Your trip was a success; and as it comes to a close, you once again find yourself with excess currency — and you wonder what is the best way to get rid of it: spend it on something you do not want or need? Exchange it back into the currency you will use when you travel home and take a loss? Donate it to a worthwhile organization or to someone who is in need? Keep it as a souvenir or give it as a gift to a family member?
Stupid Tip of the Day: An Easy Way to Get Rid of Excess Foreign Currency
While the aforementioned solutions are all viable — and although there are certainly other legitimate alternatives — an easy way to get rid of excess foreign currency is to use it to help pay the bill at the last hotel or resort property at which you are staying on your trip.
Simply ask the person behind the front desk if he or she will take the currency as partial payment for the final bill and use the credit card for the remaining balance on your folio. I have never been denied this request; and fulfilling it only takes a few extra minutes.
Summary
Obviously, using your excess foreign currency to help pay for your lodging will not work if you already paid in full in advance on a restricted reservation which cannot be modified without a penalty — and if the currency is different than that officially used in the country in which the hotel or resort property is located, that usually will not work either — but I have used this method successfully with no issues a number of times; and I usually have no foreign currency left by the time I am homeward bound…
…and the best part is that it costs nothing to accomplish.
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
