Where to exchange money?

neronakos · Post by **neronakos** » Wed May 20, 2015 4:31 pm

Hello! So I am going on a trip to Prague and I wonder what is the best solution regarding the money exchange.
1. Should I make the exchange in an exchange office and if so, which one you suggest?
2. Should I just take money out from my card using and ATM in Prague and the conversion will be automatically made?

One of friend of mine who was living there told me that it is better to exchange them beforehands and not using my card in the ATM, but I won´t spend that much, about 300 euros. What do you think?

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betelgeuse · Post by **betelgeuse** » Wed May 20, 2015 5:16 pm

neronakos wrote:Hello! So I am going on a trip to Prague and I wonder what is the best solution regarding the money exchange.
1. Should I make the exchange in an exchange office and if so, which one you suggest?
2. Should I just take money out from my card using and ATM in Prague and the conversion will be automatically made?

One of friend of mine who was living there told me that it is better to exchange them beforehands and not using my card in the ATM, but I won´t spend that much, about 300 euros. What do you think?

Option 3: pay directly with your card

If I take cash, I usually just take it out of my bank account since there's no extra fees on my customer level:

http://www.nordea.fi/Personal+customers ... n-currency

neronakos · Post by **neronakos** » Wed May 20, 2015 5:22 pm

betelgeuse wrote:
neronakos wrote:Hello! So I am going on a trip to Prague and I wonder what is the best solution regarding the money exchange.
1. Should I make the exchange in an exchange office and if so, which one you suggest?
2. Should I just take money out from my card using and ATM in Prague and the conversion will be automatically made?

One of friend of mine who was living there told me that it is better to exchange them beforehands and not using my card in the ATM, but I won´t spend that much, about 300 euros. What do you think?
Option 3: pay directly with your card

If I take cash, I usually just take it out of my bank account since there's no extra fees on my customer level:

http://www.nordea.fi/Personal+customers ... n-currency

Τhanks. I saw this option yesterday, but on my level, I needed to pay 10 euros extra for handling fees.
Yes paying directly with my card is an option, but I don't know if Prague is at the same level as Finland where you can use cards everywhere.

Kössi K · Post by **Kössi K** » Thu May 21, 2015 10:26 am

Some travellers say there are ATMs in the centre of Prague, where they were able to use their Visa Electrons just fine. But depending on your bank & level, they may charge quite a lot per withdrawal. Most travellers seem to hint that you should exchange your money in Finland, as the exchange courses in Prague seem to be a bit pricey (at least were last year). And, using preferably your own bank here, is cheaper than Forex or other exchange bureaus. Just note that nowadays many banks seem to want the exchange currency to be ordered in in advance, as some (even bigger) banks don't have all currencies readily available. You may also be able to make the exchange cheaper or even free of charge, depending on your customer level/credit cards you may have.
Ask your bank, at least a 2-3 days in advance (as was the case in my bank) - it usually is cheaper than money exchanges.

Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Thu May 21, 2015 11:34 am

I highly recommend that you keep some cash with you. I also recommend that you don't do the exchange here in Finland; it's expensive to exchange. When you're in Prague, you can use almost any ATM (stick to the ones that are clearly next to banks) to withdraw some korunas and you might be charged some minimal exchange fee.

downhand · Post by **downhand** » Fri May 22, 2015 1:13 pm

While you can handle most stuff with the card, it's a terrible idea to fully rely on it. If I'm going outside Europe, I usually exchange some money beforehand, although rates are horrendous here at exchange offices. As a solution, I change just enough to survive the first day, meaning a bit of food and reaching to the place of accommodation. Then depending on the country and the length of trip, either taking cash with you and exchanging there or withdrawing money from local ATMs will be your choice. I'd suggest the former if it's Czech Republic and up to one week.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Fri May 22, 2015 2:21 pm

Although my experience is quite dated, in case you use local exchange offices, at least understand the difference between SELL and BUY when choosing to which one to go.
(If they sell euros with a good rate, that is of no use for you)

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