Where is the best place in London to convert dollars to pounds? Yhanks.

ATMS no doubt - best rate of exchange...will save you lots of money over going to banks, who often have several dollar fees for cashing travelers cheques and significantly lower rates than ATMS. Credit cards too are better in UK than changing money.
Your local bank ATM will work at zillions of UK ATMS.

Was in the UK last week and my new ATM card did not work there. The message was "PIN not valid" - or some such. I tried it at several machines. It works at home but not in UK. Old ATM card from same bank worked in both places. I got a new ATM card from the bank - will test it out in the UK when I am back in a couple of weeks.

I cannot explain why it did not work and neither can the bank. Luckliy was with my other half with an ATM - so we used that one to get money

Just for fun: Bring along $100. Shop a bit for best rate. Convert. Use a debit card at an ATM and calculate the rate.

Or check out the rates posted at the various bureau de change.

And if your hotel asks whether you'd like the charge on your credit card in dollars - don't accept. The exchange rate will be worse than if you pay in sterling.

one reason a card may not work, or a few:

cards generally must be debit cards or hooked to checking accounts not savings accts in my experience

you should tell your local ATM bank what countries you are going to. I had the same problem with one card once and upon return the bank said it was declined because they weren't notified of foreign transactions and did it as a security measure.

also, though you have a new card, cards also with worn strips that work at home may not work in more sensitive ATMs abroad.

actually on my recent trip i found it better to use a credit card than ATMs as my ATM card charged 3% plus a $5 fee whilst the credit card just charged a 3% fee. Again tell you card company which countries you are going to.

Practically everything takes Visa, MC or AMEX...from McDonalds to supermarkets and everything practically. Leave the Discover at home; not accepted anywhere in Europe to my knowledge.

You of course need a 4-digit PIN number to use European ATMs.

I think it must have been the card PalQ. Previous ATM card which was hooked to same account worked. I even tested it at home first so was surprised when it did not work in London. Bank could not explain it.

You are right about credit cards - I use Visa for as many purchases as posisble - though am used to paying by cash in pubs. Though this time I did see some using credit cards.

Hi W,

Do not bring USD.

You can bring USD traveler's checks as an emergency backup, and then deposit them when you get home.

Change about $100 at your departure airport if you want cash when you arrive. This will cost about $4 more than getting GBP in the UK.

Charge everything you can, and use ATMs for when you need cash.

Enjoy your visit.

Change bureaus, including those in the US work in one of two ways: they give you a great exchange rate and then charge a high commission; they give you a poorer exchange rate and charge a lower commission.

I would get mot, if not all, my cash from an ATM in London, either at one of the airport ATMs or one in the city.

The UK? Easy...

1. Use your bank ATM to pick up a few quid for every day purchases such as internet cafes, pubs (for drinks) some (but not all) fast food restaurants and

2. Everywhere else use your credit card, hopefully one that does not charge 3% for foreign currency exchange such as Capital One...London is getting a lot like New York in that mastercard/visa is now taken almost everywhere...the tube takes them, some pret a manger's take them, of course hotels and most restaurants, theatres, most of the museums are free (London Walks does not take them)...Main Line railroads do though.

I spent a week in London in January and my total cash outlay (for me alone) was less than 50 quid...one withdrawal from an ATM was quite sufficient, everything else was on a credit card and I don't go to the most expensive of places believe me...

Unfortunately there is a silly rule in Britain which we don't have in the USA which prohibits visa/mc from enforcing a rule prohibiting minimum charge amounts and allowing merchants to surcharge credit card purchases..some establishments actually insist that you have a charge more than 5 or 10 quid before they will take plastic...visa/mc do not allow such shenanigans in the USA.

I always have both a standard ATM card and a debit (check) card with me, and I have them for two different accounts.

In the UK, Barclay's bank and the Bank of America have an agreement wherein a BOA debit card used at Barclay's is just like using it at home. No charge for the aTM use.

Both of my accounts have, to date, allowed me two free off net transactions per month. By using both, I can get 4 off net transactions at no extra charge.

The Barclay's usages don't count.

The OP asked the best place in London to convert dollars to pounds. While all those replying are correct that is better to use ATMs (or cashpoints as they are usually termed in the U.K.), that doe not answer the question.

If you have $1000 in your hand and want to convert it to pounds, you have a choice of going to a Post Office, a bureau de change, a travel agent, or a bank. They are all easily available during normal working hours, but the exchnage rate may vary. I checked the exchange rate online, and found that the Post Office yesterday was offering £1=$2.1139, while Travelex was offering £1=$2.1100. If you had $1000, that means you would get £473.06 from the Post Office and £473.93 from Travelex, so it is hardly worth crossing the road to get the better rate, just go to the more convenient. Watch out for place offering a significantly worse rate.

There is a big difference between the "buy" rate and the "sell" rate. Many U.K. exchange places only want to sell you overseas currency, and will only "buy back" dollars that have been purchased from them and have not been used.

Also be aware that people are wary of large denomination bills, since they are more likely to be forged. They may not want small bills either! $10s or $20s would be OK.

$2.11? OUCH! I withdrew £300 from an ATM with my MC debit card on Mar 1st, and paid $592.69. The conversion rate worked out at $1.9756.

Marks & Spencer is $1.875 as of today. I change money there as well as a small neighborhood news agent who charges the same rate as M&S with no commission.

http://tinyurl.com/39bx6b

Carrybean. That is the buy rate, what you pay if you are buying dollars with pounds. The Post Office is currently quoting a buy rate of $1.86=£1.00. Compare a buy rate of £1.86 with a sell rate of £2.11, and you can see why no commission is charged.

Incidentally, changing $1000 in dollar bills gets you £473, while using the ATM gets you £506. It's a big difference, but maybe not so important if you have a pocketful of dollars but your bank account is empty.

Chartley, my ATM card doesn't work in the UK. M&S has the best exchange rate with no commission that I've found in the many years I've travelled to the UK. All over, you see boards with exchange rates that are higher than M&S PLUS they charge commission on top of it. There is also a place I use on Brompton Road which has better rates.

I charge mostly on CC's but for running around money that's where I exchange & where I recommend others do too. I refuse to charge tiny amounts on a credit card.

&quot;<i>Marks &amp; Spencer is $1.875 as of today</i>&quot; If so you should have stocked up. (kidding - that, of course, being the &quot;buy rate&quot; has nothing to do w/ the rate one gets exchanging $ for &pound

Read what I said in the follow-up post. Even though I was mistaken about the rate, it is STILL one of the cheapest places I've found to exchange money. Not every can or does use ATMs.

By not using an ATM one ends up paying $2.11 (or more). That is a nearly 8% premium even w/o a &quot;commission&quot;.

Carrybean remarks,

&gt;my ATM card doesn't work in the UK. &lt;

Is there a reason why?

&gt; I refuse to charge tiny amounts on a credit card.&lt;

Is there a reason why?