Step-by-Step: Converting Currency Before an International Trip

Updated on December 1, 2025

Why Getting This Wrong Can Cost You Hundreds

Last summer, a colleague of mine landed in Tokyo with only US dollars and headed straight to the airport exchange counter. She converted $400 on the spot — and quietly lost around $38 to fees and a lousy rate before she'd even left the terminal. The trip was wonderful, but that $38 nagged at her the whole time.

Currency conversion isn't complicated, but it's one of those things travelers consistently handle poorly — usually because they leave it until the last minute or assume all methods are roughly the same. They're not. The difference between a smart exchange and a careless one can easily be $50 to $150 on a week-long international trip.

This walkthrough takes you through the full process — from figuring out how much cash you actually need, to timing your exchange, to choosing the cheapest method for your specific destination.

Step 1: Research Whether Your Destination Is Cash-Heavy or Card-Friendly

Before you think about exchange rates, find out what your destination actually runs on. This shapes everything else.

  • Card-friendly cities (London, Amsterdam, Singapore, most of Western Europe): You can survive on almost no cash. A small emergency stash of local currency — say, the equivalent of $50–$80 — is usually enough for the odd market vendor or small café.
  • Cash-dominant destinations (Morocco, Vietnam, Indonesia, parts of Central America): Many vendors don't accept cards at all, or charge a surcharge for using them. You'll want to carry more — budget for 40–60% of your daily spending in cash.
  • Japan: A special case. It's highly developed but still extremely cash-reliant. Carry more yen than you think you need.

A quick Reddit search for "[destination] cash or card" in the relevant travel subreddit will give you candid, current answers from people who were just there. Don't rely solely on general travel blogs — payment culture shifts faster than articles get updated.

Step 2: Calculate a Realistic Cash Budget

Don't just guess a round number like "$300 should be fine." Actually work it out.

  1. List the days you'll be in-country.
  2. Estimate your daily cash spend: street food, local transport, small purchases, tips, entrance fees to temples or markets.
  3. Add a 20% buffer for unexpected cash needs — a taxi when you're exhausted, a pharmacy run, a last-minute souvenir.

For example: 9 days in Vietnam, estimating $25/day in cash spending = $225 + 20% buffer = $270. That's your target. Now you know what you're converting, and you won't over-exchange and get stuck reconverting the leftover at another bad rate.

Step 3: Understand What "Exchange Rate" Actually Means

The rate you see quoted on Google (called the interbank or mid-market rate) is what banks use to trade currency with each other. You will never get that rate as a regular customer — but it's your benchmark for judging whether you're being ripped off.

The gap between the mid-market rate and what you're offered is where the money disappears. A provider offering a "no fee" exchange is almost certainly building their profit into a wider spread (a worse rate). A provider charging a small flat fee but offering a tighter rate might actually cost you less overall, especially on larger amounts.

The practical move: before you exchange anything, check the mid-market rate on Google, XE.com, or Wise's rate comparison tool. Then compare what your provider is actually offering. If the difference is more than 2–3%, keep shopping.

Step 4: Know Which Exchange Method to Avoid

Some options are almost universally bad. Avoid these unless you have no other choice:

  • Airport exchange counters (departure and arrival): Convenient, yes. Cheap, never. Margins of 8–15% are common. Use these only for tiny amounts if you're desperate for a few bills on arrival.
  • Hotel front desks: Even worse, typically. Hotels treat currency exchange as a profit center, not a service.
  • Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC): This is the sneaky trick where a foreign card terminal or ATM asks if you want to pay in your home currency instead of the local one. Always, always say no. Their conversion rate is terrible, and your bank's foreign transaction fee still applies on top.

Step 5: Choose Your Best Exchange Method

Now for the actual options, ranked by what tends to work best for most travelers:

Option A: Withdraw from a Local ATM on Arrival

For most destinations, withdrawing cash from a reputable ATM using a debit card with low or no foreign transaction fees is the gold standard. Banks like Charles Schwab (US), Starling (UK), and Wise offer accounts that reimburse ATM fees or charge nothing for foreign withdrawals.

The key: use ATMs attached to major local banks (look for recognizable names or bank branches), not standalone machines in tourist areas. Those independent kiosks often charge sky-high fees and use worse conversion rates. Withdraw in a larger single amount rather than multiple small withdrawals, to minimize per-transaction fees.

Option B: Wise or Revolut — Transfer Money to a Multi-Currency Account

If you're going somewhere with less reliable ATM infrastructure, or you're carrying a significant cash amount, Wise (formerly TransferWise) and Revolut let you convert currency online at near mid-market rates before you travel. You can then either spend on their card or withdraw locally.

Wise is particularly transparent — you see the exact fee upfront, there's no markup on the rate, and you can hold local currency in your account before departure. Revolut offers free currency exchange up to a monthly limit (watch for weekend surcharges on some currency pairs).

Option C: Order Currency from Your Bank or a Currency Specialist

If you genuinely want physical cash before you leave — useful for the first few hours in a new country — order it from your bank or a currency specialist like Travelex online (not at the airport counter), CurrencyFair, or your local bank's branch.

Bank rates are usually mediocre but not catastrophic. Currency specialists sometimes offer better rates, especially if you're converting a larger amount. Order at least 5–7 days before departure to ensure delivery if it's being mailed. Never leave this to the day before — you'll end up at an airport kiosk in panic mode.

Option D: Local Money Changers (Destination-Dependent)

In parts of Southeast Asia — Bali, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City — licensed street money changers often offer better rates than banks or ATMs. This sounds counterintuitive, but it's genuinely true in certain markets. The catch: you need to know which ones are legitimate and current on rates.

Ask your guesthouse or hotel for a trusted recommendation. Always count your money before leaving the counter. The "slow count" scam — where the changer re-counts and quietly removes bills — is real, especially in tourist-heavy areas.

Step 6: Time Your Exchange Wisely

Exchange rates shift constantly, and while you shouldn't try to "play" the currency market, a few timing principles help:

  • Don't exchange at the last minute — desperation leads to bad decisions and bad rates.
  • Watch for major news events that could affect your target currency (elections, central bank announcements). If the local currency is volatile, hedging by converting a portion a few weeks early isn't unreasonable.
  • Avoid exchanging money on weekends if you're using Revolut — some currencies carry a small weekend surcharge because the interbank market is closed.

Step 7: Split Your Strategy

The smartest travelers don't use just one method. A typical setup might look like this:

  1. Carry a small amount of local currency from home for immediate arrival needs — taxi, a coffee, a SIM card.
  2. Use a Wise or Revolut card for card payments throughout the trip to get near mid-market rates automatically.
  3. Withdraw cash from a local ATM (using a fee-free debit card) for markets, small vendors, and anywhere cards aren't accepted.

This approach covers virtually every scenario without locking you into any single method that might have a bad rate or fail unexpectedly.

One Last Thing: What to Do With Leftover Currency

Coming home with leftover foreign cash is annoying. A few options: keep it if you're returning to that country, deposit it to your Wise account if it supports that currency, or donate coins to airport charity boxes (most airports have them and cannot accept coins for reconversion anyway). Reconverting small amounts at home usually costs more than it's worth.

Plan your cash budget tightly in Step 2, and you'll rarely have much left over to worry about.