Michelle

Going to England and Scotland from the U.S. Will not be using credit cards or ATM cards. Can I buy traveller's checks in pounds here in the U.S.? If not, will traveller's checks in U.S. dollars be accepted in shops? Any help with this money matter would be greatly appreciated.

Kathleen

Last summer I bought travelers checks in pounds from my local American Express office. I also got currency.

Roger

I have purchased Thomas Cook's Traveler checks in the past in pounds. A lot of places in england don't want to brother with them but in the larger towns you will find a Thomas Cook's office and they will give you pounds without additional cost. You can always take US traveller cdhdcks and exchange them at any bank in England.

Paul

The AAA (Auto Club) sells travelers checks denominated in British Pounds. If you're a member, I don' think that they charge you for them.

elvira

Don't bother with the tc's in pounds; you are buying pounds, so you are getting killed on the exchange rate. Then, if you don't use them all, you have to convert them to $$ - which means you are now SELLING pounds, and, again, getting killed on the exchange rate. Buy on the ask, sell on the bid. <BR>If you are not using atm or credit cards, get tc's in US$. If you don't spend them all, you just deposit them to your bank acct, or use them like cash when you get home. <BR>You can always cash tc's at banks or exchange bureaus; AMEX will cash them with no fee (if you have AMEX tc's). Most shops, if they accept the TC's, give you a lousy exchange rate (they convert the $$ to their currency; they don't convert the price of the item to $$). Convert to cash first through a bank or cambion.

Bob Brown

Before buying anything in the line of foreign currency or checks, look up the daily exchange rate so you will know what kind of a markup you are asked to pay. If it is 5% over the exchange rate, you are being "took". (AAA sells for about 2% over the "spot" wholesale rate the last time I bought any thing foreign.) <BR> <BR>Yahoo has a good table of foreign exchange rates. If you can get to Fodors, you can get to Yahoo. From the main Yahoo menu, click on stock quotes; then look for exchange rates. You will have to scroll down to see it. <BR> <BR>Banks commonly sell American Express and other brands of travelers checks denominated in British Pounds. So does AAA. I would be careful on the size of the purchase, however, because if you buy more in pounds than you spend, then you get clipped again when you reconvert them to US funds, as Elvira stated. (And believe me, she knows what she is talking about!!) <BR>Too bad that you cannot use an aTM card because, in my experience, that is the least expensive and most convenient way to obtain local currency. <BR>My usual procedure is to have in my pocket a few dollars worth of local currency when I arrive for the sake of my own convenience. But I don't buy much because most banks where I live extort about a 5% fee just for the privilege of allowing you to buy the stuff! Then I rely on the ATMs.

Patrick

Worst travelers check experience i had was getting ready to leave Geneva and having $200 in US checks to cash. They were Am Ex and i went to their office in Geneva to cash them back into US currency since we were flying home the next day and i didn't have any US. They would only cast them into Swiss Francs and then would exchange them for dollars. For each $100 US check, I would get $73.00 in US cash. London was just as bad. No one would take my British pounds travelers' checks and the banks charged huge fees to cash them. Never do I do anything but ATM these days. If you have the money to exchange, why not put it in your checking account at home and take it out of an ATM in Britain where you will get the most mileage for your bucks? I don't understand why so many people are hesitant to do this?? <BR>

Michelle

For Patrick's question - <BR>Don't want to spend the time searching for ATM's plus like the safety of traveller's checks rather than carrying around a load of cash.

Patrick

The time searching for ATMs amounts to about 30 seconds or so every 5 days or so, there are far more ATM's than there are banks willing to cash travelers checks. They are on practically every block or so in populated areas. Don't carry a lot of cash -- use credit cards for major purchases. However, your mind seems made up, you have already decided to do travelers checks, so go at it. Just don't complain that no one wants them, it is hard to cash them, and it costs you a whole lot more money. If it makes you feel better, then I guess it is worth it to spend a lot of time looking for banks to cash the travelers checks and spending a lot of extra money to do it. Just don't forget to get lots of cash on Friday before the weekend closures. Money is not important to all of us. But if you'd rather have a simple time with purchases and save money at the same time, then use credit cards and ATMs.

steve

I got TC in pounds last summer when I went to England and Scotland. They were American Express. The best way to get cash was from the Amex offices. In grocery stores and other stores I had little trouble using them as they are supposed to work. However, I twice was charged an additional fee at banks in Scotland, and I had trouble with one small hotel accepting them (they said they were charged large fees by their bank)

kathy

I second the advice about using atms. They are as prevalent in UK as here. I bought travelers checks to take to Spain, and took them to Mexico and Egypt over the last three years. I still have a few. I dont bother any more.

Rel

I third, fourth, fifth and sixth (!!) the advice about ATMs and Visa Card. Have always found all over the world, the exchange rate to be the most favourable it could possibly be. TCs are dinosaur material - forget them unless you want to lose all round plus be frustrated needlessly. ATMs are on every street corner.

Bob Brown

I agree on the ATM issue. In Paris and Switzerland last year, and in Switzerland the year before that, we cashed a total of 1 TC!! We cashed that one only because the ATM at the airport was not functioning when we arrived, and I wanted a little Swiss currency to buy a few items before getting on the train. <BR>Last year we left with a reserve of American Express checks, in USD, and came back with all of them. (Being and old codger, we get them at no fee.) <BR>Your best rate of exchange is from a credit card because you get the wholesale rate of exchange. You get the same rate with an ATM transaction plus whatever fee your bank charges. I use Bank of America, and so far, I pay only after the second transaction at a "foreign" ATM. After the second "foreign" transaction in a month, the fee per transaction is $1.50. You will pay more than that buying and converting traveler's checks. If you got $2,000 in British pounds and pay a fee of 2% that is $40 for the pleasure of having a wad of checks in your pocket. That is equal to 26 ATM transactions!! At 1% you still pay $20.00, which is equal to 13 ATM transactions. In two weeks I think I had 7 transactions so I did not have to carry large amount of currency on me. <BR> <BR>So, where do you save anything by toting traveler's checks?? <BR>In Paris, I found the ATMs much easier and faster to find and to use than trying to run down a bank that was open on Saturday and Sunday. I guess I could have taken an 11 franc bus or Metro ride to the American Express office, presuming that they were open for exchanges on Saturday. (Of course, how do I buy the Metro ticket if I don't have any French money. I don't think the Metro cashier takes US Dollars!! Also, the 11 franc ride is about $1.70, which is more than an ATM transaction fee.) <BR>In Switzerland, we got off the train in Lausanne, walked out the door of the train station saw a bank with an ATM right in front of me. So in 3 minutes I had cash for Switzerland. At least until the last two days. I also don't comprehend the argument that "I don't want to carry that much cash." Are you going to find a bank everytime you want to have 50 pounds in currency? And what about weekends when banks are closed? I guess if you have some problem with credit and don't have a card, that puts a damper on the whole thing. But even a debit card can be used to get the wholesale rate of exchange which is cheaper than continually exchanging checks. Even if the checks are in pounds you will probably pay a fee to convert the to currency, unless you hunt up the American Express office; and they are not in every town!! <BR>Those of us who use ATM's, credit cards, and keep traveler's checks for reserve only have worked out the cheapest and best way to pay for a western European trip. <BR>P.S. If you are going to Russia, I understand that American greenbacks are welcome. I was corresponding with a travel agent in St. Petersburg and he said I could pay hotel bills, cab fares, etc in US Dollars. Our money is a surrogate currency in Russia, I am told. But folding green only!

anna

I STRONGLY agree with the ATM crowd. In London we could usually SEE an ATM machine from just about anywhere we happened to be standing. I worried about the tiny island in the north of Denmark where my ancestors all came from, but there was one right at the ferry landing when we got off. They are EVERYWHERE in Europe and we have yet to even run into one that was broken, though I understand that happens, so we kept $150 in US travellers checks in our money puch and never touched them. Also, everyone takes credit cards there. Gas stations, grocery stores, tourist places. YOU WILL REGRET TAKING TRAVELERS CHECKS.

anna

Oh, and if you insist on using the TC's, don't forget the oft-repeated advice on European travel: Take half the clothes you think you will need and twice the money you think you will need.

Donna

As AAA members, we are able to purchase travelers checks in foreign denominations for about 99 percent of the international wholesale rate. We like to be prepared for all contingencies and always take some travelers checks along. We were sure glad to have them when neither of our ATM cards worked during a trip to Paris. We were able to cash our traveler's checks at the front desk of the hotel (no additional fees or charges) for the face value and they were not refused anywhere we went. We're off to Paris in June, and have already purchased some travelers checks in French Francs (while the exchange rate is the highest it's been in years). I've made note of the location of the American Express office and it's hours of operation. If we have any "leftovers", we'll just use them toward our hotel bill (I've already checked and they are acceptable) to avoid having to exchange them back. There are any number of reasons people would prefer travelers checks to credit cards and ATM cards. And, in our experience, they're much better in the foreign currency. On our first trip to Europe, we took some travelers checks in American Dollars and some in Swiss Francs to Switzerland. There was only one tiny shop in an out of the way town than refused the travelers checks in Swiss Francs. Otherwise, we were able to use them anywhere. The ones we took in American dollars were another story. We received very unfavorable rates of exchange, even in banks.

Monica

I used to take $2,000 - $3,000 in T.C.s on my first few trips to Europe along with some cash, about $100 in foreign currency and a credit card. At that time I hadn't used an ATM machine. Then one year I took $2,000 in TC and never used them since I discovered the ATM machine! I had no problems using my ATM card or my credit card. Now when I travel I take $500 in US Travelers Checks (which I have always returned to my bank at home); about $100 in US dollars, about $100 in foreign currency to get me started, and 2 credit cards: A Master Card and ATM/Visa card. With what I now take, it works out great. I'll get money out of an ATM machine every 4-5 days. There's no problem finding ATM machines in most cities. If I know I'm going out to the countryside, I just make sure I have plenty on hand before I go incase I have to use cash only. Lot's of restaurants and hotels take credit cards, as well as some museums. Fortunately for me, my ATM card (from Bank of America) does not charge me any conversion fee and I get 2 free withdrawals per month.

carolyn

The best place to cash travelers checks if you do take them is at a window in Harrod's basement.

steve

Use a credit card if you can - I made two charges in the last 3 months with a rate of 1.63 and today bought amex tc's at 1.67