What to do with $100 cheque

I have a $100 cheque (drawn on a US personal bank account) that I'm not sure what to do with, given the exchange rate is so poor at the moment. Should I hold onto it and see if the dollar picks up at all? Does anyone know how long I can keep it before I have to deposit it or it becomes invalid (there is no mention of any expiration date on the cheque) and is the dollar expected to go up (or down!) by any significant degree during that time? Should I just cut my losses and take what I can get for it now?

Bear in mind I'm in the income bracket where $100 could be significant, if only the exchange rate was better.

Thanks

afaik a cheque is only valid for 6 months.

maybe you can open a dollar account and lodge it ? many banks can facilitate this. Afterwards when you convert it to euro is really your call.

Tripzy said:

I think that US Personal Checks are only valid for 5 months from their date of issue.

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Per 'New York State - Citizen Guide' http://www.nysegov.com/citGuide.cfm?ques_id=366&superCat=245&cat=258&content=relatedFAQs

Q How long is a personal check valid for?
A Six months. A bank is not obligated to honor the check after the validity date.

stir crazy said:

maybe you can open a dollar account and lodge it ? many banks can facilitate this. Afterwards when you convert it to euro is really your call.

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AFAIK most bank have a min amount for opening fx currency a/c's. Normally around the $5k mark.

Did you think of the possibility that the dollar may drop even lower ? Some economists reckon it could go to 1.8 so maybe holding on if you need the funds is not a good idea.

It's possible with some banks to do an exchange for notes - you can with BOI up to approx €600. You have to lodge the chq to your a/c & then you can withdraw the dollars at the same rate. This may be of use if you travel to the US at times or maybe a friend will buy them from you at a better rate. Alternatively you could then hold onto the notes till the dollar bounces back. The chq will definitely go out of date but cash doesn't.

Perplexed said:

It's possible with some banks to do an exchange for notes - you can with BOI up to approx €600. You have to lodge the chq to your a/c & then you can withdraw the dollars at the same rate. This may be of use if you travel to the US at times or maybe a friend will buy them from you at a better rate.

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Thanks, I'll look into that. The dollar does seem to be going up slightly for the past week ... but still not enough to make converting it to euros worthwhile!

Perplexed said:

AFAIK most bank have a min amount for opening fx currency a/c's. Normally around the $5k mark.

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What about your credit union? They now buy and sell currencies (cash) but may take $100 cheque off you to lodge into your share account or against a loan.

Perplexed said:

It's possible with some banks to do an exchange for notes - you can with BOI up to approx €600. You have to lodge the chq to your a/c & then you can withdraw the dollars at the same rate.

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Well I tried this at AIB yesterday and they wouldn't let me do it

I don't have a personal account at BOI but mine is one of the names on a club account there. Anyone have any idea if I would be able to do it that way?