Currency exchange

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I always suggest already having at least a small amount of the local currency when you fly to another country. Just in case something is wrong with the ATMs in the airport, and you can't find a taxi that takes a credit card, or something like that. It's worth it to have *some* of that currency on you. It doesn't need to be a lot, but some. I do the majority of my cash via ATM and purchases via credit card, but I just can't imagine arriving with NO valid money in my pocket.

Sayhello

My husband and I travel all the time and we rarely have any local currency when we arrive and have never encountered a non-working ATM at the airport. I guess we just like to live dangerously!

 

[Global Blue]

Hi all,

I’m a customer service representative at Global Blue and wanted to clarify some of your concerns. Just to let you know, the VAT rate in UK is currently 20%. As an eligible overseas visitor, you can claim back net VAT content of the sales price, which is 16,67%.
If you wish to calculate the net VAT from the sales price, please use the following formula: (VAT rate)% / (100+VAT rate)% = (net VAT rate)%
In case of the purchase of 1000GBP, the net VAT is 166,67 GBP and the refund amount would be approximately 122.00 GBP depending also on the store where the purchase was made.
Our administration charge (the difference between the net VAT and refund) is based on a sliding scale rather than on a percentage of the amount spent by a customer.
We believe in a transparent refund policy, so we provide all the necessary information about charges on Global Blue Forms. In addition, we provide retailers with our refund tables in order to assist them in the correct calculation of refunds.
The fee covers the cost of providing the VAT refund service, including the provision of more than 210 cash refund offices located at the world's largest airports.
We hope this illustrates why the administration fee is applied to the VAT refund service provided for the affiliated retailers and that you find this information useful and clear. You can also check the approximate refund amount on our refund calculator on our webpage (www dot globalblue dot com).
Travellers can take care of the refund process on their own without using Global Blue, however they will need to complete all tax refund paperwork by themselves and liaise with the authorities in order to obtain the VAT/GST refund. This can take up to 6 months.
In case of Currency Choice service – we offer to our customers the possibility to pay for the goods of services with the best rate of that day. If you find better rate for that day, you can contact us by email and we will be glad to help you.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us by email (taxfree at globalblue dot com) should you have further questions about the processor your specific claims.

Thanks
Lenka, Senior Customer Service representative at Global Blue

 

[katrina1122]

Does anyone do traveler's checks anymore? Last time I was in Europe was 2000 and that's mainly what I had. When I went in 99 there was some freak satellite disaster that hit atm machines in Italy. When I put my card in, it took it and I was left with little money (it happened to 1000's of people). I had to have my parents Western Union money to me, so I used traveler's checks the next trip to avoid anymore freak electronic mishaps.

We are going to Norway and I see small shops, hotels and restaurants don't take the American $, so we will need some form of exchange into Krone.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Does anyone do traveler's checks anymore? Last time I was in Europe was 2000 and that's mainly what I had. When I went in 99 there was some freak satellite disaster that hit atm machines in Italy. When I put my card in, it took it and I was left with little money (it happened to 1000's of people). I had to have my parents Western Union money to me, so I used traveler's checks the next trip to avoid anymore freak electronic mishaps.

We are going to Norway and I see small shops, hotels and restaurants don't take the American $, so we will need some form of exchange into Krone.

We had some folks on our last trip to Italy that had a horrible time cashing traveler's checks.

Stores would not even consider it. They were forced to find a bank that would accept them and even that was difficult, especially on a weekend. They had to locate the American Express office and they would only cash one.

 

[katrina1122]

We had some folks on our last trip to Italy that had a horrible time cashing traveler's checks.

Stores would not even consider it. They were forced to find a bank that would accept them and even that was difficult, especially on a weekend. They had to locate the American Express office and they would only cash one.

Thanks, I wondered if they were going away so to speak.

 

[carpenta]

You might want to look into a pre-paid credit card. Local banks as well as AAA offer a credit card that you can "load" with a set amount and use it as a credit card. I just returned from Italy and it worked like a charm. I use it in places that seem like a credit card would be at risk for compromise.

 

[Cousin Orville]

You might want to look into a pre-paid credit card. Local banks as well as AAA offer a credit card that you can "load" with a set amount and use it as a credit card. I just returned from Italy and it worked like a charm. I use it in places that seem like a credit card would be at risk for compromise.

If your prepaid card was compromised wouldn't they have access to all the money sitting in it? I would think that most CC are pretty good about detecting fraud. Amex certainly is as far as I have experienced. My cards have be compromised a couple of time and I haven't been liable for anything. Amex will send a replacement card internationally very quickly.

 

[carpenta]

If your prepaid card was compromised wouldn't they have access to all the money sitting in it? I would think that most CC are pretty good about detecting fraud. Amex certainly is as far as I have experienced. My cards have be compromised a couple of time and I haven't been liable for anything. Amex will send a replacement card internationally very quickly.

Yes but only the amount on the card...say $500.00......A number of times when we travel we may be out of phone contact so the warning will be undeliverable. Plus we don't have the hassle of dealing with the card company. Having my S.S. stolen believe me now THAT is a hassle. I just am offering an alternative other than credit card or those antique Travelers Checks.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Yes but only the amount on the card...say $500.00......A number of times when we travel we may be out of phone contact so the warning will be undeliverable. Plus we don't have the hassle of dealing with the card company. Having my S.S. stolen believe me now THAT is a hassle. I just am offering an alternative other than credit card or those antique Travelers Checks.

Oh, I understand. It's a good alternative. Everything has some amount of risk or inconvenience to consider. I'd agree that traveler's checks are way past their prime today.