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Going to London from USA - By plane, or boat, or swim. Are you asking for the cheapest air route? You don't say from where in the US, otherwise look up a good airline search engine for your point of departure and date, being flexible for both.
Cheapest way to use money - huh?
Get English pounds from - just use an ATM in England.
Visa card - yes a credit card is best and most secure. Try to use one with low forex fees.
For cash - use an ATM. Credit cards exist that do not tack on exchange fees. If you qualify, Capital One offers a Visa card that offers rewards AND charges no foreign transaction fee. Capital One also has online bank accounts that allow you to use the our of network ATM with much lower fees than traditional banks.
Capital One card does not charge overseas fee. Do call 800# before your european trip so you won't get blocked for using card overseas & have to straighten this out from Britain.
I think ATM is most convenient way to handle it all now. Again, talk to your bank to make sure you will not be blocked using it overseas...Minimize number of ATM stops so get a bundle of cash when you use the ATM to reduce fees.
If a hotel or shop in a foreign country offers to run the card so it bills in US dollars this is called dynamic currency exchange and about 99% of the time you get a worse exchange rate than an ATM withdrawal or running the card in pounds.
Capital One card does not charge overseas fee. Do call 800# before your european trip so you won't get blocked for using card overseas & have to straighten this out from Britain.
I think ATM is most convenient way to handle it all now. Again, talk to your bank to make sure you will not be blocked using it overseas...Minimize number of ATM stops so get a bundle of cash when you use the ATM to reduce fees.
Agree with Capital one credit card and local ATM.
Use bank debit card to withdraw pounds rather than using a credit card which will carry much higher fees. Some banks charge fee per transaction and some based on amount of cash withdrawn. Clarify that with your bank before you use it.
When using Capital one always ask to charge in British pounds. The rate of exchange is much better with the Visa card doing it, than the hotel / restaurant / shop's rate when they convert it to US $.
Or, if you want some pounds in your pocket when you get there, get them ahead of time from your bank. I use Bank of America to get foreign currency before a trip, and it works wonderfully. Their exchange rate is excellent and the fee is minimal, and often waived. I love not having for look for an ATM when my feet hit the ground in a foreign country...and that's one less transaction where something could go wrong on your trip.
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