10 financial tips for your year end travel plans

Holiday season and year end travel is around the corner. If you are planning to travel to a foreign locale, tying up hotels, rental cars and sight-seeing tours makes it all the more important to look early for the best deals that will make your holiday memorable.

Contrary to popular belief that USD is the only authentic common currency that can be used for getting your local forex in south east Asian and far eastern countries, the Nafex network makes local currencies as easily available to you. You don’t need to waste your holiday time looking for genuine money changers in your destination country.

Solo travellers prefer to use less cash to avoid getting trapped by touts and counterfeit currency. Nafex assists with real time rates comparison for the amount of money that you need to change, whether you want to carry cash or prepaid forex cards.
 
Here are 10 tips for a stress free holiday:
 
1. Buy your foreign exchange on time: Currency rates fluctuate rapidly so, you should get your foreign exchange ready in advance. 

2. Avoid exchange at airport outlets: Buying foreign currency from the airport is expensive. You will end up paying 10 to 15% commission charged by the airport outlet.  

3. 30/70 rule: Keep 30% of the holiday budget in cash, which you can use to pay for the expenses (taxi, street food, etc), and 70% in Forex Travelcard. 

4. Compare the exchange rates before buying them: Compare the exchange rates offered by at least 3 vendors before you decide. 

5. An International debit card is not your travel card: The debit/credit card issued in India charges up to 5% of the currency conversion. Your forex card carries local currency where the charges are not applicable.

6. Do not use traveler’s cheques: Traveler’s cheques have now been replaced by Forex travel card services. You will be charged 4 to 6% commission on cashing the traveling cheque by the overseas bank.

7. Keep a spare Forex Travel Card with you: It is always better to get a spare forex card that may be used during an emergency.

8. Fund transfer will be easier over cash payments: You can make your transactions more transparent by opting for funds transfer over cash payments. Limit for buying foreign exchange in India is limited to INR. 50,000 in cash payments. You can transfer funds via NEFT/RTGS paying directly to the money changer’s bank account.

9. Cash the leftover foreign currency: The leftover foreign currency can be cashed through nafex.com. It can also be used for next international trip if you do not wish to cash them. Remember, you are not allowed to keep foreign exchange worth more than USD 2000 after 6 months from the date of return of your last trip.
 
10. Use smart Forex for holiday needs: Whether you are planning to go to Europe for Christmas or attend the Chinese New Year, Nafex is a travel buddy to take care of your forex needs.