The Economy: Tips for Travelers: Don't Bring Cash

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U.S. travelers got the best deals for their dollars last week in—of all places—Israel, Tanzania and East Germany. After Nixon's August bombshell, Israel devalued its money: it now gives £4.20 Israeli to the dollar instead of the old £3.50 rate, and many stores cut another 15% off the prices of goods bought with dollars. On the flourishing black markets in Tanzania, Indian businessmen who are being forced out of the country by "Africanization"' are buying dollars at twice the legal rate of exchange. And at the Leipzig Fair, East Germany's Communists offer the pre-August rates of 4.17 East German marks for the capitalist dollar.

Elsewhere, dollar-carrying travelers can find few bargains. To protect themselves in this period of the floating dollar, U.S. travelers are stocking up cash and traveler's checks in pounds sterling, German marks, Swiss francs—anything but dollars—before they go abroad. Once arrived, they find that even a fistful of foreign money is no guarantee of a favorable exchange rate.

Discounts of up to 10% are being demanded, not just on dollars but on other currencies as well. Dealers explain weakly that they have to protect themselves against possible drops in official rates that can come at any time. Different banks in the same city offer exchange rates that vary by as much as 4% on the same currencies, and hotels change money at substantially worse rates than banks. The Hilton in Dusseldorf, for example, gave only 3.25 Deutsche Mark to the dollar last week, while the official rate stood at 3.38. Dublin's Royal Hibernian Hotel offered 37 new pence to the dollar, while American Express gave 40—a spread of 7½%. For those who wish to get the best deals, TIME correspondents offer the following advice:

· Do not buy foreign money in the U.S.—except small sums for taxis and tips on arrival.

· Do not change money in hotels, restaurants, stores, ferry boats—where managements usually feel they deserve a favorable rate for the convenience they are providing. Street operators in Italy and other countries offer attractive rates to tourists but give back bundles of newspaper strips with a genuine bill on top.

· Do not be taken in by shops that advertise surprisingly seductive exchange rates. To make up for that, the price of their merchandise is probably inflated.

· Do use traveler's checks rather than cash. Nearly everywhere, traveler's checks command more favorable rates than cold cash. Reason: dollar bills must be bundled up, insured and shipped back to the U.S. before they can be credited to a money changer's account, but traveler's checks can be credited by computer almost instantly.

· Do use credit cards rather than anything else. Because they often maintain large reserves of many currencies, credit-card companies generally stick to official exchange rates.

· Do change money on weekdays. An exchange office that does business on weekends can often command virtually any rates that it pleases.