this article is reprinted by permission from nerdwallet believe it or not the us dollar dxy has strengthened against many foreign currencies this year yes the dollar has lost purchasing power in the face of inflation but has actually gained ground relative to other currencies the upshot summer travelers heading overseas could enjoy a discount on everything from hotel rooms to croissants the caveats the exchange rate is much better in some countries than in others and global inflationary pressures are still driving up prices overall if you’re still deciding where and whether to travel this summer the strength of the dollar could be a deciding factor the dollar was 11 stronger against the euro eurusd in april 2022 compared with april 2021 according to data from the federal reserve the two currencies have been flirting with 11 parity which hasn’t happened since the early 2000s for the past 20 years a dollar has been worth less than a euro besides avoiding the headache of calculating the dollar cost of a 300euro train ticket it’s now about 300 this parity can make a big impact on european vacation budgets spending in countries that use the euro will be cheaper in relative terms than it has been in a long time assuming exchange rates remain steady throughout the summer this could mean hundreds of dollars in relative savings they’re “relative” because the absolute prices of expenses such as food and transportation will remain affected by global inflation read cases climb in southeast asia and europe in latest week as ba4 and ba5 subvariants take hold some changes are bigger than others the us dollar is strong against many foreign currencies this year but not all converting dollars to japanese yen usdjpy yielded 16 better results in april than the year prior but the mexican peso and canadian dollar have remained relatively flat before packing your bags for tokyo remember that japan is still restricting foreign visitors as of june 10 2022 people from certain countries including the us can visit japan as part of a package tour independent travelers are not yet welcome also see fourth of july travel a record 42 million people expected to hit the road despite high gas prices note also that canada and mexico have seen little change in their currencies relative to the us dollar in the past year despite this us travelers continue to flock to mexico with 31 more citizens heading south of the border in april 2022 compared with april 2019 according to data from the international trade administration us vacationers remain wary of europe with 25 fewer departures for that continent in april 2022 compared with april 2019 this situation provides a doublewhammy opportunity for moneyconscious travelers the us dollar is particularly powerful in europe and fewer people are visiting which could keep prices down for accommodations and other expenses these trends offer a compelling financial reason to skip mexico for now also read 5 ways your credit cards can help you fight the pain of inflation currency exchange rates fluctuate which means that a good rate against one currency today won’t guarantee the same savings come vacation time given the especially volatile economic trends so far in 2022 the graphs above could invert in 12 months’ time still the trends so far this year paint a rosy picture for americans traveling abroad especially to europe and asia putting a 10euro german beer on your travel credit card will sting slightly less than usual knowing that it costs “only” about 10 and given all the depressing news about prices this year it’s nice to see at least one silver lining   how long it’ll take for business travel to return to normal   the no 1 hotel amenity people love might surprise you