Query about USD/EUR seasonal pattern...

[Overnight]

Hey you crazy FX peeps. Question for you on exchange rate...

I have a couple friends traveling to France at end of September to attend a wedding.

I was wondering about how they could get best exchange rate for their USD.

Should they exchange their USD for Euros now to lock in the current FOREX rate, or wait until they travel there at end of Sep?

Is there a seasonal pattern for EUR/USD and an optimal time to exchange, or is it a crap-shoot?

It is not a lot of money. I figure they will prolly spend 2-3K USD when in France. Is that even worth bothering about?

 

[easymon1]

Is that even worth bothering about?

No.

 

[kmiklas]

Find someone that is traveling to the States and needs USD. Trade at market price, with Zero (0) commissions, fees, and market-maker cuts of all kind. They can be 14% or higher at the airport... armed robbery!

 

[easymon1]

Find someone that is traveling to the States and needs USD. Trade at market price, with Zero (0) commissions, fees, and market-maker cuts of all kind. They can be 14% or higher at the airport... armed robbery!

Yes, flash as much cash as possible in the airport, in bars, on streetcorners in all the right neighborhoods. You can run pretty fast, right?
Just funnin witchoo.

 

[kmiklas]

Yes, flash as much cash as possible in the airport, in bars, on streetcorners in all the right neighborhoods. You can run pretty fast, right?
Just funnin witchoo.

Just ask your friends in France for someone that needs USD. They can also look here in the US for people holding Euros.

The point is to avoid the commissions and fees... they're crushing.

 

[tomorton]

Find someone that is traveling to the States and needs USD. Trade at market price, with Zero (0) commissions, fees, and market-maker cuts of all kind. They can be 14% or higher at the airport... armed robbery!

Good advice. I generally travel into France and the EUR area once or twice a year from the UK. Far more money can be lost or saved according to where you exchange your currency for Euros rather than how soon or how late before the trip you do it.

 

[Sig]

So there's no seasonality to forex, if there was it would be arb'd away in microseconds.

Avoiding commission and ATM fees are really the way to save money. Cheapest is to get a credit card that charges only interbank rate with no forex fee and out everything on that, get a cashback or miles card for an extra bonus. To get petty cash, get a transferwise (now wise) ATM card. They have low conversion fees and don't charge you a foreign ATM fee like almost every US bank does. If you have to pay for a big ticket item by wire or direct deposit, you can also use wise, or if you want to save the most open an IB account and convert the currency using their forex function, you only pay a de minimis commission. Overkill for just a few thousand dollars though.

 

[Overnight]

Thanks for the replies. They have Bank of America accounts.

So I am going to assume it would be better for them to exchange their USD for Euros at a local BOA branch before leaving for France, rather than doing it at CDG airport in Paris? I am assuming the airport will charge a premium on the exchange rate.

 

[ph1l]

Thanks for the replies. They have Bank of America accounts.

So I am going to assume it would be better for them to exchange their USD for Euros at a local BOA branch before leaving for France, rather than doing it at CDG airport in Paris? I am assuming the airport will charge a premium on the exchange rate.

Neither of those options is good for more than small amounts of cash.
https://www.tripsavvy.com/how-to-exchange-euros-1516923

Do go to your bank at home and exchange a small amount of cash, just enough for a cab ride or basic spending on arrival.

Do pay with credit cards

But avoid using credit cards for cash advances, of course.

Before leaving, check with your bank that your debit card will work in France and tell them that you will be withdrawing money when you travel. Why? Well, they might just freeze your card if there is a sudden high use away from your home.

ATMs are all over France.
Do use a bank ATM; if your card is swallowed up, you can go in to retrieve it. And use a bank ATM as most of them don’t charge fees while machines by so-called independent companies will do just that

Don't go to your bank and exchange all your money before your France or European trip. You will probably pay a higher rate than necessary, and you don't want to be running around with all that cash in your wallet.

Don't exchange money at the bureau de change or such at the airport or in tourist areas. For one thing, they usually charge an exorbitant fee. For another thing, they might not give you the true going exchange rate, but give you less in euros than your home-country currency is worth.

Don't exchange money at your hotel; the rate will be better than at the above alternatives, but it’s still unlikely to be good.

 

[Overnight]

The article sux.

"Do use a bank ATM; if your card is swallowed up, you can go in to retrieve it...

"Do take an extra ATM card in case yours is stolen or gobbled up by the machine..."

Can you spell c-o-n-t-r-a-d-i-c-t-i-o-n?

"...Do remember that ATM transactions come with fees. ..They may also charge a percentage for the currency conversion, on top of the usual Visa and MasterCard fee (can be up to 3%) for all international transactions..."

Thanks for the attempt at help. I got it.

Tripsavvy/Kelby Carr needs a gnome to get some brains beyond the conflicting BS they listed in their article, confusing common sense with even-more-common sense.