Adelaide Airport currency exchange: Beware of high fees

Adelaide Airport is the gateway to South Australia, with some 8 million people passing through every year. Whether you’re a tourist arriving in Adelaide for a trip, or an Australian flying out of Adelaide for a foreign holiday, you might need to exchange currency along the way.

Changing your money to or from Australian dollars at Adelaide Airport won’t be difficult. But you might not get the best possible deal if you use an airport exchange service.

Here’s all you need to know about changing your money at Adelaide airport.

Where to exchange money in Adelaide airport?

In Adelaide Airport you’ll find 3 different Travelex desks, offering currency exchange services. You can do on the spot currency conversions, 365 days a year, and there are desks both before and after you pass through security and customs. Travelex offer currency exchange for over 50 different currencies.

There are also ATMs and foreign exchange ATMs available on the ground floor and level 2.

Although you can just show up and exchange your cash on the spot, you might find you get a better deal on currency exchange if you order it in advance, and collect it from a Travelex desk in Adelaide Airport. Go to the Travelex website to make arrangements for currency exchange and collection.

Should I exchange money in Adelaide airport?

Airports have a rather unusual customer base - travellers passing through, and with no real option about where they shop, eat or drink. This captive market means there is no real competition, and allows many airport currency exchanges to get away with offering a poor deal.

In general, if you need to buy currency for your trip, you’ll get more for your money by ordering it online in advance, or getting cash out from an ATM at your destination.

If you’re arriving in Adelaide and need dollars for the journey into the city, you can either use an ATM or exchange a small amount of cash at the airport. Wait to change the rest of your money in the city, and you’ll likely find a better exchange rate.

Watch out for hidden fees in the exchange rate.

Doing some research in advance can save you a lot of cash on your currency exchange.

One thing to look out for is hidden fees in the exchange rates on offer. A lot of airport currency exchanges don’t offer customers the real mid-market exchange rate - the one you’ll find if you google your currency pairing. Instead, they take the real exchange rate and add markup to it. They make a bigger profit, but you pay more than you need to for your holiday cash.

This is even more common if a currency exchange service says it can offer fee free, or zero commission exchange rates. Be wary. Often in this case, their profit is just hidden - wrapped up in a poor exchange rate. Nobody likes hidden fees - so if you’re considering using an airport currency exchange, make sure you’re getting the real exchange rate for your money.

Use a currency converter to check the airport exchange rate

You can get the real exchange rate for your currency pairing through google, or simply by looking at an online currency converter. Compare this real rate with whatever the currency exchange service is offering, to make sure you’re not ripped off.

What is the best place to exchange money?

If you really want to get currency at the airport, you’ll often get a better rate if you order it in advance and then collect it as you pass through Adelaide Airport, compared to an* on the spot* conversion. If you didn’t manage to place your order in advance, then the next best bet is often withdrawing local cash at an ATM.

With ATMs you’ll usually get reasonable fees and a fair exchange rate compared to airport exchange offices, so long as you avoid dynamic currency conversion (DCC).

Whenever you travel, and use a card to pay for things overseas, or to take money out of an ATM, you might see DCC. It’s where you’re given the option to be charged in your home currency rather than the local one.

Banks and merchants might suggest that DCC makes life easier because you won’t need to do the cost conversion yourself. But there’s a catch. If you choose to pay in your home currency, a poor exchange rate is often used, making the transaction more expensive than it needs to be. Choosing to pay in local currency is always the best option.

Another great option if you’re visiting friends or family during your trip, is to send some money in advance to someone with a local bank account. Choose Wise for this international payment, and you’ll get the real, mid-market exchange rate with just a low upfront fee. Then, when you arrive, simply withdraw local cash from fee-free ATMs, to avoid international cash withdrawal fees altogether.

Of course, if you’re passing through Adelaide Airport because you’re relocating to Australia you might decide to open your own Australian bank account, or you can also use a borderless multi currency account from Wise for day to day transactions. You can also get a linked Wise debit Mastercard, which you can use your AUD balance to pay directly for goods and services, and beat ATM fees entirely.

A borderless account lets you manage your money in over 40 currencies. Hold your money in any of dozens of different currencies in the same account, and convert them to the currency you need, using the mid-market exchange rate, for just a small transparent fee.

You can also get low-cost transfers in major currencies like Australian or US dollars, euros or British pounds, with free local bank details for these regions. Local bank details matter because they allow you to avoid the pesky intermediary bank fees that come with international transfers - so you can send and receive money from friends and family around the world for a fair price, and with the real exchange rate every time.

How to avoid paying high fees on your money exchange in Adelaide

Don’t waste your holiday worrying about your travel money. Use these tips to get a good deal on your currency exchange in Adelaide.

• Choose a comparison service for transfers, or an online currency converter so you can check the exchange rates and fees applied by different exchange services
• Currency exchange rates vary all over the world. Check in advance if it’s cheaper to exchange money before you travel, or on arrival
• If you’re going to use your card for ATM withdrawals, check if your home bank has a partner institution in Australia. If they do, you may get cheap or free ATM withdrawals with the partner bank
• Don’t change more money than you think you’ll need, and spend all you exchange. Otherwise you’ll pay fees a second time when you change left over holiday money back to your home currency.

There are lots of options out there, when it comes to getting a good deal on your currency exchange. A little research in advance goes a long way to helping you avoid high fees for currency conversion. Then all you need to to is kick back and enjoy your trip.

All sources are accurate as of 17 October 2018

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