Currency conversion question

I am looking for the best way to convert USD into Euros. I am doing this because I am going to Cuba and they have a 10% surcharge on USD into CUC which does not exist with Euros. I cannot use my credit cards because they are not accepted in Cuba.

My confusion comes in with looking up the current rate (3/22/18) it shows 0.81384 Euro for $1 USD but my bank is saying 760 Euros for $1000 USD which seems like a steep cut. Atlanta airport is even worse at 740 for $1000 USD. Am I missing a method or is this the best I can do?

I am looking for the best way to convert USD into Euros. I am doing this because I am going to Cuba and they have a 10% surcharge on USD into CUC which does not exist with Euros. I cannot use my credit cards because they are not accepted in Cuba.

My confusion comes in with looking up the current rate (3/22/18) it shows 0.81384 Euro for $1 USD but my bank is saying 760 Euros for $1000 USD which seems like a steep cut. Atlanta airport is even worse at 740 for $1000 USD. Am I missing a method or is this the best I can do?

What you are seeing is the rate after bank fees are added.

You might be losing more converting US$ to Euro than you would lose converting US$ to CUC. Your same $1000.00 would become approximatelyh $870.00 CUC after the 3% and 10% fees are applied. Even if you have Euro you will still have to apply that 3% fee.

Looks like your bank is charging you 6.6% to convert. That is less than the 10% surcharge so you would save money, just not as much as you had thought.

We got a better deal getting Canadian dollars (CAD) than Euros.

Currently $1USD = 0.814 Euros and $1.30 CAD. Seen the other way, 1 Euro costs $1.23 USD, but 1 CAD only costs 77 cents USD. You will avoid the 10% penalty either way and will still pay the 3% fee either way. But you'll save on the exchange rate for Euros vs. Canadian dollars.

We got a better deal getting Canadian dollars (CAD) than Euros.

 

Currently $1USD = 0.814 Euros and $1.30 CAD. Seen the other way, 1 Euro costs $1.23 USD, but 1 CAD only costs 77 cents USD. You will avoid the 10% penalty either way and will still pay the 3% fee either way. But you'll save on the exchange rate for Euros vs. Canadian dollars.

Thanks for the tip I will ask the bank about CAD and see if there is less of a cut

I ran the numbers and discovered that whether or not it's advantageous to convert currency depends on how much money you plan to spend in Cuba. We're anticipating not spending much more than $100 US during our day in port. Using Bank of America rates, there is virtually no difference between buying CAN and Euros ahead of time or just waiting and converting US$ to CUCs once we arrive in Cuba. BOA charges a $7.50 fee to buy foreign currency, and that negates any savings.

On the other hand, there is no fee for foreign currency purchases of $1,000 US or more, so buying Euros or CAN ahead of time would save about $40 - $50. If you know you're going to be spending at least $1,000 while in Cuba, you can save a few bucks by converting first.

Another option is to use Mexican Pesos. We travel to Mexico frequently and brought back extra pesos just for our Cuba cruise. Only the 3% fee was charged at the Cadeca. Over our about 3 days in Havana, we spent about $400, for one day long car tour and various souvenirs.....you would spend more if you go to one of the evening shows.