Buying yen?

[Teris]

Originally Posted by MMM

They can't get it in a day or so? Make sure they aren't just being lazy.

They told me three days, but I leave tomorrow morning anyway, so it won't help me.

Thanks again for all of your help!

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Teris

They told me three days, but I leave tomorrow morning anyway, so it won't help me.

Thanks again for all of your help!

If they really wanted to, they could get it. But have a good trip, and let us know how it goes.

[GoNative]

Interesting that you can get better rates in Narita. From Australia people always get much better rates from Aus banks before leaving than what they can get here in country.

[Teris]

I think it's very dependent on timing. I know for a fact that a couple of years ago, one could get better rates in the US than in Japan. I will report back when I get home to let people know if there are any other charges that occur at Narita. If not, I will get a pretty good deal on the exchange because the travelers checks were free at my bank.

[Teris]

I changed my money at Narita yesterday with no problem. I had US TC and I got a rate of 91.26, which was the current rate listed at Narita on the website. There were no other fees. Because I got free traveler's checks, I think this was a very good deal. I'll be on the lookout for higher rates while I travel. Thanks to everyone for their input.

[jbradfor]

If you are using your ATM card as an ATM card (as opposed to a debit card) to get cash, you are not going though the visa or mastercard system, you are going through a different system. The big ones (in the USA) are Cirrus and Plus. [Wells Fargo uses Plus.] So you want to check the back of your ATM card which system(s) it use(s), and look for ATMs that use that system.

Also, even a US$5 charge per ATM withdraw is not that bad. If you take out the equivalent of USD500 each time, that's only a 1% service charge. That's better than using pretty much any US-issued credit card outside the US. [Almost all US-issued credit cards charge a 3% fee for foreign transactions.] [If your ATM withdraw limit is less than 500 a day, call Wells Fargo and ask them to raise it.]

[discoiskinky]

For Australian's I recommend ordering your Yen via Travelex - they charge no fee's if you book you cash online and they have competitive rates.

I also used their cashpassport visa card as i found the exchange rate and fee's involved were cheaper then using my regular visa card from my bank - some banks have ridiculous exchange fee's for using your card abroad.

[Whitey14]

I would advise against travellers cheques. Ive been to Japan once, and it was a nightmare sitting around in banks waiting for them to be processed...