The best exchange rate for converting New Zealand dollars is always obtained by paying with a card, as it is by far the most economical option. And to carry some cash, the best option is to withdraw money from an ATM.
In other words, the best strategy to save money to the maximum would be to always pay with a card (as we will see later, in 2024 the Wise card offers the best exchange rates and the lowest costs on the market) and only withdraw the amount of cash from the ATM that we are going to need.
Certainly, this technique to save the maximum amount of money possible on your vacation may surprise you, since in the end if you go to any currency exchange or bank you will see how it is advertised everywhere that “there are no commissions” and, therefore, one might simply think that it would be logical to exchange dollars for the exchange rate at that time and that’s it, right? Well, no! Everything has a cost, even paying with a card has a cost, although they don’t tell you or you don’t see it at first glance.
I’m going to tell you a secret: this website was created by a group of friends who have worked for several years in currency exchange offices and frankly, the truth is that exchanging cash is the worst option by far. Furthermore, to give you an idea of the dimension of this bad alternative, you should know that most currency exchange operators or bank employees have discounts for exchanging currencies compared to the exchange rates offered to customers. Even with that, we never exchange cash. At most, depending on the trip, only a small amount for certain payments or in case it is necessary to enter the country.
So, it is clear: always pay with a card and only withdraw cash dollars from an ATM that you are going to need. Now let’s see how to pay the lowest possible cost in both cases:
What is the best card for paying abroad?
Based on the study we have conducted of all the cards available on the market for this year 2024, for paying in any foreign country, travel cards have a lower cost than bank cards and among travel cards, the one that provides lower costs is the Wise card.
These results are valid not only for payments in international stores in foreign currency (Wise would offer the best conditions, other travel cards would be on average about 4 times more expensive and bank cards on average about 10 times more expensive); but also for the costs of withdrawing cash in foreign currencies at ATMs outside your country (Wise would again offer the lowest expenses, other travel cards would be on average about 4 times more expensive and bank cards on average about 20 times more expensive).
Likewise, if you want to know exactly the differences in costs and functionalities among the different cards you can find on the market in 2024, do not miss our comparative study at this link. As you will see, this comprehensive study analyzes all types of cards (debit, credit, and prepaid) and all types of providers (banks, fintech, financial institutions, etc.).
Do I need to take cards from my country abroad?
As we have mentioned, it is preferable to use the Wise card rather than a conventional bank card or other travel cards, as you will save a significant amount of money when paying in foreign stores and when withdrawing money from international ATMs by paying the lowest possible commissions.
Thus, in principle, it would not be necessary to carry any other card, but keep in mind that if you are going to make payments such as renting a car, you will need a credit card, since most car rental companies will retain an amount as a deposit and will only accept credit cards.
If, on the other hand, you are not going to carry out these types of operations, it is advisable to leave your bank cards with higher balances at home and only for security, it would be advisable to carry an extra debit card with a little balance in case of emergency (imagine that your other card is damaged or stolen and you also lose your mobile phone, so you would have nothing to pay with).
Consider that in case of theft, you run the risk of fraudulent operations being carried out with your cards within the limits they have, while with the Wise card we recommend, your balance will never go negative, so only the balance deposited in it could be spent.
Furthermore, you can instantly block your Wise card from your mobile phone, while with your bank cards, you may need to call your bank to cancel them, running the risk that they may not provide service at that time due to being a holiday or being outside customer service hours.
For all these reasons, when traveling, it is always much better to carry a debit card like Wise with the amount of money you are going to need. If you need more, you can always reload it instantly through the mobile application and if you want to block it for loss or theft, you can do so immediately through the application as well. This way, you will have full access to your money at all times, without paying commissions for it and minimizing the risk of theft.
As you can see, this card has numerous functionalities through the mobile phone, so it is important that you ensure that your phone battery is always fully charged. To do this, remember that in many countries the plugs are different. Therefore, it would be a very good idea to purchase a universal plug adapter for traveling, as it could be useful for any trip you are going to make in the future. In this link, for a very affordable price, we show you a universal plug adapter, as well as other ideal and necessary products for traveling.
Finally, it is important to know that if you are going to take your credit bank card to be able to pay deposits in operations such as car rental, before traveling it is advisable to inform your bank that you are going to travel abroad and about the limits you are going to need. Keep in mind that all cards have daily, weekly, and monthly limits, and when traveling you are going to spend more than usual, so, in case you have somewhat low limits, without knowing it you could reach your limit and find yourself in a serious predicament.
What to do if my card runs out of balance abroad?
If your debit card runs out of balance abroad, you can always get money in a very simple way:
- If you have a bank card, you must contact a family member or friend who is a customer of the same bank, so that they can make a transfer to your account. Between accounts of the same entity, the money arrives instantly, so, by completing the transfer, your card will be able to consume the new balance of your account. Another option would be to make an “immediate transfer” between accounts of different banks, as it is also done instantly.
- If you have a prepaid card like Wise, you can reload it through the App (or someone else can do it for you) and receive the money instantly.
What do I do if all my cards are stolen abroad?
If all your cards are stolen abroad, these would be your alternatives to get by:
- Use dollars you have withdrawn from the ATM: You can pay with cash in foreign currency in case you have made a withdrawal at the international ATM.
- Exchange your currency for cash: It is always advisable to carry some cash in your country’s currency in case you have an emergency, as you could exchange it for dollars at exchange establishments if necessary.
- Pay with your mobile phone: If your phone has NFC technology and your bank offers mobile payment service, you must link your mobile phone with your card and even if it is canceled or blocked due to theft, you can continue paying with your phone without any problem.
- Have someone pay you what you need from your country: If you simply need to purchase a plane, train, or boat ticket, any contact you have in your country could pay for it online and send you the boarding pass by mobile (or you could download it through the company’s application).
- Receive money through money transfer agencies: In most tourist cities, there are many of these types of agencies. In them, any contact you have could make a transfer from your country for you to receive the money abroad.
- Sell your jewelry at a gold buying store: In most major cities around the world, there are numerous gold buying establishments where they will buy any gold jewelry from you without any problem.
- Sell your most valuable assets at a second-hand buying and selling store: The most coveted and easiest to sell assets would be technological products such as mobile phones or laptops, as well as clothing of a certain quality and watches.
- Ask for money: The easiest way to get what you need would be to ask fellow citizens who can trust you. If you need a small amount, the perfect place to ask is next to vending machines, as everyone receives change from them and when asking, it is very easy for people to give you something.
- Go to your Embassy or Consulate: As a last resort, the representatives of your country can always provide assistance.
Where to find the best exchange for New Zealand dollars in cash?
As we said before, the cheapest way to get cash dollars is by withdrawing money from ATMs.
In any case, if you wanted to exchange cash dollars at a currency exchange or bank, an exchange rate of less than 5% margin from the official exchange rate would be a good exchange rate. Between 5%-10% margin, it would be an acceptable exchange rate; between 10%-15%, it would be a bad exchange rate, and beyond 15%, it would be usury.
The official exchange rate of the New Zealand dollar against your currency can be easily found on Google. By subtracting the rate they offer you and dividing the difference between both by the official exchange rate, we will obtain the percentage of margin they would be applying to you.
Usually, highly trafficked areas of tourist sites are the worst places to exchange currencies, as they apply higher margins on exchange rates. Therefore, it is best to search beforehand on the Internet for the location of a good exchange establishment instead of going to the first one you see.
In any case, if it were necessary to exchange a small amount of money, it would not matter much where to exchange in case of need and urgency, since it would be a matter of assuming a small extra cost in the worst case scenario.
How much cash is enough for traveling?
Exchanging cash only has two functions:
- It serves as an emergency in case your card and mobile phone are stolen so you can at least get by: eat something, make a call, get to the embassy if you need to request a duplicate passport and get to the airport to leave the country.
- It serves in case we need to make cash payments: in some street stores, some vending machines, and to pay for some services, such as laundries, phone booths, shopping carts that require coins, etc.
Thus, depending on the days you are going to be there and what you plan to spend in cash, you can calculate more or less what you need, which in any case should not be a large amount.
Is it possible to know if in the future the exchange rate of dollars will be better or worse?
The official quotations of all currencies work like any other financial market just like the Stock Exchange. Obviously there are analysts and financial gurus who make their predictions, but like predictions about stock prices, with the data at hand there is no evidence that anyone can predict future prices.
Generally, exchange market quotations tend to be quite stable and over the course of a month they do not vary much more than 5%, unless an unexpected economic or political event occurs, such as the unexpected victory of an opposition party with a groundbreaking economic program.