A savvy travel expert has revealed the ‘cheapest method’ to obtain foreign holiday currency – and the findings may shock you. Chelsea, dubbed the ‘Holiday Expert’ on social media, put three different approaches to the test to see how exchange rates for 2,000 Thai baht – roughly £46.19 – varied across different locations.
Her experiment led her to a London currency exchange bureau, followed by a UK airport terminal, and finally an ATM in Thailand itself. While the content creator was surprised by her discoveries, she stressed the need to examine potential hidden fees, whatever your preferred withdrawal approach.
“Where is the cheapest place to get your foreign currency from?” she asked her followers on Instagram. “Well, I’m going to test out three places, and the first place is a currency exchange in London, and I’m getting some money out for my trip to Thailand.”
You may be surprised to hear that Chelsea was reportedly charged £49.59 at the London exchange. While some might regard this as quite costly, it paled in comparison to what she encountered at her next stop.
Pursuing her investigation further, she revealed: “Next, let’s try the airport[…] I cannot get over how expensive that was! That cost £67.58. The one thing I will say is that if I have any money left over when I come home, this particular branch will buy it back off me at the exact same rate.”
However, she then added: “I have just checked the receipt, and actually, one of the reasons it is so expensive is that they have charged me a £4.99 fee. What’s that for? I just asked, and that is the fee for the buy-back guarantee. I did tell her off, and she was like, ‘Oh, I told you you’ve got a buy-back guarantee.’
“I said, ‘You didn’t say it cost £4.99.’ How cheeky is that? So, after that realisation, the actual price was £62.59.” Lastly, Chelsea took out 2,000 baht from a cashpoint in Thailand.
She carried out this transaction using a card that doesn’t levy charges for foreign ATM withdrawals. “Ok, got my money and so this is how much it costs – [£52.85],” she said. “I can’t believe that actually the cheapest way to get 2,000 baht out was at home.
“However, it is because Thai cash machines do charge you a fee and there will be other countries that do not. If we were to take that away, then this would have just about won out [at £47.88].”
Aside from this, Chelsea also highlighted the importance of doing your own research before a holiday. Whilst she discovered the London exchange bureau to be most economical, others might encounter varying rates depending on their holiday destination or which bureaus they select.
Captioning the post, Chelsea added: “I still think ATMs are generally a good shout if your bank card doesn’t charge additional fees. It’s also useful when you’re unsure how much money you’ll need – withdrawing as you go can help you avoid being left with extra currency at the end of your trip.
“BUT This is important: if you use an ATM abroad, DO NOT accept the conversion the machine offers you. Decline it! That way, your card provider decides the conversion rate – and it’s usually much better.
“And finally, watch out for hidden charges at currency exchanges! When questioned, the woman at one counter apologised and refunded the buy-back guarantee – but I’m honestly glad it happened. It shows how sneaky some of these fees can be.”
