Money Exchange, Prague

I saw countless money exchange warnings on VT. When we reached Prague, I went directly to the ATM at the airport. Using my credit card, I received an exchange rate that was the same as the general rate. I did have to pay a cash advance fee and I did get charged interest from the first day. But this is still less than the total of the fees that are charged at most money exchange bureaus.

My wife used her checking acct card and received a great exchange rate, but had to pay a $5.00 fee. This is about the cheapest you are going to get.

Check your bank account rules and see how much it is to use a foreign ATM. If it's a reasonable fee (<$5), this is the way to get money in Prague.

the con happens even outside the city centre
just be wary of anyone automatically asking you directions in English (how do they know? Should they at least start speaking in Czech) and an English speaking "police" officer?

Hands by sides/ in pockets so they cannot say there was any contact.

If you are walking on the street and suddenly someone telling you about change money, say no and continue walking. They deceive you when you change the money, so change money on banks, hotels and official money change offices, there are many around Prague.

Si vas caminando por la calle y de repente alguien te para y te dice que cambies dinero, di que no y sigue andando. Te engañan a la hora de cambiar el dinero, así que cambia el dinero en los bancos, hoteles y oficinas de cambio de dinero, hay muchas oficinas en Praga.

This is probably a standard warning that you would be careful of anywhere in the world (although I have to admit I have dabbled myself in the past). The poster is warning you not to change money with people on the street. The risk being that you can be passed counterfeit currency that isn’t worth anything.

This poster was displayed in the middle of the Old Town Square. There was a big Police van parked there, and this poster was proper up against the side of the van. To be quite honest, I can’t see the attraction of changing money on the street in a place like Prague, there are plenty of cash machines, and the Czech currency is a hard currency, so you don’t get the higher exchange rates that you could get in the past in the Eastern European countries where people were after hard currency to avoid the rapid depreciation of their own local currency.

Never did any exchanges, But the police had some banners in town, trying to make people aware of old czech notes or even other currencies being exchanged which are worth about the same as a piece of toilet paper!

AVOID!

Be careful of the shadey men that hang around the exchanges they come up to you and try to get you to exchange don't do it. They are often watched and there notes can be dodgey. All the notes we had in change were brand new.

Well, we were told by some people who had visited Prague that it was very cheap. I guess the bus transfer from the airport was cheap. And if you like Czech beer then you'll enjoy a pint in some of the pubs out in the sticks for 50 pence. But we found the city far from cheap. For a start, clothes, trainers, mobile phones etc, were on a par with Scotland. Eating out in a fairly standard Italian, or Mexican, was very comparable with prices back home. We paid £25 for one starter, two pizzas, one bottle of Moravian wine (!). I can get a better deal back in Glasgow!! Irish pubs are a major rip-off. We went into Caffreys on the Old Town Square. Asked for a pint and a half of cider. Received the 'pint' in a glass that probably held about two thirds of a pint, and that cost me £2.20!!!! That's a mile dearer than in Glasgow. One small bottle of Strongbow in a Mexican restaurant cost me £2.50, and it wasn't even close to being a pint. I think the Prague people have caught on to what to charge. Take plenty of cash folks if you want to eat out in this city!

Never do it on the street. Check a few places before changing. Ask how much exactly you are going to get for your money. Carefuly read the notes writen with small letters on the botom of the excange board. Sometimes the rates seem fear, there is no commision but when you chang a money, you are given far less than it was writen you should. The trick is that on the botom of the board it is writen that the rates are valid only for exp. over 600 hundred euros. Once the transaction is made , you can,t pull your money back. I almoust made a full of myself with this trick in the excange office in Tesco. Fortunately, at the last moment I saw that tiny sentence.