How to get better exchange rates (part 2)

We received a very helpful comment from a reader recently who shared how they have 


I have recently been to Japan and did quite a bit of research over where to exchange money, and also the more general question of whether cash is even best. Note that this is my experience and your mileage may vary. Further, I would expect that much of this would apply around the world, but I've most recently confirmed this for Japan.

Note also that when I talk about "market rates", I am generally referring to the interbank rate, which is approx what you see when you ask Google e.g. http://www.google.com/finance?q=currency:AUDJPY

Some information I gathered: (1) CBA, NAB, Bankwest, and so I assume also the other retail banks, will not change cash for cash apparently due to the money laundering act. (I think this is ridiculous but don't get me started). They also charge ~1% commission
(2) My 2 weeks of monitoring fx confirms that Bankwest has the best rates; if they have the currency! e.g. I went there once to discover (1) but they didn't even have any money at the main branch
(3) The highest rates for cash I have found from "holes in the wall" fx places belongs to the one inside the Flight Centre on the corner of William/Barrack. They were just over 1% worse than Bankwest, but at least they had currency and Bankwest were going to charge 1% commission anyway
(4) It appears credit cards (at least Visa, MasterCard, and Amex) give approx market rates for purchases, minus 2-3% commission. This almost always turns out to be better than cash for cash which is about 4% worse than market rate - however you are able to lock in fx rate with cash
(5) It is possible to withdraw local currency from foreign ATMs, mainly those with the Maestro and Cirrus labels, and get market rates. With CBA, I got approx market rate, minus 3% commission, minus fixed AU$5 fee. For JPY, this was favourable for >AU$1000 or >JPY80k
(6) Cash for cash rates in Japan were terrible. About 10-15% worse than market rates. It seemed USD to JPY was the only one that was ok

Recommendations (generally applicable to countries with 'westernised' banking systems):
(A) Work out how much money you need, so that you can work out if the difference is even worth considering. If it is then...
(B) Check that you can take out local currency from ATMs in your destination country.
(C) Change a minimal amount of foreign currency when you leave, enough to cover say 1-2 days, basically until you can find a local ATM. If you've worked out that the fixed fee from the ATM makes it better that you get cash beforehand, just get enough cash to cover 'basic' expenses on your trip e.g. no major shopping
(C) Use credit card for shopping or big items (note: bring 2 or more cards and carry separately in case 1 is lost/broken/copied as is what happened to a friend of mine)
(D) As a back-up, carry some AU$ with you so that if all electronic means fail, you can still do cash for cash locally, but just be prepared to take a bad rate

AMEX Users get $50 off Virginblue bookings

If you are an AMEX user, you can register your card for $50 cashback from Virginblue if you book a flight between now and 31 March 2011, but you will need to add your details to the website www.amexnetwork.com.au before you book your flight. Get in quick because it is only open for the first 500 customers.

Waiting for a CatchoftheDay Order to Arrive?

Since CatchoftheDay is now one of the biggest online stores in Australia, many of you would be anxiously waiting for packages to arrive. If you would like to find out where your order is, there is nothing on COTD.com.au to allow you to track orders. However, some clever people have worked out that if you go to the Australia Post website, click on track orders, you can try adding 8CB in front of your ORDER NUMBER which you can find on the COTD website here: 

Then paste your number in Australia Post website here: 

The nice people at Australia post will then tell you where your package is. They will also allow you to add your email address so that they will automatically notify you when the package has advanced in the processing. Now we have to leave a disclaimer here that this trick worked at the time of this blog entry so have a go but don't get upset if it does not work for you. Leave a comment below to let us know though.. we help you but you have to help others as well :)

Borders Gift Cards near useless

Do you have a Borders gift card? As of today, your card has just halved in value. Yesterday, Borders and Angus & Robertson fell into voluntary administration meaning that they are nearing or at bankruptcy. The administrators have announced that anyone wanting to use gift vouchers would have to pay twice the value of their gift card as well as redeeming their gift card. For example, if you have a $50 voucher, you will need to spend $150 and pay $100 in order to redeem the full value of your $50 voucher.

If you think that is not very fair, you can wait a few weeks and you might not even be able to redeem your gift card at all. So if you have a Borders gift card, this is a friendly reminder to get yourself to a Borders store soon. This is also a reminder of the dangers of gift cards. If the company goes belly up, you are exposed. So, anyone stuck with a Borders card? What alternative uses can you think of for the gift cards?

WARNING: EverydayMoney Credit Card changes Overseas Transaction Charge!

I wrote in a previous entry about how you have to watch out what rates your credit cards charge for overseas transactions. I have recently returned from overseas and was using the Everyday Money Credit Card because it has a lower overseas transaction charge rate than American Express. To my surprise today, I noticed that the OTC was higher than I expected. When I opened my mail to look at my Everyday Money statement, I saw on the bottom under "important information" that whilst I was overseas, they jacked up the OTC to 3% from 2% taking away their competitve edge against rival cards. I am infuriated with this as this change happened without my knowledge whilst I was overseas. I am now considering cancelling the card.

So this is a warning to everyday money credit card users. It is NO LONGER the card of choice when you are overseas. You might as well use your American Express cards in such instances.

Don't Miss Burswood Chinese New Year Fireworks

For those that have caught the fireworks bug from the Australia Day Skyworks, there is one more must-see fireworks display for the year. You cannot miss the Burswood Chinese New Year Fireworks which is arguably more "spectacular" than the Australia Day fireworks even though its much, much smaller. The fireworks are put on as part of the Burswood Annual VVIP Golf Tournament which invites the high rollers from Asia to Perth for a Chinese New Year golf tournament.

This year's fireworks will be on NEXT Friday 4th February 2011 around 8:30pm. The best place to see it is probably here.There is also a fireworks display at 9:50pm on this coming Tuesday night also at Burswood so just keep an eye out in case THIS is the CNY fireworks.

For those that missed it, here are the 4th February fireworks in Burswood.

EDIT for 2012 - This year's fireworks will be on the Saturday 29th January 2012. There is a little confusion as to when the fireworks will take place, with the Movies by Burswood stating that there may be an intermission for the fireworks during the screening of Happy Feet 2 which would place the fireworks start time at around 9pm. However, in other places the start time is 10:20pm which seems to be after the movie. A quick call to Burswood has confirmed that the fireworks will be at 10:20pm lasting 15 minutes.See the fireworks for 2012 here.

2014 Burswood Chinese New Year Fireworks