currency exchange

[rebeccatess]

I want to change dirhams to US dollars and so far have been told by al ansari exchange they charge a minimum of 75dhs to change any amount plus commission which seems pretty steep.

Any ideas on where is the best place here or is it best to do it in USA?

[rsinner]

Originally Posted by rebeccatess

I want to change dirhams to US dollars and so far have been told by al ansari exchange they charge a minimum of 75dhs to change any amount plus commission which seems pretty steep.

Any ideas on where is the best place here or is it best to do it in USA?

I don't think that is correct. The last time I converted USD to AED, they just converted without any additional fee (of course, the exchange rate has a spread). Not sure how competitive it would be in the US, but if it is not a huge sum of money (there are surely rules as to how much cash you can carry out of UAE/into the US) you can walk in to any exchange. I would avoid exchanges in the MOE/bigger malls though as the spread there is higher.

[Jynxgirl]

Seem you were given the western rate... imo.

[rebeccatess]

I have learned never to believe anything anyone in a call centre here says! I'll try a smaller exchange later today

[md000]

Go directly to your bank - this will be the best exchange. Any of the smaller exchanges will charge a large spread.

Another thing that I do - use my debit card from here overseas. Yes, there is a fee - but it is not that much relative to the spread and fee charged by the exchange or the bank.

Or, just buy gold and sell it when you get to America.

-md000/mike

[indoMLA]

How much are you looking to exchange?
I have a few US bills with me and am willing to exchange to AED. Let me know.

[rsinner]

I would disagree - banks are the convenient option, but in general I have seen that their spreads are higher than exchanges (e.g. I just checked my HSBC online and the rate they have put up has a spread of 0.02) - however, this does not matter much if the amount is not very high

@Rebeccatess - the 75 Dhs charge that Al Ansari mentioned is for a bank transfer (just checked their website). If you are just getting cash exchanged, there is no charge. also, I meant go to an exchange (e.g. Al Ansari) in a non-mall branch (so don't go to Al Ansari MOE but Al Ansari in Lulu Al Barsha which is closeby). However, if the amount is not large I would not bother and just go to MOE or wherever

[rsinner]

Just calculated - the 0.02 spread makes a difference only if you are exchanging a few million dhs If it is say 20,000 Dhs, the difference is only about 30 USD

[md000]

As a FYI, you can only bring $10,000 into the U.S. without declaring it. Any more requires a customs declaration and, probably, a long detailed and uncomfortable question and answer session.

-md000/mike