Local Currency for Australia and New Zaland

[jhenry1]

I usually purchase local currency from my bank in the Us but wondering if for Australia and New Zealand is that necessary or better to purchase on the ship or in the airport? I know most places accept cards but always like to have some local currency. 

[taxare]

jhenry, you may want to do a quick search as there are several threads on foreign currency. I don't think you can rely on the ship to have Australian and New Zealand currency although they will exchange larger US bills for smaller US denominations. I think that most would agree that a legitimate bank ATM is your best bet. This will be easy to find in Sydney and I assume in Dunedin as well. I use my bank which happens to have a good foreign currency department that has reasonable exchange rates (not as good as credit card or ATM) when I will be in countries where I am not sure I will have easy access to an ATM.

[JMARINER]

Just use your ATM card and any local bank or in the airport and get the local currency. The local bank ATM's usually offer the best exchange rates. Try not to use a non bank branded local ATM as they often add higher fees.  If you do business with any of the bigger banks or  stock brokerage firms like Fidelity, they can set you up with a "fee free" ATM card.  You can usually with draw as little as $20.

 

J

 

 

[SWFLAOK]

1 hour ago, taxare said:

I use my bank which happens to have a good foreign currency department that has reasonable exchange rates (not as good as credit card or ATM) when I will be in countries where I am not sure I will have easy access to an ATM.

Since you're from SW Florida, as I am, I'm wondering which bank you use that has good foreign currency exchange. We had a hard time finding Euros earlier this year in Fort Myers. The exchange rate wasn't good at the only bank near us, and they mostly had large bills, which don't work when you need them to pay for a public toilet in Europe.

Edited October 31, 2019 by SWFLAOK
clarification

[briar14]

14 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

Since you're from SW Florida, as I am, I'm wondering which bank you use that has good foreign currency exchange. We had a hard time finding Euros earlier this year in Fort Myers. The exchange rate wasn't good at the only bank near us, and they mostly had large bills, which don't work when you need them to pay for a public toilet in Europe.

We just got Euros in small denominations from our local AAA office. You order what you need and are notified when they arrive at the office. Turnaround this time was about 24 hours. An option if  convenient.

[Hambagahle]

On 10/30/2019 at 11:23 PM, JMARINER said:

Just use your ATM card and any local bank or in the airport and get the local currency. The local bank ATM's usually offer the best exchange rates. Try not to use a non bank branded local ATM as they often add higher fees.  If you do business with any of the bigger banks or  stock brokerage firms like Fidelity, they can set you up with a "fee free" ATM card.  You can usually with draw as little as $20.

 

J

 

 

this is absolutely correct.  Before the advent of ATMs going to a bank before travelling to get foreign currency was what we did.  Now with ATMs everywhere, even in Cruise Terminals, getting currency in advance is not necessary AND costs more.  Just use your home bank ATM card and withdraw the funds from your home account.  You get the best exchange rate this way.   Even in Russia we were able to do this (and in China about 25 years ago I was able to even get the current balance on my NY bank account from an ATM on the Bund!,)

[Keith1010]

For Australia and New Zealand I would recommend using an ATM machine.

 

They are readily available in many areas and we have found that is the way to go.

 

For certain countries where ATM machines are not readily available we would go to our local bank knowing we are paying a premium but we also know it is convenient.

 

Just know how much you are allowed to withdraw daily to be sure you can get the amount you want in the time frame you need it.

 

Keith

[SWFLAOK]

On 10/31/2019 at 10:52 AM, briar14 said:

We just got Euros in small denominations from our local AAA office. You order what you need and are notified when they arrive at the office. Turnaround this time was about 24 hours. An option if  convenient.

We're not AAA members, so we would need to join, and it looks like you need to get their Mastercard as well. We're not interested in doing that.

[SWFLAOK]

On 10/30/2019 at 6:23 PM, JMARINER said:

Just use your ATM card and any local bank or in the airport and get the local currency. The local bank ATM's usually offer the best exchange rates. Try not to use a non bank branded local ATM as they often add higher fees.  If you do business with any of the bigger banks or  stock brokerage firms like Fidelity, they can set you up with a "fee free" ATM card.  You can usually with draw as little as $20.

 

J

 

 

We just finished a Paul Gauguin cruise from Papeete to Fiji. There were no ATMs in Aitutaki, Tonga or our first stop in Fiji, Savu Savu. There were supposed to be currency exchangers on board, but after standing in line waiting for them, they ended up only setting up near the dock,  again with a long line, and weren't available to those of us heading out for excursions since our ship provided transportation wouldn't wait for us.

[taxare]

Sorry SWFLAOK, I don't use local branches for this due to the points you have raised. I go to NY or SF every other month and when I have an upcoming trip and need foreign currency not readily available I stop into one of the larger bank branches with foreign currency exchange. When I went on our Baltic cruise I was able to get all the currencies we wanted in generally small bills and was ready to go. When we do land trips we almost always use local ATMS and then exchange for smaller bills at the hotel desk. Keith1010 has a good point as well. When we were in India after their demonetization the ATMs had a significant restriction on daily withdrawal from the ATMs. This was well below our banks normal withdrawal restrictions. We always bring at least two different ATM cards for these situations or in case one doesn't work for some reason. Sorry I can't be more helpful here in SW Florida. 

[Carol From California]

We never get currency in advance. We use ATM's all over the world. Our bank does not charge any fees.  

[jessandarnie]

On 10/31/2019 at 4:40 AM, jhenry1 said:

I usually purchase local currency from my bank in the Us but wondering if for Australia and New Zealand is that necessary or better to purchase on the ship or in the airport? I know most places accept cards but always like to have some local currency. 

I am an Aussie, you will find 99.99% of places here in Australia now accept credit cards for payment of just about anything, e.g, from  a coffee to a newspaper,restaurant, tours etc, etc.  Tap n Go is just as easily accessible too. ATM withdrawal with your card will give you the better exchange rates. Unfortunately our airport currency exchange outlets is awfully costly.

 

enjoy your stay 

Jane