Staged Currency Conversion Planner
Move savings abroad in steps instead of one lump. Set a window and a schedule, then see what each transfer converts to, what rate swings do, and whether you land with enough cash.
Your move
Override it if your provider quotes something different.
1 to 24. More tranches means more fixed fees.
Transfer costs
Pre-filled fees last checked 2026-10-08. Both models stay editable, and the tool never favours a partner.
Arrival cash
Rate what-if
A what-if, not a forecast.
Result
€133,404
Staged total after fees
€133,421
If you converted it all today
$774
Total fees and spread (0.52% of the amount)
0.8894
Average rate received (EUR per 1 USD)
Splitting into 6 tranches adds $20 in flat fees compared with a single transfer. The average rate is what you actually received per USD sent, after the spread and the flat fees.
Tranche schedule
- Tranche 1Oct 8, 2026
- Sending
- $25,000
- Rate
- 0.8940
- You receive
- €22,234
- Cost
- $129
- Tranche 2Dec 20, 2026
- Sending
- $25,000
- Rate
- 0.8940
- You receive
- €22,234
- Cost
- $129
- Tranche 3Mar 3, 2027
- Sending
- $25,000
- Rate
- 0.8940
- You receive
- €22,234
- Cost
- $129
- Tranche 4May 15, 2027
- Sending
- $25,000
- Rate
- 0.8940
- You receive
- €22,234
- Cost
- $129
- Tranche 5Jul 27, 2027 (after arrival)
- Sending
- $25,000
- Rate
- 0.8940
- You receive
- €22,234
- Cost
- $129
- Tranche 6Oct 8, 2027 (after arrival)
- Sending
- $25,000
- Rate
- 0.8940
- You receive
- €22,234
- Cost
- $129
| # | Date | USD | Size | Rate | You receive | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 8, 2026 | $25,000 | 0.8940 | €22,234 | $129 | |
| 2 | Dec 20, 2026 | $25,000 | 0.8940 | €22,234 | $129 | |
| 3 | Mar 3, 2027 | $25,000 | 0.8940 | €22,234 | $129 | |
| 4 | May 15, 2027 | $25,000 | 0.8940 | €22,234 | $129 | |
| 5 | Jul 27, 2027 * | $25,000 | 0.8940 | €22,234 | $129 | |
| 6 | Oct 8, 2027 * | $25,000 | 0.8940 | €22,234 | $129 | |
| Total | $150,000 | €133,404 | ||||
* converts after month 9.
Rows shown in violet convert on or before your arrival month. A date marked "after arrival" is money that lands later in the window.
Arrival check
You need about $26,000 on arrival ($8,000 setup plus 6 months at $3,000). The schedule converts $100,000 (€88,936) across 4 of 6 tranches by month 9.
Staged vs one lump, under each rate path
Rate stays flat
- Staged
- €133,404
- All today
- €133,421
- All at end
- €133,421
- Staged vs today
- -€18
Drifts in your favour
- Staged
- €136,739
- All today
- €133,421
- All at end
- €140,093
- Staged vs today
- +€3,317
Drifts against you
- Staged
- €130,069
- All today
- €133,421
- All at end
- €126,750
- Staged vs today
- -€3,353
Dips, then recovers
- Staged
- €130,736
- All today
- €133,421
- All at end
- €133,421
- Staged vs today
- -€2,686
| Rate path | Staged | All today | All at end | Staged vs all today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate stays flat | €133,404 | €133,421 | €133,421 | -€18 |
| Drifts in your favour | €136,739 | €133,421 | €140,093 | +€3,317 |
| Drifts against you | €130,069 | €133,421 | €126,750 | -€3,353 |
| Dips, then recovers | €130,736 | €133,421 | €133,421 | -€2,686 |
All today converts the whole amount now, so it is the same number in every row: every path starts at today's rate. All at end waits until the last day of the window. Staging lands between the two, which is the point. It trades some upside for less regret.
Bank wire vs transfer service
- Bank wire
2.50% + $30/transfer
- Total cost
- $3,926
- % of amount
- 2.62%
- You receive (flat rate path)
- €130,586
- Transfer serviceCheaper
0.50% + $4/transfer
- Total cost
- $774
- % of amount
- 0.52%
- You receive (flat rate path)
- €133,404
| Provider | Fee model | Total cost (USD) | % of amount | You receive (flat path) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank wire | 2.50% + $30/transfer | $3,926 | 2.62% | €130,586 |
| Transfer serviceCheaper | 0.50% + $4/transfer | $774 | 0.52% | €133,404 |
The cheaper option is about €2,817 better on this schedule. Splitting into 6 tranches adds about $20 in flat fees compared with one transfer, so watch fixed fees when you add tranches. Pre-filled fees last checked 2026-10-08. Edit them to match your own provider.
Send USD to EUR at the mid-market rate and see the spread before you commit. Compare that against your bank's rate on the same day. Partner: Wise Money Transfer.
Compare transfer feesWe may earn a commission at no cost to you.
You are planning to move $150,000 or more. At that size, where the cash sits while you stage the transfers matters as much as the exchange rate. A brokerage account can hold it, earn on it, and let you transfer on your own schedule. Partner: SoFi.
Open a brokerage accountWe may earn a commission at no cost to you.
A referral link for a brokerage account, not a currency prediction. Rates are not forecast here and nothing on this page is investment advice.
Setting up on arrival
Your schedule converts €88,936 by the arrival month, against an estimated need of $26,000. The list below is what people usually set up in the same window.
Your arrival cash covers the deposit and the first months. Health cover is the cost that lands in the same window and is easy to forget until it is a problem. Partner: SafetyWing.
Get international health insuranceWe may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Hold and spend several currencies from one account, and settle local bills before the rest of your money arrives. Partner: Wise Money Transfer.
Open a multi-currency accountWe may earn a commission at no cost to you.
The year you move is usually the messiest tax year you will file. A preparer who handles expat returns can usually tell you what to send before you leave. Partner: Taxes For Expats.
Talk to an expat tax preparerWe may earn a commission at no cost to you.
Save this plan
What you get
What this currency planner works out
The tranche schedule
How much converts on each date, how large each transfer is, and the rate every one of them uses.
The rate you actually receive
Your spread and flat fee applied to each transfer, so the headline rate and the real rate stop being two different numbers.
Fees in dollars and as a share of the amount
The total cost, the percentage it takes, and the extra flat fees that come purely from splitting the amount into more tranches.
Four rate paths, side by side
Rates holding flat, drifting in your favour, drifting against you, and a dip that recovers. Staging is compared with one transfer today and one at the end of the window.
An arrival cash check
Whether enough converts before your arrival month to cover the deposit and a cushion of running costs, and by how much you are over or short.
Step by step
How to use the planner
- 1Enter the amount and the target currency. The rate prefills from the reference feed, and you can overwrite it with the quote your provider gave you.
- 2Set the window and the number of tranches. Fewer tranches means fewer flat fees. More tranches means a smoother average rate.
- 3Put in your own fees. Read them off your bank statement and your provider pricing page rather than trusting the defaults.
- 4Check the arrival month. If the schedule comes up short, move an earlier tranche forward or switch to a front-loaded shape.
- 5Copy the address bar to share the plan, or save it to get a link back to the same numbers.
Planning the rest of the move
A staged conversion ladder, worked through
Placeholder copy. Replace it with your real ladder in src/components/CurrencyPlanner/data/conversionLadder.ts.
This is the schedule I used when moving a lump sum into a currency I planned to spend for years. It is written from my notes, so treat it as an example of the shape rather than a recommendation.
Amount: $150,000 into EUR over 12 months
- On arrival25% of the amount
Enough to cover the deposit, the first two months of rent, and the setup costs that always appear in the first fortnight. This portion was converted on day one, because arrival cash is not a rate decision.
- Months 2 to 640% of the amount
Four equal transfers. Each one landed on the same weekday of the month, which made the paper trail easy to reconcile against the bank statements.
- Months 7 to 1235% of the amount
The remainder, held in a multi-currency account and moved in three larger tranches. Spreading the tail meant no single day decided the outcome for the whole amount.
The point was never to beat the market. It was to stop one bad morning from setting the price for the entire move, knowing that the fixed fees would cost a few hundred dollars more than a single transfer would have.
Why stage a currency move at all
A single transfer turns one day of the currency market into the price of your entire move. Staging spreads the same amount over several dates, so the outcome reflects an average rather than a moment. That is the whole idea, and it comes with a real cost.
Fixed fees are the catch. A bank charges per wire, so six transfers can cost six times the fixed fee of one. When your provider quotes a percentage spread with little or no flat fee, splitting costs almost nothing and the smoothing is worth having. When the flat fee is large, fewer tranches usually win.
The arrival check is the constraint most people forget. Rent deposits and setup costs land in the first weeks, so enough of the money has to convert before you arrive. Front-loading gives up some smoothing, which is why the schedule shape and the arrival month live in the same tool.