What about ATMs in the less populated areas, for example the Scottish Highlands? I notice several B&Bs advertise cash only, maybe the restaurants are the same? I hate carrying cash, but, when in Alba...

ATMs are everywhere. No matter where we have traveled in Western Europe we have found ATMs. I can't speak about more remote areas outside of Western Europe. Just be sure if you are venturing into less populated areas that you have enough cash so that if you find a place without an ATM or with one that is out of commission you are covered. We normally carry about 2-3 days of cash just to avoid having to search for an ATM too often.

Yes, some B&Bs take only cash. Even in rural Wales, though, I haven't had a problem finding an ATM.

No matter where I'm going, I try to have at least a little local currency before I board a plane, even if I have to pay a steep rate for it. (When I say a little, I mean enough for a taxi or subway ride.) That stems from an experience of landing in France (CDG, I think) very early in the morning and being unable to find a working ATM anywhere.

According to the VISA website, the following banks have ATMs at Heathrow airport: Barclays, HSBC, and the Nationwide Building Society (not actually a bank as such).


According to the Mastercard website: HSBC, Raphaels Bank, Nationwide Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester (which I think is actually under Santander).

Anyway, you will get a better overall return from a bank ATM than exchanging cash 9.9 times out of 10, even if your bank is greedy and charges you an ATM per transaction charge and foreign exchange fees above the usual 1% that the VISA and MC networks charge.

But is comforting to have some foreign currency in hand before you leave--enough to get you from the airport to your hotel anyway.

In remote areas of Scotland you will want to have some cash w/ you. There are cash points (ATM) but not around every turn in the road. As an example - on Mull there is one bank - in Tobermory - and then a mobile bank that has a route from village to village. At least one pub has a machine - but it is not bank affiliated.

But there will be plenty of opportunities to get cash along the way since most small towns have at least one but usually more cash points.

Thanks, janis. That was what I was looking for.

Of course Travelex is going to charge you a fee as that is their entire business model. They charge huge fees as such "ATMs" in the US in airports. They don't call them ATMs, though, as they are not, they call them exchange bureaus or something like that, even if automated.

I have been at one airport in Canada that I believe had no bank ATMs, only those for-profit companies. I think it was Montreal.

I guess I haven't used at ATM at Heathrow in a few years as I usually arrive with a few pounds from the previous trip, then wait till I get to a Barclay's one in town. But I'm surprised the bank ones are gone from the airport!

Regarding use of credit cards, I am surprised by the comoment of places requiring a minimum purchase. London is where I am forever behind a local buying a 1.99 coffee with a credit card.

In remote areas of Scotland you will want to have some cash w/ you. There are cash points (ATM) but not around every turn in the road. As an example - on Mull there is one bank - in Tobermory - and then a mobile bank that has a route from village to village. At least one pub has a machine - but it is not bank affiliated.>>

BTW, post offices can dispense money if you have a debit card with a 4 digit pin number. they may be found in out of the way places where the banks are not in evidence. this might be helpful in a tight spot!

NeoPatrick...I'll tell you why I made the comment. For years, in the Uniterd States, visa and mastercard had two very enlightened rules in their merchant agreements. Shops were prohibited from surcharging credit card purchases (athough they are permitted to offer discounts for cash and some day I will underswtand the difference) and merchants were not permitted to establish inimum purchase requirements (nor are they permitted to refuse a credit card purchase unless somebody exposes themselves to identity theft by demanding additional id for a credit card purchase. Nobody should ever do so, period. If your credit card number gets compromised, it's really no big deal. A few phone calls will resolve the issue but if your identity is stolen, that could be bad, very bad). About a year ago, in a bnaking bill, mastercard and visa were prohibited from applying the first two rules above so some merchants do set minimums. Those p;rohibitions apparently never applied outside the USA and over the years I have run into a few, admitedly very few, British merchants who have minimum purchase rquirements. One time in a subway shop, I was told there was a minimum purchase price of £5. What was annoying was there was no sign. The clerk told me it was common knowledge that most merchants reserve the right to establish a minimum of 5 quid for a credit card purchase and was surprised when I said this was the first time it had ever happened to me.

As far as your point. Today I was at the grocery and the person in front of me bought $53.78 worth of groceries. She started reaching into her purse, found 3 5 $10 bills athen 3 $1bills then started fishing in her change purse for the 78 cents...quarter..quarter dime.dime...searched further for a nickel then couldn't find 3 pennies so took the change back, went into her bill fold to find another $1 bill couldn't find one, asked for the 3 $1 bills back and handed the cashier a %4...the transaction might have taken three or four minutes.

My purchase was for $7.92. Reached into my wallet for my Ban k America rewards card with the 2% rewards for groceries, swipted it, wasn't asked for a isgnature as this grocery doesn't ask for a signature for purchases under $50 and transactyion was finished in micro seconds (and I got my 2% rebate of 16¢)...but all kidding aside, the credit card transaction is much quicker and better for all concerned!

Wow! thank you great tips and info

longhorn55, I was thinking of prepaying on a credit card to avoid interest charges. I won't be home to receive bills for 2-3 months and don't want to do online banking without a secure connection. How do most people handle bill paying while away for months at a time?

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for everything big bank in UK no Travelex or airport moneychangers costs lot smore. When I was through Heathrow last May nothing but airport rip off money changers travelex machines(a rip). In the past have found big bank ATMs around baggage claim at good rates.

Good luck!

April...although you said you don't want to, the best most efficient way of dealing with bills is on-line banking. Yes I know there is always a slight chance of having your account compromised but it is slight. Just take the precauation, of course you do, of exiting from the browser completely instead of simply logging off. Of course, if you got to do ti, you do it.

Failing that i.e. if you just are too scared to chance on line banking, you can make arrangements with many credit card programs to automatically debit your checking account on the payment due date for either the minimum payment due or the total payment due. This, I know, can be done with several American banks; whether it can be done with banks in another cuntry if that is where you reside, you can investigate further.

But really, at a certain point, you have to begin to trust 21st century technology at least in most places; I might (note the use of the word might) feel differently at some out of the way internet cafe in the middle of nowhere in some so called third world company but I don't thnk we can charfacterize Western Europe that way. The same is true for those who tell me they refuse to use credit cards for small purchases as the credit card number could be compromised. If it does, you deal with it.

What I will say, however, is I wouldn't use a debit card from my main checking account as a debit card when travelling as should my main checking account get compromised, while atr some point you will almost usrely get the money back, it does take time and in the interim, your automatics payments and any outstanding checks turn to rubber. That's one of the reasons to open up a no foreign currency fee checking accoun specifically for travel and use that account to draw out cash. Using a debit card's "credit card" feature is kind of dumb and the money is instantly debited from your account; use a credit card and pay back at the end of each billing cycle on the payment due date (or a day or two earlier to avoid finance charges.

April, ditto to the above about getting used to and trusting online banking -- it's by far the best way to do it with long term traveling.

But here's an interesting story about "prepaying a credit card". A few years ago, just before leaving on a holiday I made a $20,000 purchase on a credit card for business reasons and used my own card to gain points. So that it wouldn't be an issue, I immediately sent a check to the credit card company for the $20,000 -- prepaying it, if you will. A few days later when trying to use the credit card at the Royal Opera House in London, the card was denied! I had to call and was told "you have an unauthorized payment on your card so we put a stop on it". Huh? They had $20,000 of my money and had somehow not yet received the charge so they put a hold on my account? Go figure.

Some credit card companies explicitly prohibit making advance payments.

As mentioned above, you can usually link a bank account to your credit card so payments are made automatically when they come due.

Thank you all for these most thoughtful replies. You're right, xyz123, I need to trust the technology. JP, this company does allow advance payments - I checked. NeoPatrick's story is food for thought though!