how to avoid getting robbed by the exchange rate?

Question

i'm going to england, france, switzerland and italy this summer (only for like 12 days). the exchange is pretty bad- 1 pound= around 2 american $$ and 1 euro= 1.34$ american. how do i avoid losing soo much money?

Answer 1

You are going to have a very expensive vacation. Using credit cards and ATMs for cash will help but even before the latest increase Europe looked very expensive to an American tourist spending dollars. Exchange rates are determined by tradable goods but as a tourist you will consume mostly low wage service labor, and unskilled workers are paid more in Europe that in the US., For example the minimum wage in England is over $10 per hour at today's rates. Added to that is VAT tax near 20% that is added to everything you buy

Answer 2

You need to understand that you aren't losing any money. 1 pound equals about $2 because they buy approximately the same amount of goods. Same goes for the Euro. What you should be worried about instead is making sure that you are getting the right exchange rate and aren't being charged huge fees hidden within the exchange rate.

Answer 3

i found that using a credit/debit card allows you to get the current rate, but you need to make sure that your credit card company doesn't charge a foreign currency fee.
i also found that most places will not take traveler's cheques.

good luck.