I will be traveling to London in about 3 weeks and had a question about exchanging currency. Below are the options that I have investigated and am not sure if there are any other options that may be more cost efficient.

1) Use Credit Card: Converts at end of day close exchange rate & charge of 2% fee
2) Get money from local bank: Converts at a rate of 1 GBP to $1.97 & $15 fee ( about $0.10 than current rate)

Other Possible options, but not sure what the costs are:

Convert in London
American Express Travelers Checks
Use bank ATM card

Please let me know what is the best options are for my travels in London?

Thanks,

Jon

Hi lgekl.

Your first step to asnwering this question is to do a search on this site. This question has been a common one recently and many threads have addressd this.

But in general:
Use ATM card to access your funds directly. ATM machines are everywhere and offer the best overal rates

Buy some local currency at home if you must, but only enough to get you to your destination. Costs for this is high , so keep to a minimum.

Cash is king, but you may need credit cards to pay large bills (hotel, gifts, some meals).

Do not use travellers cheques or cash cards. Costs are too high.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Getting 200 pounds from your local bank at the rates you mention will cost about $409.

Getting 200 pounds from an ATM will likely cost you about $375. Hopefully your bank has a partner bank in London -- such as Bank of America/Barkleys. Otherwise it might cost you up to $380 for the 200 pounds.

You do the math.

Hi jg,

Good advice from MP

Use an ATM card linked to your checking account to get cash. Be sure it has a four-digit PIN. Here's a link to a very helpful article about changing money, including some important things to do BEFORE leaving home to be sure your ATM cards and credit cards will work in Europe: http://tinyurl.com/k3vy6.

I'm also headed to London in a few weeks. I always obtain British pounds before I leave. I just order off my bank's website. The rate this time was 1.977 with a nominal processing fee. The pounds are delivered to my local branch in 1-3 business days. My bank also has a "relationship" with Barclays whereby the ATM charge is waived, so I use their ATMs to get more cash as needed. It's good to have at least some pounds ready upon arrival. Why worry about locating ATMs when you're already stressed from the trip?

"It's good to have at least some pounds ready upon arrival."

As a comfort factor for some perhaps - but I haven't needed cash before getting in to town since London Transport (now TfL) began accepting plastic in the '70s.

Yes, and I won't argue with those who somehow stress about finding ATMs, but of all the things I can think of to stress about after a long flight, being able to find an ATM in a major international airport just doesn't seem like something I'd stress over. It's almost as much a non issue as worrying about whether there will be a restroom in the airport. Of course there will be -- a restroom and ATMs.

ATM and foreign exchange booths are both *incredibly* easy to find at Heathrow. I've used them several times for a small amount, since I only pass thru the airport going on to a country with a different currency, but still need a few pounds for just that.