates are like - it could work out quite expensive. I'd also check with your bank here to see if they have an arrangement with a US bank to avoid fees using their ATM, for example Westpac customers don't pay the $5 at Bank of America ATMs just the 3%. Personally I think it's too risky carrying all your funds as cash and its worth it to pay a small fee for added security. I agree with the others too about the foreign currency travel cards- I'm pretty sure if you get a multi currency card any USD dollars you have left you could transfer over to AUD on the card and use it for purchases or withdrawals when you get back (assuming you haven't spent it all shopping!) - please correct me if I'm wrong on this someone!

 

[alicia1506]

we take a mix of usd and travel money cards. like PIO, we use the commbank ones and found using them very favourable, hassle free and mostly fee free...just swipe for eftpos transactions but with no fees or currency exchange worries, and if you use at the atm, you only pay a nominal fee (approx $2) so we just took out a few hundred or so at a time to make the fee worth it

luisa is right... we had some unused usd left on the commbank card, and when we came back to australia, it automatically converted to aud when we made purchases here in australia, so we were able to get full use out of the funds on the card, with no wastage or funds left over. it is now the only way we will travel with our funds... a supply of usd for food/smaller purchases and the travel money card with the bulk of our funds. having said that, we prepay almost everything on our trip, so the money we take is for incidentals like food, tipping, and spending money, so it's not usually more than a few thousand or so...

i also like having 2 cards on the travel money card -- it gives added security that if one is lost they can block that card only, and the 2nd card is still able to be used... we got one for me and one for dh, and he kept my 2nd card and i kept his, just to be safe

 

[DizOz]

We used a Travelex Travel Card last time. We converted our AUD to USD on the card and could use any Visa ATM (Which is nearly any one).

We got money out in DL, WDW, Universal and NY with no problems. Exchange rate is set so you don't have to worry. From memory there were no withdrawal fees and we didn't have to carry around cash or travel cheques.

 

[Sugarglider]

I'm another one who votes for the travel card. I'd be surprised if the currency exchange can beat the fees and charges on a travel card. And there are so many of these cards available now you can take your choice.

The NAB offers that you can go into the branch and they have them available ready to go. Travellex delivered my card to my local post office within 2 days. So you can get them really quickly.

 

[HalloweentwnPrincess]

Thank you all for the replies, I've been so busy working for my spending money and starting on FE gifts that I haven't checked back here in a while.

I'll have a look into these travel cards, they hadn't crossed my mind because so far all my holidays to the US had stops in Vegas, so I normally just exchange my AUD at the casinos.

Thanks again for the advice

 

[MsMinne]

Thanks for the info on the travel card. I have been tossing up on whether I should get on or just use my CC to gain FF points (like all of my spend is done on CC for hat reason)

I work for a bank and they are offering staff no fees on the initial load on the traveller card. Not sure how much this will save but it sounds like the convenience of having this card, 2 of them is worth getting it.

 

[FireflyFi]

I work for a bank and they are offering staff no fees on the initial load on the traveller card. Not sure how much this will save but it sounds like the convenience of having this card, 2 of them is worth getting it.

I also work for a bank that has the same offer, and if it's the same bank the fee is 1% so it won't make a huge difference - $10 per $1000 loaded.

Am I the only one here that had a great lot of trouble closing down my Travelex card? It took about a dozen emails and over four months for them to get around to it...

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks for the info on the travel card. I have been tossing up on whether I should get on or just use my CC to gain FF points (like all of my spend is done on CC for hat reason)

That's what I have decided to do. I was going to get a travel card, but have decided just to use the credit card instead. I am happy with Visa's exchange rate and the overseas fees are almost wiped out by the reward dollars I get back.

In saying that, I can see how having the travel cards would be beneficial. I have done a similar thing by putting enough $$ on Disney Giftcards to cover my meals at WDW, and I have rang DCL to prepay my gratuities and put enough money on my onboard account to cover shore excursions, drinks, and a pedicure. All these things were done using the Visa so I could get the reward dollars. Once on holiday, I will make sure I am carrying enough US dollars to cover taxis, tipping and small purchases.

It's a nice feeling to know that just about everything except shopping is prepaid in some form or another.