# U.S. Dollar strongest in a dozen years. Travel now!



## Passepartout (Mar 11, 2015)

The US dollar is now the strongest in 12 years. A Euro costs just $1.05. That €200 Paris hotel that cost almost $300 a couple of years ago can put you up for more than 30% less. Same goes if you are spending dollars in countries denominated in Yen, Pesos, Rubles, even Canadian or Australian dollars.

This strength should be shown when you shop at Target, Wal-Mart, Kohls and other retailers that get their merchandise overseas, but isn't necessarily. The dollar's strength does reflect in the cost of imported cars, but not so much in consumer goods.

So get going while the county's good!

Jim


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## x3 skier (Mar 11, 2015)

Going to Mexico in 5 weeks. Whatever the Peso/$ ratio, I always enjoy the trip. 

Cheers


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## Passepartout (Mar 11, 2015)

x3 skier said:


> Going to Mexico in 5 weeks. Whatever the Peso/$ ratio, I always enjoy the trip.



About 15/$1 officially, but the 'shop' rate is hanging at 12.


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## isisdave (Mar 11, 2015)

BANORTE's ATM has been giving me 14.80 to as much as 15.01 per dollar over the last 4 weeks. That's AFTER the 1.5% fee.

We're off to Europe on April 8.  About three weeks ago when I made the deposits on the places we'll stay, the PayPal  rate was $1.12; now it's several cents less.


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## LAX Mom (Mar 11, 2015)

Great news! Thanks for posting. 

I had DH get some extra euro's when he was in Europe about 5-6 weeks ago. I think the exchange rate was around $1.25 then. I didn't realize the euro was down to $1.05. 

I agree.....it's time to travel!! (As if I needed an incentive.)


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## Ken555 (Mar 12, 2015)

Heading to Europe next month... 


Sent from my iPad


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## MuranoJo (Mar 12, 2015)

As I posted in the SA forum, the exchange rate is better than I've seen for a long time:  12.28 units per USD.  This is actually better than what it was when there was a big interest in SA as an exchanger.


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## BevL (Mar 12, 2015)

That is not great news for all of us - LOL.

However, it has a ways to go since the early 90s when we took a trip with a bunch to Hawaii.  The CAD $ was worth only 65 cents - ouch.


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 12, 2015)

Greece is causing the downturn in the Euro.


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## Talent312 (Mar 13, 2015)

rickandcindy23 said:


> Greece is causing the downturn in the Euro.



Yeah, there's a few other things we should blame/thank the Greeks for...

The silly Olympics: A quadrennial showcase of people who have nothing better to do with their lives than run, jump, throw, and other stuff, as if it the world depended on it.  Also: Marathons... like watching grass grow.

Geometry: The phrase "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" describes the present of the Trojan horse. Students who've had to deal with Pythagoras' theorem can thank Greeks for their gift of geometry.

.


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## mav (Mar 14, 2015)

Passepartout said:


> The US dollar is now the strongest in 12 years. A Euro costs just $1.05. That €200 Paris hotel that cost almost $300 a couple of years ago can put you up for more than 30% less. Same goes if you are spending dollars in countries denominated in Yen, Pesos, Rubles, even Canadian or Australian dollars.
> 
> This strength should be shown when you shop at Target, Wal-Mart, Kohls and other retailers that get their merchandise overseas, but isn't necessarily. The dollar's strength does reflect in the cost of imported cars, but not so much in consumer goods.
> 
> ...



  If I travel anymore I will NEVER go home!   And, yes, the dollar is doing wonderful!


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## GetawaysRus (Mar 14, 2015)

A related article that I came across:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2015/03/12/cheap-cities-europe/70144010/

My work schedule requires that I set up our international travel well in advance.  I don't think anyone knew the Euro would fall this low in 2015.  That makes it hard for me to take maximum advantage of the strong dollar/weak Euro.


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 14, 2015)

I am buying some for my next  EU trips. 

Currency always has its risks, however, I'm fine with the current rate.

Will watch & wait to see if I'll buy more after this purchase.



-


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## rickandcindy23 (Mar 14, 2015)

> Yeah, there's a few other things we should blame the Greeks for...


But it is absolutely true.  It was predicted the Euro would slam to the ground in value.  Greece says they won't pay back their debt because Germany killed Greeks back in WWII.  That is causing a huge shakeup of the Euro.  

The U.S. dollar is being printed like crazy, so the value will tank when that catches up to us.  Economics 101.


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## BocaBoy (Mar 14, 2015)

rickandcindy23 said:


> But it is absolutely true.  It was predicted the Euro would slam to the ground in value.  Greece says they won't pay back their debt because Germany killed Greeks back in WWII.  That is causing a huge shakeup of the Euro.
> 
> The U.S. dollar is being printed like crazy, so the value will tank when that catches up to us.  Economics 101.



Greece is very small and actually not much of a factor in the Euro's drop.  Economics 201.


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## Pompey Family (Mar 15, 2015)

BocaBoy said:


> Greece is very small and actually not much of a factor in the Euro's drop.  Economics 201.



Their size doesn't matter, if they drop the Euro the knock on effect will be huge.


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## wilma (Mar 15, 2015)

rickandcindy23 said:


> But it is absolutely true.  It was predicted the Euro would slam to the ground in value.  Greece says they won't pay back their debt because Germany killed Greeks back in WWII.  That is causing a huge shakeup of the Euro.
> 
> The U.S. dollar is being printed like crazy, so the value will tank when that catches up to us.  Economics 101.



The dollar is also doing well against other world currencies not just the euro. The US economy is stronger and unemployment is down, and overall more robust than other countries. The strong dollar is not just due to Greece....


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 15, 2015)

wilma said:


> The dollar is also doing well against other world currencies not just the euro. The US economy is stronger and unemployment is down, and overall more robust than other countries. The strong dollar is not just due to Greece....



  Good point. 

Interesting article:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...efore-the-dollar-is-worth-more-than-the-euro/



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## bogey21 (Mar 15, 2015)

rickandcindy23 said:


> The U.S. dollar is being printed like crazy, so the value will tank when that catches up to us.  Economics 101.



Agree that dollar printing is imprudent long term.  Looks like many other currencies are doing the same.  Thus the result could be inflation, not dollar devaluation.

George


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## momeason (Mar 15, 2015)

We are leaving in 8 days for a two month trip to Europe. We have prepaid for some one 5 night stay and paid deposits on several others. We also already exchanged for some euros to get us started. 
I wonder how low it will go while we are there. I am not in favor of their whole system seeing large downturns. It is a world economy.

Budapest, Viking River Cruise, Amsterdam and Kuekenhof, Paris, Normandy- (staying with friends). Venice, Rome and friends in  southern Italy..here we come!!


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 15, 2015)

momeason said:


> We are leaving in 8 days for a two month trip to Europe. We have prepaid for some one 5 night stay and paid deposits on several others. We also already exchanged for some euros to get us started.
> I wonder how low it will go while we are there. I am not in favor of their whole system seeing large downturns. It is a world economy.
> 
> Budapest, Viking River Cruise, Amsterdam and Kuekenhof, Paris, Normandy- (staying with friends). Venice, Rome and friends in  southern Italy..here we come!!



 Bon Voyage !

 If you take an escorted tour in Normandy (for the WWII beaches, etc.). I highly recommend  *Overlord* *Tours/Band Of Brothers *day tour. I do not recommend _Victory Tours _despite his good reviews. Overlord tours is the only company that can take you onto Marmion's Farm and Brecourt Manor. They have permission to go onto the property. 
You have to book online and pay in advance as I recall. 

http://www.overlordtour.com/overlordtour-tour-3.html

We stayed at the Churchill and Hotel Lara (same, wonderful owners) in Bayeux.
Try to go on market day. I think Wednesdays and Saturdays unless this has changed.
See the Cathedral in Bayeux as well.

I could live there.


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## Passepartout (Mar 15, 2015)

momeason said:


> We are leaving in 8 days for a two month trip to Europe.



Color me envious!


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## momeason (Mar 15, 2015)

Thanks so much for the tips. I think we will sign up for your recommended tour. Cindy has also recommended the Cathedral in Bayeux. It is on our list. My friend Cindy was my college room-mate and travel partner in Europe when we had a semester abroad in 1979. We were roommates in the house in Venice owned by Wake Forest University, our alma-mater. 
Cindy, who married a Frenchman in 1982, is taking some of her vacation days to show us around. We are staying with her family in Caen. We have a place to stay and transportation and a bi-linqual tour guide for that 5 day part of the trip!! (Cindy comes to see us every other summer when she visits her family in NC) I have only been back to Europe once since 1979. It was to Germany/ Austria in 2003. We are excited!


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## Beaglemom3 (Mar 15, 2015)

momeason said:


> Thanks so much for the tips. I think we will sign up for your recommended tour. Cindy has also recommended the Cathedral in Bayeux. It is on our list. My friend Cindy was my college room-mate and travel partner in Europe when we had a semester abroad in 1979. We were roommates in the house in Venice owned by Wake Forest University, our alma-mater.
> Cindy, who married a Frenchman in 1982, is taking some of her vacation days to show us around. We are staying with her family in Caen. We have a place to stay and transportation and a bi-linqual tour guide for that 5 day part of the trip!! (Cindy comes to see us every other summer when she visits her family in NC) I have only been back to Europe once since 1979. It was to Germany/ Austria in 2003. We are excited!



Color me verte !

The tours fill up fast, fyi.
If you can, watch "Band of Brothers", "Private Ryan" or "The Longest Day" prior to going.

Getting back onto the topic (related)...... it is so nice to travel when the dollar is strong (referring to Americans here). 


-


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 15, 2015)

The Euro's Tumbling: Here's Why - by Pan Pylas, Associated Press/ International/ Wire Story/ abcnews.go.com

 "The euro is notching one milestone after another as it drops against major currencies. On Wednesday, it hit a 12-year low against the dollar and many think its descent has further to go.

The fall in Europe's single currency has been dramatic — 25 percent since May, when it traded just shy of $1.40. Back then, companies across Europe openly fretted about the strength of the euro and its impact on their exports.

Such concerns are now more likely to be heard out of the U.S. or Britain, which are seeing their currencies rebound against the euro. On Wednesday, the euro fell as low as $1.0557, its weakest against the dollar since April 2003.

So what's prompted the euro's plunge?..."





A man walks past a mural in the northern Greek town of Thessaloniki, on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Greece is quickly running out of cash and has to repay debts this month to the International Monetary Fund — which co-funded Greece's 240 billion euro bailout — as well having as treasury bills coming due. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
The Associated Press


Richard


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## VacationForever (Mar 15, 2015)

momeason said:


> We are leaving in 8 days for a two month trip to Europe. We have prepaid for some one 5 night stay and paid deposits on several others. We also already exchanged for some euros to get us started.
> I wonder how low it will go while we are there. I am not in favor of their whole system seeing large downturns. It is a world economy.
> 
> Budapest, Viking River Cruise, Amsterdam and Kuekenhof, Paris, Normandy- (staying with friends). Venice, Rome and friends in  southern Italy..here we come!!



Very nice!  I am very envious!  I am planning our month long France and Italy trip for next year and had initially planned on doing a combination of hotel stays at various places + Viking River Cruise and Tauck (land tour) and finally decided that we could not justify spending so much.  We also are planning to fly business class as my husband won't tolerate anything less.  We went back to planning on just using hotel points (Starwood and Marriott) and airline miles, it turned out that we could go without spending any money on accommodation (and staying at all 5 star hotels) and plane tickets.  We have already identified various local tours to book at each place.  My point junkie husband and our decision to buy weeks from developer for rewards conversion and accumulation of credit card points finally appear to be justifiable.


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## beejaybeeohio (Mar 18, 2015)

*Bad news and good*

We prepaid our 2 nights hotel in Paris and our Eiffel tower tickets .  The smile is because my middle of the night nature's call woke me up to get online and book the tower tickets about 20 minutes after they went on sale Paris time!  When I checked to see if any were available over morning coffee, all that day's spots were gone.

On our upcoming trip we will also be in Iceland, Norway and England- none of which have the euro as their currency- have the ISK, NOK and GBP dropped in the favor of the USD?


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## Pompey Family (Mar 18, 2015)

beejaybeeohio said:


> have the ISK, NOK and GBP dropped in the favor of the USD?



Currently sterling is experiencing a five year low against the dollar.


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## MULTIZ321 (Mar 18, 2015)

beejaybeeohio said:


> We prepaid our 2 nights hotel in Paris and our Eiffel tower tickets .  The smile is because my middle of the night nature's call woke me up to get online and book the tower tickets about 20 minutes after they went on sale Paris time!  When I checked to see if any were available over morning coffee, all that day's spots were gone.
> 
> On our upcoming trip we will also be in Iceland, Norway and England- none of which have the euro as their currency- have the ISK, NOK and GBP dropped in the favor of the USD?



Hi BJB,

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/  is your friend.


Richard


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## meatsss (Mar 18, 2015)

We're going to London, Scotland, and Dublin in August. Is it best to exchange currency there? Or use a credit/debit card? I think the exchange rates at places like LAX or other major airports would include a significant percentage fee for the exchange.


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## Ken555 (Mar 18, 2015)

meatsss said:


> We're going to London, Scotland, and Dublin in August. Is it best to exchange currency there? Or use a credit/debit card? I think the exchange rates at places like LAX or other major airports would include a significant percentage fee for the exchange.



ATMs. ATMs. ATMs. And, use credit cards whenever possible (with a bank that does not charge foreign transaction fees).


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## Passepartout (Mar 18, 2015)

meatsss, To add to what Ken said, use a debit card in the ATMs to avoid cash advance interest rates incurred by using credit cards to get cash. NEVER NEVER use those exchange booths in the airports.They are a solid rip-off!

Jim


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## LannyPC (Mar 19, 2015)

BevL said:


> However, it has a ways to go since the early 90s when we took a trip with a bunch to Hawaii.  The CAD $ was worth only 65 cents - ouch.



It doesn't have that much farther to go.

Unfortunately this plight is putting a dent in our travel plans this year.


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## easyrider (Mar 19, 2015)

It looked like the USD crashed yesterday right after the market closed. It also looks like the USD recovered most of the loss today. I doubt that this has changed much in regards to usd value with other currencies but if the credit card companies use this benchmark and you just paid for your resort bills, those international bills could have been affected.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-18/currency-market-pulverized-dollar-implodes-after-close

Bill


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## uop1497 (Mar 19, 2015)

Beaglemom3 said:


> I am buying some for my next  EU trips.
> 
> Currency always has its risks, however, I'm fine with the current rate.
> 
> ...



Please advise how you can buy EU money. We also like to visit Europe probably next Summer. If the current rate is good, I would like to buy some now. Thank you


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## Passepartout (Mar 19, 2015)

uop1497 said:


> Please advise how you can buy EU money. We also like to visit Europe probably next Summer. If the current rate is good, I would like to buy some now. Thank you



You can buy international currency at your bank (ask a teller), but you'll pay a commission, and there is a good chance it will be even cheaper at the time you are going. You get currency at the best (interbank) rate from ATMs at the time you want it. 

If you want to watch valuations, go to http://www.oanda.com/currency/live-exchange-rates/ warning: this is not a game for the faint of heart. Rates can go down as likely as going up.

Jim


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