Part II: Planning Your Trip to Australia in .NET framework

Print Universal Product Code version A in .NET framework Part II: Planning Your Trip to Australia

You re the best judge of how much cash you feel comfortable carrying or what alternative is your favorite and that s not going to change much on your vacation True, you ll probably be moving around more and incurring more expenses than you generally do (unless you happen to eat out every meal when you re at home), and you may let your mind slip into vacation gear and not be as vigilant about your safety But, those factors aside, the only type of payment that won t be quite as available to you away from home is your personal checkbook The Australian dollar is divided into 100 Coins are 5 , 10 , 20 , and 50 pieces (silver) and $1 and $2 pieces (gold) Prices often end in a variant of 1 and 2 (for example, 78 or $271), a relic from the days before 1cent and 2-cent pieces were phased out Prices are rounded to the nearest 5 so 77 rounds down to 75 , and 78 rounds up to 80 Bank notes come in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 Universal Currency Converter (wwwxecom/ucc) gives up-to-theminute conversions for your dollar or pound Table 5-1 offers a rough idea of how many Australian dollars you ll get for your home currency The rate of exchange used for the US dollar was US$1 = A$125 (or A$1 = US$080) The exchange rate for the British pound was 1 = A$245 (or A$1 = 040) Exchange at least some money just enough to cover airport incidentals and transportation to your hotel before you leave home (though don t expect the exchange rate to be ideal), so you can avoid lines at airport ATMs When you change money, ask for some small bills or loose change Petty cash will come in handy for tipping and public transportation Consider keeping the change separate from your larger bills, so that it s readily accessible and you ll be less of a target for theft You can exchange money before you leave at your local American Express or Thomas Cook office or at most major banks American Express offers traveler s checks and foreign currency (with a $15 order fee and additional shipping costs) at wwwamericanexpresscom or % 800-807-6233

The easiest and best way to get cash away from home is from an ATM, sometimes referred to as a cash machine or money machine in Australia The Cirrus (% 800-424-7787; wwwmastercardcom) and PLUS (% 800843-7587; wwwvisacom) networks span the globe; look at the back of your bank card to see which network you re on, and then call or check online for ATM locations at your destination Be sure you know your

Table 5-1

025 050 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1500 2000 2500

020 040 080 160 240 320 400 480 560 640 720 800 1200 1600 2000

010 020 040 080 120 160 200 240 280 320 360 400 600 800 1000

3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500 8000 8500 9000 9500 10000

2400 2800 3200 3600 4000 4400 4800 5200 5600 6000 6400 6800 7200 7600 8000

1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 3000 3200 3400 3600 3800 4000

personal identification number (PIN) before you leave home, and find out your daily withdrawal limit Keep in mind that many banks impose a fee every time your card is used at a different bank s ATM, and that fee can be much higher for international transactions (up to $5 or more) On top of this, the bank from which you withdraw cash may charge its own fee Check with your bank to find out what kind of fee will be added for international withdrawals, and plan your visits to ATMs accordingly Even with the international transaction fees, ATMs often offer the best exchange rates Avoid exchanging money at commercial exchange bureaus and hotels, which often have the highest transaction fees Australian ATMs use four-digit PINs, so if you have a longer PIN, make sure you change yours to a four-digit one before you leave home The major banks in Australia are the National Australia Bank, the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, and Westpac