US-AUD Money conversion????

Question

Hello! I'm permanently migrating to Australia in a month, fantastic, right? Wanted to know if there are any places/organizations/financial institutions that can convert my money from US to AUD without charging a penalty. Everything I find so far keeps about 2% of the converted amount. Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

If you are migrating here permanently you will want to have an Australian bank account.  If you want to transfer a lot of money, it is probably worth doing a telegraphic transfer from your overseas account into your local account in one hit.  If it is not so much you can just keep drawing from ATM's here  (make sure they have a maestro or cirrus logo which means they will be linked) or put your credit card into credit and use it here to buy everything here.  Talk to your bank before you go regardless.

It may be possible to open an account before you leave.  A couple of our big banks operate around the world:-

ANZ- Australia and New Zealand bank.

NAB- National Australia bank.

CBA- Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

It is a pity you didn't migrate a couple of years ago - your money would have been worth twice as much (literally!).

Answer 2

Put all your money in a US credit card and buy things as you require them.

Answer 3

keep it in your US bank account and withdraw it by ATM in Australia pref by debit card (not credit card)- bit by bit if you need to. that way you get the 'real' exchange rate and low or no currency exchange fees

Answer 4

In Australia some travel agents have TRAVELEX incorporated which is the money exchange. Travelex don't charge any fee's or commissions.

Good luck and welcome to Australia.

Feel free to email me via the link on my profile if you have any other questions.