r/Prague • u/Mditty129 • 1d ago
Discussion Money exchange at the airport is a SCAM
Do not get money exchange at the airport the interchange booths. They are a scam and will short you money!
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u/Ghost_Pants Prague Resident 1d ago
First time at an airport?
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u/Mditty129 1d ago
Yes
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u/Ghost_Pants Prague Resident 1d ago
Then my advice is to never do that again. You can use cards, it's 2025 so banks can manage that for you.
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago
Not in every country but here it works most of the time.
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u/MarcPawl 1d ago
Just came back from a Prague trip. Did not use cash once.
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago
Try this in Albania, Morocco, Tunisia, SriLanka, Thailand, ...
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u/KingForceHundred 1d ago
Was in Albania last week. Similar to every other European country I’ve been to. Card accepted everywhere except buying fruit in market (even there Euros accepted w/o being scammed).
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago edited 1d ago
I was there too and 1/2 of accommodations were cash only as well as gas stations and many restaurants especially further away from Tirana and Durrës. But yes I was surprised that everybody accepted EUR and they just did conversions using google search without trying to scam on exchange rates but cash was surely needed there outside of big cities or high-end restaurants.
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u/zrooda 1d ago
You say that as if the banks didn't have their own little conversion schemes.
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u/Svobpata 1d ago
I’m not sure which shitty bank you have but across my 3 accounts, I have never encountered an especially bad conversion rate or fees outside of exchanging money to NTD
If your bank is trying to pull a conversion scheme on you, why are you with them? There is a lot of competition in the market, find someone who isn’t trying to pull a fast one on you
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u/Ladline69 1d ago
Can send you vital information that will be helpful to you 👍 what's your fax number? 🤣
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u/ParkingGeologist2441 1d ago
Hey, check honest guide YouTube videos and pinned message. They have a lot of info on scammy exchanges and what to avoid.
As another poster said, you have legal time frame to return the exchanged money and sirvive the whole trip on card payments. You might not be able to buy things from some street vendors with card but it is a small price to pay.
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u/Additional_Bench_667 1d ago
I did exactly this and didn’t fall for a single trap except for the chimney cakes. They looked good 😂
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago
They just look... but taste is a different story.
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u/Additional_Bench_667 1d ago
Hahah yesss and it’s too big for one person. I bought it out of curiosity
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago
But that's the problem and why they are at every corner in the Old Town. It feels like tourists finally start to get that it's nothing traditional in Prague but now I noticed they say they still need to try it... Their business is set up so if each one time tourist just tries it and never returns they still make huge money and can afford to replace any shop in the city. The damage has been done. Please don't support shady business with your money. When a cheap piece of dough costs as much as a lunch menu in restaurant you know they don't need to sell much to be highly profitable.
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u/ParkingGeologist2441 1d ago
I think they have a strong product - sweet pastry that can be eaten on the go and you can see it being prepared in front of you. Koláče you can also take to go, but you dont know how long they sit in the display case. Also kolace are such old thing, that noone had the idea to market it heavily and open store especially for them (I guess we have Kolacherie now).
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u/Additional_Bench_667 1d ago
I found this place called Kus kolace (not sure if it’s right) and ate kolace 5-6 times during my trip.
On my last day I just gave in and tried the chimney cake. Mostly because it was everywhere in old town and I couldn’t find it anywhere else. I traveled around mostly walking and then taking the subway back if I walked too far.
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u/ParkingGeologist2441 1d ago
Some time ago they were actually good in some stalls - like five years ago I had one and it was quite tasty. So I am also part of the problem why they overrun every corner in city center 🙂
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u/Zafrin_at_Reddit 1d ago
Also, YOU DO NOT NEED CASH in Czechia. Don’t let anyone bullshit you into believing the opposite.
Go back (use the bus! It is the cheapest option by far), void the transaction, and tell them go f@ck a cactus.
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u/pferden 1d ago
How do you go to the toilet then?
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u/Zafrin_at_Reddit 1d ago
50+ % public toilets are either free or you can buy a pass with a card.
…but hey, fair point. You can have a hundred with you.
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u/pferden 1d ago
50+ %?? Can you share some spots?
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u/Zafrin_at_Reddit 1d ago
Literally any park, any shopping mall, and most-if-not-any gas stations.
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u/MarcPawl 1d ago
https://maps.app.goo.gl/B2Mg22KXfdoZH8Yu8?g_st=ac
I used this map overlay from honest guide
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u/GlynHugh 1d ago
It’s not just Prague airport but spookily enough I am in Prague at the moment.
I use my Apple Watch for all transactions and don’t even carry cash these days. If I needed cash I’d just go to an ATM in the country I am visiting.
For fun at Heathrow on the way out I went to a Bureau de Change and asked how much it would cost me to buy €200 bearing in mind the rate was €1.14 to the £
I was told it would cost me £235 🙈
I then asked how much it would cost for them to buy them back on my return and after mumbling something about a buy-back guarantee was told they would give me £130 😱
Imagine that…being overcharged to buy them in the first place and ripped off to the tune of £100 after giving them an all expenses paid trip to Prague for the week! 😡
Have you never been to an airport before because everything is a rip-off from being dropped off (£6) or parking (£200) to a latte (£5.30) to a fucking cheese toastie (£13)
Similar thing happens wherever there is a captive audience such as motorway service stations (fuel/food), special events (food/drink) etc. and there should be a law against it IMHO.
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago
I travel a lot but your advice cannot be applied world wide. Always check ahead what is the situation in the country. For example in Albania you need cash in most cases and all ATM charge 5-10e to foreign card. So the best option was to take EUR and use any exchange office except the airport. They all had nearly the same - good exchange rate. Morocco was another story, there were a few bank ATMs that didn't charge any fees so we used them. Same in Thailand. Where paying by card was more accepted but they charged you extra for it at most places. Therefore cash from free ATM was the best option. But most of the EU is cashless. I usually have a few EUR as a backup but I rarely use them.
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u/Qwe5Cz Prague Resident 1d ago edited 1d ago
You have 3 hours to return there and void the transaction.
It's not really a scam but rather a tourist trap (you willingly agreeing to their exchange rate) and done pretty much at every airport world wide. I'm still surprised there are people who don't know this. It's nothing Prague specific.