USD/GBP atm at airport

mel.b

Does anyone know where i can find out what the exchange rate and fees are like dor the atms at DUB airport that dispense USD? Last time i needed USD i preordered it at one of the counters and it was such a hassle and then i saw the atms so just wondering if that will be easier if the fees and rate isn't horrendous.

athtrasna

mel.b wrote: »

Does anyone know where i can find out what the exchange rate and fees are like dor the atms at DUB airport that dispense USD? Last time i needed USD i preordered it at one of the counters and it was such a hassle and then i saw the atms so just wondering if that will be easier if the fees and rate isn't horrendous.

Take it out in the airport you arrive in, much cheaper

Eponymous

The rates at the airport are shocking.

Best option is to either use your card abroad at the foreign ATMs or to get a Dollar currency card from An Post. I have a sterling one and find it quite useful for travelling for work or buying from UK websites like Amazon.

mel.b

Eponymous wrote: »

The rates at the airport are shocking.

Best option is to either use your card abroad at the foreign ATMs or to get a Dollar currency card from An Post. I have a sterling one and find it quite useful for travelling for work or buying from UK websites like Amazon.

Unfortunatly i can't use my card abroad as i'm travelling to zanzibar but need USD to pay for accomodation etc. looks like i'll be getting cash at the post office or bank instead.

coylemj

mel.b wrote: »

Unfortunatly i can't use my card abroad as i'm travelling to zanzibar but need USD to pay for accomodation etc. looks like i'll be getting cash at the post office or bank instead.

Don't get it at the post office, they set their rates every day at a point in between the the two main banks so check AIB and BoI and whichever is offering the better rate on the day, buy there. The post office is never the best place for FX.

And don't wait until you get to the airport, they're paying staff to work long and unsocial hours and they're paying high rent for that space, you can guess who ultimately pays those expenses.

mel.b

coylemj wrote: »

Don't get it at the post office, they set their rates every day at a point in between the the two main banks so check AIB and BoI and whichever is offering the better rate on the day, buy there. The post office is never the best place for FX.

And don't wait until you get to the airport, they're paying staff to work long and unsocial hours and they're paying high rent for that space, you can guess who ultimately pays those expenses.

Do the banks charge a commission or fee? I was looking on their websites but couldn't see anything.

srsly78

You are looking for the wrong info, commission and fees are not really that important. Only the effective rate matters.

Put it like this, the post office love to advertise about being "commission free" - but their rates are awful so their effective rate is very poor.

In many cases you would get a better rate just using your normal Irish debit card in an ATM and taking out dollars (note: the fx rate and charges come from visa/mastercard in this case, not your bank).

coylemj

mel.b wrote: »

Do the banks charge a commission or fee? I was looking on their websites but couldn't see anything.

Yes they do but one of them always beats An Post even though an awful lot of people equate 'commission free' with 'best rate'.

The banks' commission is 1% with a minimum of €1.27 (one old punt) for AIB and €1.25 for BoI. The maximum in both cases is €6.35 per FX transaction.

Today's quoted rates for 'we sell US dollar notes' ....

AIB 1.0571
An Post 1.0389
BoI 1.0396

So by the looks of it, the post office is the worst rate but with commission, it turns out that BoI is worst, here is how much USD 500 will cost at the counter, including commission...

AIB €477.72
An Post €481.28
BoI €485.76

So I repeat what I've said here and in other threads, look at the rates quoted by AIB and BoI on any given day and go with the better of the two. Do not bother with An Post because they always pitch in the middle. I have never seen a day when An Post was best or worst of the three, they are always in the middle, clearly by design.

mel.b

Just following this thread up as I actually got my money yesterday. I ended up getting it at the post office...

I checked online and the aib rate was showing at 1.05xx while an post was showing 1.0325 so it made sense to get it at the bank. When I got into the bank their foreign exchange board had it listed at 1.0354 with the same updated time and date that was the on the website. Then I discovered that there are two sets of rates on the AIB website - one for outgoing international payments and one for purchasing notes in the bank. If you do a search for foreign exchange on AIB's website, it is the outgoing payments that comes up first and that is the higher rate, so it's easy to be confused. A few more items down is the link for the actual rates you get when purchasing the notes in the bank.
https://aib.ie/our-products/current-accounts/foreign-exchange/foreign-exchange-rates-sell - NOT this rate
https://aib.ie/fxrates-calculator - this is the actual rate

As I was in the bank I decided to stay there and queued for 20mins only to be told they didn't have enough (I only wanted $1200) and I'd have to come back later. I decided not to do that, walked 50m down the road to the post office, queued for a few minutes and walked out with my money about 5min later. The anpost rate yesterday was 1.0325

Looking at the correct rates today:
AIB: 1.0198
BOI: 1.0173
An Post: 1.0153

However when the max fee from the banks is taken into account, changing at anpost means you'd actually end up with the most money (even if it is only a few $)