Wake up late and just in time to catch the flight. Anything can happen on your way to the airport a flat tire, a traffic block, and worst of all you forgot something as important as your air ticket. In such instances, all your plans get foiled, with very little hope for a good journey. Shortly before touchdown at the airport, you remember to convert your home currency into foreign local currency. Your path is swarming with attractive kiosks with the majority being for currency exchange at the airport. But such counters are highly non-recommendable with tons of reason to linger on.
- Currency exchange rates soar high ✈ Foreign currency exchange at airport is often higher as most of the visitors to such counters are always made in hurry. Rate fluctuation is a common thing in the financial market especially in the case of foreign currency and often found to operate on a very large spread or margin
- The unnecessary escalation in charges ✈ The aroma of a fuming coffee or an intricately designed scarf flutters to tempt you on your rush outside the airport that you could hardly resist. You make the purchase only to find it much costlier than the counters outside the airport premise. Exchange currency at airport can be no different from this,
- Peace of mind can be costly ✈ In the hustle and bustle of hectic flight catching episode, you could hardly take enough time to read the fluctuating lines of currency rates instigating you to exchange currency at airport. All for the assurance that you have it already with you. Once you are back in your budget tracking phase, you tend to understand that you have lost a few bucks in the airport counter while converting the currency.
- Trust factor that looms large ✈ Passengers do not feel secured enough to exchange their money outside the airport, specially in a country where they are total strangers. Some even feel that they should convert the currency into their home currency before leaving the foreign country, with little knowledge about available options.
- ATMs are much better options: ✈ On arrival, you might have to fetch a cab or a taxi to your desired spot in a foreign country. Hence you tend to convert it in your hurry without even looking at the rates. For trivial expenses, you can always rely on your ATM but that too might stand as an expensive deal.
Must do things before saying goodbye to your foreign travel
- Visit a reliable financial institution of that country rather than exchange currency at airport
- Try to analyze present currency rates by calling authorized dealers holding a license from RBI. Authorized currency exchangers in India have a regular analysis of the market fluctuations and consistently comply with the regulatory norms. Hence it’s essential to check with an authorized foreign currency exchange dealer for better rates. These exchange offices provide the cheapest and best currency exchange rates
- Always keep a multicurrency prepaid travel card for smart payment at overseas counters.
- Try carrying 60% of the money required in cash while traveling abroad
- Get a foreign currency card for your travel abroad to swipe at POS or for other overseas payments
- Exchange foreign currency that is leftover with you with the nearest currency exchange dealer at the earliest as its illegal to hold foreign currency in India for long
It is always good to spend a little time ahead of your travel, planning all about your trip to make it all the more enjoyable and secure.