Hoai

There are four of us (2 adults and 2 children). We have rented a flat in London and it has been paid for. We have tickets to the WB Studio tour so one day will be taken with that already. We will be arriving from a 10 day stay in Paris via train so we would rather not carry around too much cash if not required.

I am told that in France, bank ATMs do not charge a fee for cash withdrawal using a debit card. Is it the case with the UK as well?

PalenQ

Yes and all of Europe as I know - only what your local bank charges so ask them - mine has a flat fee of $5 per ATM transaction in Europe - thus I take out the max each time - do not take out $10 worth, etc.

Credit cards are accepted everywhere even though in places like train stations in some countries they may not work in automatic machines and at self-serve gas stations because they lack a security thread or something embedded in European cards - but then you can go to the ticket window, etc to manually have the card accepted.

Again ask your c c issuer for foreign transaction fees - mine has a 3% charge some have less and some have none.

And tell your ATM and c c issuers that you are going to the U K - or they may block transactions as a security measure - call them and tell them.

do not change money before landing at London airports and then head to the many ATMs or push come to shove the airport exchange offices that usually pay a better rate than doing so at home. I always bring a few hundred bucks in U S dollars as a back up too. Make sure your ATM or c c strip is not worn - I've found machines in Europe may be more sensitive to worn strips than in America.

suze

The answers are the same as the ones you have already received for Paris.

janisj

And don't ask your bank - they won't know anything. . .

xyz123

You will find that in London, more so than in Paris, credit cards are taken everywhere for everything. Hence you will need very little cash if you have either a mastercard or visa. Try to get one that doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee and has an emv chip although the later is not absolutely necessary. Charge everything everywhere you go no matter how small and you will find hardly any need for British cash. If you have an ATM card, which you should, that doesn't charge a fee for withdrawals (almost all British banks' ATM's do not charge fees if you're at a bank branch or a machine with a bank's name prominently on it such as Barclays or National Westminster) you can make small withdrawals just in case you choose to buy an ice cream on the street or in a mom and pop convenience store that doesn't take plastic but by and large you can do London with hardly any cash easily enough.

sassy_cat

I recently returned from a week in London and happened to have a twenty pound note left over from a previous trip ($30).
It was all the cash I needed for the week. I used it to buy some street food at Camden Lock market and to buy a copy of the Big Issue but otherwise I paid for everything with a credit card.

By the way I'm British and have a UK bank account but didn't bother to take out any cash while there partly because I noticed long lines at the weekend (the only time I thought I might need more cash!).

PalenQ

About old British banknotes - I had one from a previous trip but when I tried to spend it the store said no that is out of use you have to go to a bank to change it to a new 20 quid note - so if the currency is redesigned as it seems to be at times to enhance security features your old notes from home may not be accepted.

xyz123

sassy...You're British and used the total inapproriate word "lines" which of course is an undefined geometric term because rarely are queues straight (try Disneyland for example)! (It's a joke so please no flaming).