- It is always better to change USD 100 than to change USD 50 on two separate occasions. If you are traveling in a group, change all your money together, and only pay the fee once.

- Larger denomination dollar bills and travelers’ checks - one hundreds and occasionally fifties - sometimes get a slightly better rate than smaller amounts.

WARNING: Once you have crossed a border, coins almost always become unexchangeable scrap metal. If you are coming back to a country, save enough to make a few phone calls on your return. If you are not coming back, change all your coins in the country that issued them, or spend them before leaving. International ferries will accept coins from both countries they serve, but other than this coins can almost never be exchanged once a border is crossed. You might be able to exchange larger-denomination coins at major international airports, but it’s not worth taking the chance. A pocketful of useless change can be an expensive lesson for the novice traveler, especially with Danish twenty-krone pieces (worth about USD 3) and British two-pound coins (worth a whopping USD 3.20 each). These make lousy souvenirs.