If you've planned a trip recently, you may have noticed a few things. For one, your flight and hotel prices were probably through the roof. Unfortunately, many factors are affecting the price of travel right now, including high demand, labor disputes, and gas prices. But there is a silver lining for travelers if they choose the right international destination: the strength of the U.S. Dollar (USD). Here are a couple of tips on how to make the USD work for you.

Leverage Favorable Exchange Rates

Most other countries use their own currency, rather than the USD. When you travel to those countries, you have to exchange currencies in order to buy goods, experience excursions, and pay for lodging. Back in the day, that required converting hard currency at banks or exchanges. Now, that can easily be done via an ATM (usually for a fee) or automatically by your credit card company whenever you use a card to pay.

Currently, the international exchange rate is a lot more favorable than in years past. Nowhere is that more evident than in Europe, where the dollar is trading at one-on-one parity with the Euro. As of August 1, 2022 this is saving travelers 10% on their Euro purchases compared to those made just a few months ago in March. That's some fantastic savings across multiple countries!

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Always Pay in Local Currency

If you're traveling abroad soon, make a note to always pay in local currency when you're using your credit card. Most merchants will ask what currency you'd like to pay in. While it may be a natural reaction to respond you’d like to pay in USD, the fact is that credit card processors charge very high fees to make the exchange. It's better for your credit card company to do the conversion on their end so as an example, paying in Euros rather than USD would make sense.

Thinking of traveling internationally soon? Check out our current inventory of vacation packages that will help you save on your next trip and focus on creating new, priceless memories.