AT AN AIRPORT

A. Currency Exchange

Currency exchange is a business where people can exchange one currency for another
currency. When you travel to other country you will always need the currency of your country
destination. You can change your currency before going to your country destination and you
can change it at the airport. But here I will show you some tips to you.

Before it, you have to know the exchange rate of the currency, such from Rupiah to
Dollar US, Singapore and others. Here are the exchange rate from Rupiah to other currencies

Mata Uang Symbol Beli Jual

Australian Dollar AUD 10.354,00 10.681,00

Canadian Dollar CAD 10.613,00 10.886,00

Swiss Franc CHF 13.516,00 14.009,00

China Yuan CNY 1.971,00 2.064,00

Danish Krone DKK 2.038,00 2.205,00

EURO Spot Rate EUR 15.588,00 15.961,00

British Pound GBP 17.561,00 17.961,00

Hongkong Dollar HKD 1.660,00 1.781,00

Japanese Yen JPY 117,03 120,99

Norwegian Krone NOK 1.613,00 1.762,00

New Zealand Dollar NZD 9.463,00 9.751,00

Saudi Arabian Real SAR 3.429,00 3.738,00

Swedish Krona SEK 1.605,00 1.710,00

Singapore Dollar SGD 9.717,00 9.982,00

United States Dollar USD 13.320,00 13.520,00

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 When you first started traveling abroad, there were two basic choices: take and
exchange cash or take and exchange travelers checks. I usually did the latter. How times have
changed. Now, anyone younger than 25 might look at me with a raised eyebrow if I mentioned
a travelers check. But the question still persists. With bank fees rising every year and exchange
rates seemingly in constant flux, whats the best way to change your money? There are
many threads on this subject in our user forums. Here are ten simple rules to follow.

1. ATMs are still the best choice for day-to-day funds.

Although some banks have high fees to use foreign ATMs, not to mention adding on
high foreign-transaction fees (Bank of America, for example, charges $5 per withdrawal plus
3% premium on top of each withdrawal at a non-partner ATM), the ATM is still almost always
the cheapest option for changing your money. And if your bank has international ATMs or
partner banks abroad, you can sometimes save a little on your cash withdrawals; thats true
even at BOA, which charges just 1% at member banks and no other fees. Capitol One Bank
charges nothing for a foreign ATM withdrawal, while other banks such as Chase charge 3% on
top of every withdrawal as well as a $3 fee. It pays to shop around for a bank if you travel a lot
internationally.

2. No-fee bureau de change are usually the most expensive places to change
money.

When you see a sign that offers no-fee currency exchange, be sure to check the rates.
Youll notice that they are almost always significantly worse than what youd get if you had
simply taken money out of an ATM. Its a good idea to keep up to date on the latest Interbank
rates (the rates banks pay for foreign currency) to find out if you are getting a good deal. A web
site like www.xe.com can give you those rates, which change daily. At best, you normally pay
between 4% and 9% of the total amount you are exchanging to change money into a foreign
currency, and this cost is usually built into the bad exchange rate. You pay again to change
your euros or pounds back into dollars, so think carefully how much cash you actually need on
a day to day basis.

3. If you need a lot of cash, ask your bank to raise your daily withdrawal limit.

Say you are renting an apartment for a week in Rome or Paris and you need a lot of
euros at once to pay the landlord, your bank may be able to raise your daily withdrawal limit
temporarily to allow you to withdraw much more money than you would normally be allowed

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to take out. ATMs may have smaller withdrawal limits, but you can make multiple withdrawals
from the same ATM or from several ATMs in that case. If you cant get enough cash to pay
for a week in advance, perhaps your landlord will allow you to pay in several installments
throughout your stay. If you have a traveling companion, you can both withdraw cash to make
the initial payment.

4. Never take a cash advance on your credit card except in a dire emergency.

If you take cash from a foreign ATM, you will pay a fee; youll be charged a percentage
on top of your withdrawal as a foreign-transaction charge; and you will start to pay very high
interest (sometimes up to double the regular interest rate you are charged on your credit card)
the moment the cash reaches your hands. Its a pretty bad deal. Avoid it at all costs unless you
have no other choice. Bank of America has pretty egregious fees, as posters in our forums have
found.

5. Use credit cards for large purchases.

Most credit cards charge a foreign-transaction fee of between 1% and 3% whenever

you buy something abroad, but this is still the safest and often the cheapest way to make a large
purchase. Youll almost always come out ahead on the conversion since credit cards add their
fee on top of the Interbank rate. So you are almost always getting the best possible rate of
exchange even though you are paying a fee. (And some banks, like Capital One, still do not
charge anything extra for foreign purchases beyond the 1% that Visa and Mastercard charge;
some credit unions also have very low fees, though membership in credit unions is usually
limited.) Other banks, including Citibank, really gouge consumers by charge a 3% foreign-
transaction fee even if the purchase is made in U.S. dollars.

6. Avoid dynamic currency conversion.

If you are ever given the opportunity to charge your purchase abroad in U.S. dollars,
decline. In fact, you should insist that you be charged in the local currency. So-called dynamic
currency conversion not only offers lousy exchange rates, but it also includes hidden fees, and
your own credit card will charge you its own foreign-transaction fee on top of the cost of the
purchase. In effect, you will be paying double the fees and getting a bad exchange to boot. You
might pay a 10% premium for a purchase. Here is one discussion of the process from our
forums. Just remember, you are always charged a foreign-transaction fee by your credit card
company (if it charges such fees) whether your purchase is made in dollars or foreign currency.

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 7. Dont make purchases with your debit card abroad.

Its very simple. Use your debit/ATM card to make cash withdrawals. Dont use it to
make purchases. If something goes awry, your account will be debited immediately for the
purchase; even if you return something for a refund, your account may not be credited for
several days (perhaps for more than a week if the purchase is made abroad). If a sales clerk
makes a mistake, it could take several days for an erroneous charge to be credited back to your
account. With a credit card, you might never notice that a particular charge has appeared and
disappeared because it will never show up on your statement. But its different with a bank
account. The money actually disappears and may not come back for several days even if its
an error or even if a transaction is cancelled. You might need that cash in the meantime.

8. The Chip-and-PIN situation in Europe.

Most European countries now offer credit and debit cards with a computer chip that
requires a PIN to activate and make a purchase. This is especially common in automated ticket
machines in Europe, even on European toll roads. If your credit or debit card doesnt have a
chip and PIN (hardly any U.S. credit or debit cards do), then you may not be able to buy a ticket
from a machine with your card. Although both Visa and Mastercard promise U.S. cardholders
that their cards are usable anywhere in the world where they should be accepted with just a
signature, you may still have some occasional problems in Europe using your card. Posters in
our user forums have discussed this issue here. The subject was also covered earlier this year
on SmarterTravel.com.

9. Travelers Checks are a good fallback in an emergency.

Although the predominance of ATMs has made some people feel that the simple
travelers check is a relic of a bygone era, it can still be a godsend in an emergency. Its true
that few places in the world still accept travelers checks as payment. Normally, you must
change them in a bank and will be charged a hefty fee for the privilege (though in some
destinations like Mexico, it can be difficult to find a bank that will exchange your travelers
checks). But if you can buy your travelers checks without paying a fee, they are a good fallback
as an emergency stash of cash. And if you have American Express checks, they can still be
cashed in an Amex office abroad. While these arent as prevalent as they once were, they are
still found all over Europe and in many other countries.

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 10. A Ben Franklin is also a great emergency reserve.

A crisp, new US$100 bill is also a good fallback as an emergency reserve of cash. While
I would not travel abroad with a big stack of cash, having a single $100 bill somewhere separate
from your other travel money is a great idea. Even if you lose substantially on the currency
exchange, its a currency thats accepted worldwide.

B. Information Desk

The airport information desk is in the international arrivals area. It is open 24 hours a
day and provides help with general airport enquiries, flight information and paging calls. The
information desk offers additional facilities including:

Photocopying
Printing on-line boarding documents (5.00 each)

The information desk also acts as a tourist information centre offering information on
local accommodation, onward transport connections and attractions in the vicinity. After
security, there is an airline information desk in the departures lounge.

Help points

Assistance can be provided from any of the airport help points. These can be found
within each of the Short Stay Car Parks (Red, Orange, Green, Fast Track and Express Set Down
areas).

You'll also find help phones outside the revolving terminal entrance doors, and along
the outer lane pavement of the set-down area (on the terminal forecourt). You can request free
wheelchair push/provision or help getting your baggage to check in.

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 C. Getting Transportation

When you are out from airport there will be many kinds of public transportation wait
for you, such as taxi, bus, ojek, or maybe you have ordered from online transportation, such as
Go-jek, Uber and many others. Make sure you know where the place is for public transportation
is, because if you looks confused with your own condition some people will take advantages
for you.

After you get your transportation, make sure your driver understand your destination.
Usually your driver will show you some instruction. On the way the driver will have small talks
with you to build comfort situation. After arrived the driver will show the bill that you have to
pay. If you are in western countries dont forget to give tip to the driver, because it is such a
culture there.

Beware because in some countries, Taxi is not the right choice. Like in Vietnam, just a
little of taxi firm is qualified. In DO HO Chi Minh City, taxi labelled Saigon Tourist ask the
parking tax higher than the bill for taxi itself.

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 BIBILIOGRAPHY

http://www.stanstedairport.com/at-the-airport/services-and-facilities/information-desk/

http://www.fodors.com/news/exchanging-your-3870