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Bring a debit card of Bank of America from USA. One can use them at ATMs at Barclays Bank across UK. That will give the best possible rates for dollars to pounds. They are wholesale rates. But I think that the maximum you can withdraw in one day is 200 pounds. Remember best rate is at ATM of Barclays Bank, not at the counter/cashier at Barclays bank.
I don't have a Bank of America account and won't open one (don't care for the bank) but when we've traveled before, I haven't had any trouble with my debit card from another major US bank. I wonder if the exchange rate is still the best at Barklays Bank ATMs, regardless of the bank the debit card comes from. It's a Visa debit card issued through another bank.
I don't have a Bank of America account and won't open one (don't care for the bank) but when we've traveled before, I haven't had any trouble with my debit card from another major US bank. I wonder if the exchange rate is still the best at Barklays Bank ATMs, regardless of the bank the debit card comes from. It's a Visa debit card issued through another bank.
I don't think the rate will differ much from bank to bank. They all use the Interbank rate. What may change is how much your bank charges you. Citibank charges me around 3% when I get money from an ATM overseas.
Also, some credit cards will charge you a foreign exchange fee when you use it overseas. So cash or credit can be a wash depending on which credit card you have.
I think I will just get some pounds before we leave (for tips and small meals) and then use the debit card everywhere else.
I wonder if there are many stores where they will ship your goods back home and deduct the VAT tax at the point of sale? When we traveled through Germany the Kathe Wolfarht stores do that. It's a great service and encourages you to buy a lot more stuff since you know you won't have to lug it around in your suitcase!
I think I will just get some pounds before we leave (for tips and small meals) and then use the debit card everywhere else.
I wonder if there are many stores where they will ship your goods back home and deduct the VAT tax at the point of sale? When we traveled through Germany the Kathe Wolfarht stores do that. It's a great service and encourages you to buy a lot more stuff since you know you won't have to lug it around in your suitcase!
Check what getting pounds in the USA will cost you. Chances are they will give you the banknote rate rather than the interbank rate and may charge you commission on top. I usually just head for an ATM after I am through customs. There are plenty of them at Heathrow. Much easier than ordering them through a US bank and probably cheaper.
Also, avoid the Travelex kiosks. Usually a rip-off. You want an ATM from a mainstream UK bank like Barclays or Lloyds.
I think the most important thing is the chip and pin or chipped credit card. They are pretty much universal over in the UK, in one store they wouldn't take our card to swipe at all and my daughter ended up having to help us out.
Also not aware of any stores who will ship goods for you.
Have to say we didn't see anywhere in the UK that accepted Discover card. Visa or Mastercard are usually used.
Also I use O2 for phone service once in the UK, its much cheaper than adding international calls to my plan. This time I added £20 and used about £7 worth of credit even with uploading photos on our side trip to Rome. The remaining £13 or so will sit on the sim card until our next visit (hopefully in the fall)
I think the most important thing is the chip and pin or chipped credit card. They are pretty much universal over in the UK, in one store they wouldn't take our card to swipe at all and my daughter ended up having to help us out.
I heard the same thing about credit/debit cards in Europe and ours worked, so I guess ours have the chip - I'll call the bank to find out for sure.
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Also not aware of any stores who will ship goods for you.
Now THIS is really a shame. Customers tend to buy a lot more when they don't have to deal with lugging things around or shipping it themselves. We actually ended up buying a clock, and nice items for our entire family, and co workers, because they automatically deducted the VAT and shipped items over a certain amount at no charge. Plus the Kathe Wolfarht stores were in several towns we visited. I was really hoping for the same sort of thing, though actually now that I think about it, I've only seen that sort of service in Germany.
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Also I use O2 for phone service once in the UK, its much cheaper than adding international calls to my plan. This time I added £20 and used about £7 worth of credit even with uploading photos on our side trip to Rome. The remaining £13 or so will sit on the sim card until our next visit (hopefully in the fall)
O2 is a cell phone provider, before we visited last June I enquired about the cost of adding international calling and data to my phone and was stunned to find out it was going to cost @$60 so when we arrived in the UK we went into an O2 store and asked about SIM cards, turned out that as my phone is unlocked I can swap out my US card for the O2 one and buy credit over there. I got something like 500mb data and unlimited text and calls for £20. We used the GPS on my phone quite a bit so managed to use most of it last summer however when we arrived this time we once again went into store and found the card was still active so topped up with £20 of which I still have about £13 left for our next visit.
I haven't been in a while but I just used to take my mobile phone, swap the sim card, and add pay as you go minutes. You have to make sure your mobile is unlocked.
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