We all want the best exchange rates right? As some of you will know I have been on our annual pilgrimage to Switzerland this week and this time I have taken the opportunity to compare the exchange rates offered in a local Bureau do change, heathrow airport and Euro Airport Basel. This is a fairly graphic demonstration of how much money you can save by not buying your currency at the airport. The only way to get the best exchange rate is to order it in advance.
The Best Swiss Franc (CHF) Exchange Rate
The exchange rate I personally was interested in was the Swiss Franc and below is a snap shot of the comparison table on the 3rd of November.
You can see that the best rate was from Travel FX at £1 = 1.48CHF. As I went through Heathrow on Saturday I took a snap shot of each currency provider to see exactly how much they were offering. Here is what American Express had to offer…
You can see that the rate available online was 1.48 CHF to the pound but only 1.3325 at Terminal 5 and that is a full 11% more by ordering online.
The Best Exchange Rates (Euro)
But what about the Euro rate? Well, American Express offered €1.1184, Travelex 1.124 and our best rate was 1.2298. That respresents a saving of 9.96% just by buying online.
So who had the best exchange rates at the airport? One the day I was there the best I found was at Travelex and the worst rate was at the International Airport in Basel/Mulhouse where ICE were offering just 1.1028!
We have always said that you can save significant amounts of money by buying in advance and I hope that my holiday snaps help to illustrate that. If you are traveling this winter and you have a few minutes to kill, can we ask you to grab a quick photo of the exchange rates boards in hotels, airports and bureau de change whereever you may be?
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Peter is one of the founding partners for both Compare Holiday Money and Currency Buy Back. He regularly blogs on financial matters and writes content for a number of blogs in the travel industry.