Thursday, October 9, 2008

Saving Money on the Eurail

How to save money on the Eurail: purchase it in a different currency. The Eurail sells in three currencies: the US Dollar, the Australian Dollar, and the Euro. They have set prices for each currency, which don't change very often. When the prices were set, 1 USD was exchanged for 1.21 AUD. With the current exchange rate, 1 USD gets you 1.42 AUD. What does this mean? It means the US Dollar has strengthened quite a bit relative to the Australian Dollar since the Eurail set its prices. It means you can take advantage of better exchange rates and save money.   For example, the 2 month global pass costs 1079 USD or 1305 AUD.  At the time they set their prices, it was an even exchange.  However, today 1305 AUD is only worth 921 USD.  The lesson learned: purchase in the cheapest currency.  In this case you would save $158.   I know this works because when Moe bought his Eurail a couple months ago he saved $30 or something by buying it in Euro.

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