Money on IUP Africa Trip 2017
While in Africa you will need to plan for some personal spending on things like meals, souvenirs, drinks, tips, taxi fare, side trips or other items.
The South African unit of currency is the rand (abbreviated ZAR or R). Currently one rand is worth about 7.2 US cents, or about 13rands in each US dollar. This is very low for the rand (it was 6.5 to the dollar in 2011) making South Africa travel very cheap this year. You can check the value of the rand against the dollar at this url or many other places on the internet. You will be making almost all of your purchases in rands: it will be unusual to find an establishment that will accept dollars, pounds or euros although some individuals may do so.
There will be a variety of ways for you to obtain South African currency on our trip. These include ATM withdrawals using a debit card or credit card, physical exchange of US dollars for rands at a bank or exchange office, and cashing in travelers checks.
The ATM route is the best way to go. There are ATM machines almost everywhere that we will go in southern Africa and they do accept US debit cards. I have never had a problem using my own debit card in Southern Africa (South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia or Zimbabwe) over fourteen years of travel. My card is from the State Employees Credit Union and is on both the PLUS and STAR networks. When I use it in Africa, I withdraw cash in local currency at the ATM and the bank makes the exchange back into dollars that come out of my account. I always get a better exchange rate through an ATM than at a bank teller or American Express office, but I do have to watch my daily withdrawal limit because that is set in dollars not local currency, and the exchange rate varies from day to day.
You do have to make sure that your ATM or bank card is fully enabled and linked to the correct account at your bank prior to departure. It is very difficult to fix this problem by phone.
You can also use a credit card such as VISA, AMEX, MC to get a cash advance at an ATM but this is very expensive because there is almost always a significant fee or interest charge associated with a cash advance. Most cards will begin charging the maximum interest rate beginning the moment you make a cash withdrawal.
You will need to notify your bank and/or credit card company in advance that you will be doing some international travel.
Otherwise, they may refuse the transaction. It is best to call your bank or credit card company at least twice to make sure they note your travel in advance. Usually you need to call within 4-6 weeks of the planned travel but that will vary. Tell them every single country that you will visit!
If you must directly change physical dollars into physical rands then there are many places to do so in airports, malls, shopping centers, etc. Occasionally one of our hotel front desks will handle an exchange or one of the main offices at a national park or game reserve will do so. An over-the-counter exchange usually gives you the lowest possible (i.e. least favorable to you) exchange rate and may involve a hefty fee as well.
Travelers checks such as American Express have advantages and disadvantages. They are more secure than real cash. You can usually replace them if lost or stolen or even hold on to them as an emergency reserve if you want one. Unused travelers checks can also be redeemed for cash at home (usually no cost to do so). Other than that, cashing them in in Africa is subject to the same problems and difficulties as exchanging physical dollars. Very few places accept travelers checks in lieu of cash.
How much cash you carry is a matter of personal preference. It is up to you but you should try to minimize the amount of actual cash on your person at all times. Unfortunately, I always have to carry a lot of cash for group expenses so you should not use me as your example. As one rough point of reference, a burger, fries and soft drink (not supersize) currently runs about $7 in a typical South Africa fast food restaurant. You can go online on your own and check out food and other prices to help you estimate your cash needs.
Standard credit cards are widely accepted for purchases in Africa. Almost every store or establishment will take your VISA card or MC but few of the places that we visit will accept American Express. Most credit card companies will add a surcharge for international transactions so be careful with your plastic. I have been able to get a CapitalOne MasterCard that is currently not doing an international transaction surcharge and you may be able to get one as well if you wish. It took about 2 weeks for my card to arrive.
REPEAT: You will need to notify your bank and/or credit card company in advance that you will be doing some international travel.
Otherwise they may refuse the transaction. It is best to call your bank or credit card company at least twice to make sure they note your travel in advance. Usually you need to call within 4-6 weeks of the planned travel but that will vary. Tell them every single country that you will visit!
The Kingdom of Swaziland has its own currency the lilangeni (= 1 ZAR) but South African rands are accepted everywhere, as are VISA and MC. You do not need to plan for extra currency in Swaziland but you can certainly acquire some local money if you wish. Be aware that if you do acquire Swazi currency you may not be able to exchange it back into rands or dollars.
Souvenir purchases from street vendors or at roadside craft markets will usually be cash purchases and you should always bargain with the seller over the price and the currency but pay in rands whenever they are weak against the dollar. Never pay the first asking price at a street or roadside vendor. Always negotiate unless there are extenuating circumstances (e.g. church benefit craft sale).
For the London excursion you will need pounds, which you can get at an airport ATM upon arrival. Your credit cards will be accepted for most purchases in the UK if you wish to use them.