How to Find Currency Exchange Rates for Travel

Why scour the paper looking for currency exchange rates? Save yourself time and trouble and find those rates online.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Take some time to research the currency in the country or region in which you will be traveling. Look for rate histories and current conversion rates to give you an idea of how far you can expect your money to go while abroad; past trends may help you predict what turn the conversion rate is likely to take during your upcoming travel.
2. Get online and look up "currency conversion rates" on any search engine, like Yahoo! or Google. This will return many different conversion calculators and exchange rate services, but you should look for names you recognize, like Bloomberg and Olsen & Associates.
3. Try several different calculators or exchange rate services to make sure you get the same answers. All currency conversion calculators and exchange rate services should be programmed with the latest figures, but some may operate on a delay instead of on real time.
4. Look at the Pacific Exchange Rate Service or Bloomberg to watch rate action for about a week before you plan to travel (see Resources). Upward or downward trends may help you decide when to convert your currency.
5. Convert your currency when you can get the most for your money.

Tips & Warnings

• Convert small amounts of money at a time to avoid large losses during periods of market volatility. Using online exchange rate figures to predict changes in rates may help save you some money.
• Don't trust only one source. Just like doctors, second opinions can't hurt anything and they may wind up saving you some dough.