Robbie

First thanks to all of you who have answered other questions I have posted on the forum. It has helped me with the planning of my upcoming visit to Great Britain. I would like to know about currency exchange. I have read in some books that you would be safe getting american express travelers checks and exchanging these in London. Is that true? Will resturants and merchants take your american express travelers checks? If not were can I get the best deal on exchanging currency. I also will be traveling to Wales and Ireland and Scotland. Will they accept the dollar or will they accept the pound? Thanks for any help you can give.

dodger

First thing is to only exchange your traveler checks at a bank. Never, never at any other place as you will pay a very high fee. Use your credit card when you can. Take a couple of hundred pounds with you. Of cousre the pound is used throughout Great Britain. No, you cannot use the dollor.

denise

If you feel most comfortable traveling with travelers checks vs. cash you are better off getting them in the currency of the countries you will be visiting. Some stores/restaurants won't take checks that are not in their native currency. England and Ireland have completely different currencies - and can't remember whether or not Scotland accepts English pounds.
I just got back on Monday from London- you'll have a wonderful time!

Lanny

This is the 90s and London and all of the United Kingdom for that matter, is smack into modernity. My advice? If you have a bank debit card bring it with you and use the bank machines on every street corner in every pocket of England to withdraw money in UK pounds from your home bank account. This will give you English currency at the exchange rate in effect the day you make the debit from your account. If you are partially financing your holiday on credit card, all and well too. You can also use credit cards to the same good effect. If you cannot acquire English pounds from a banking institution before you cross the pond -- and yes, pounds are accepted everywhere, including Scotland folks, and you won't get far without them -- bring U.S. currency and exchange it at the currency exchange at Heathrow or Gatwick or wherever it is you are landing. Do not try to use U.S. dollars to make purchases at shops. Most won't take it because they don't understand the money or the exchange rate. Those few that are equipped to do so will gouge hell out of you. My rule of thumb is save U.S. dollar transactions overseas for purchases in countries with weak economies where people crave hard currency. In Turkey, for instance, the U.S. dollar is therefore much in demand. In the UK they could care less, believe me. Re travellers cheques. My advice, from experience, is to stay away from travellers cheques. Many businesses will not cash them at all and those that do may charge a premium of as much as several pounds for the pleasure of doing so. They are really wary of large denomination cheques especially when the traveller tries to cash a 100 pound travellers cheque for breakfast. Even the banking institutions are not immune from charging a transaction fee for cashing travellers cheques. Basically you can only cash the American Express travellers cheque without charge at AMEX offices or certain affiliated banks. So you have to know who issued your travellers cheque and who will cash it without charge, and then you've got to find that institution. I once spent the better part of a day subwaying across London with my incredibly stubborn, old-fashioned 70 plus mother, who insisted on taking travellers cheques (while I brought debit and credit cards) and then was not prepared to let anyone charge her a transaction fee for cashing her little 20 pound cheques for her. The game we played was find the bank that will cash the cheque without fee! Frankly, I can think of many better things to do in London than wasting a day trying to save 2 pounds!! Trust this helps. Lanny

Jack Little

I agree wholeheartedly with Lanny. Use the ATM (they're called cash machines) and your credit cards. You will avoid the long lines and the fees charged at the currency exchanges. I always stop at an ATM on arrival in the airport terminal to pick up some cash for a few days. I also use a credit card for most of my expenses. They're accepted almost everywhere. You can also get cash advances on your credit card for the same fees as in the U.S. Your bank or credit card company may be able to tell you the exact locations of the ATMs accepting their card in each city you plan to visit. Have an enjoyable trip.

Mike Miller

If you are like us and just have to take some traveler's checks - just in case your ATM card doesn't work, Lloyd's bank will charge you the least for cashing American Express Travelers checks. I had a person from another bank tell me I could save 1/2 of 1%25 by cashing them at Lloyds and I did.

Joyce

While Lanny's experience with his mother had to be incredibly frustrating at the time, it is hilarious to read about now. What a wonderful writer he is! Plus which, his advice is right on. We were on a tour of G.B. several years ago and while other members of the tour spent half of their waking hours trying to find an open American Express office within walking distance, we could pop money out of any ATM on any street at any hour of the day or night. Also, they were paying the highest exchange rates I've ever heard of, while we were paying the standard $1.00 charge imposed by our bank and that was all. Fortunately, ATM machines now seem to be plentiful the world over. Just be sure the one you are trying to use has Cirrus or whatever your card honors, on it. Not to worry if it doesn't. There will be another machine in the next block that does. Don't be lulled by the "No Commission Charge" signs. That just means their exchange rate is lowered considerably. After all, they aren't in the exchange business as a public service to strengthen foreign relations!

Tom

Robbie - I took a few travellers cheques with me last time I travelled. I mainly used my debit and credit cards however, as they are more convienent and cheaper to use. However, the cheques were for peace of mind, that if I was robbed and lost my cards and cheques, the cheques were easier to replace. (They also came in handy when there was a problem with the computer system and my cards kept being being rejected! I was able to cash some cheques and keep going!) You can cash them at any bank, however if you get American Express, you are better off finding an American Express office. You cannot use travellers cheques to pay for goods in shops, etc (except in a few rare places). No, England does not accept American dollars, you will have to exchange your money for pounds. If I came to your business in the US, would you accept my pounds? Northern Ireland and Scotland do have their own bank notes, but as they are part of the United Kingdom, their notes and the English pound are used interchangeably.
However, the English do not accept the Northern Irish and Scottish notes (except maybe around the Border area). However, if you end up in England with either of these notes, just go to a bank, and they will exchange them for you 1:1 (ie. no commission or exchange difference). The Republic of Ireland has its own currency, the punt, so if you go over there, you will need to exchange money then too.

Lanny

Thanks for the kudos Joyce. The only problem with an unusual first name is having people guess wrong about what your gender is. Actually, I'm female, but certaintly no offense taken. Lanny

hope hutton

Triple A is an easy place to pick up some pounds before leaving the US. That way if there is any problem at the airport you have currency. Generally I only use the debit card. A recent article in the Washington Post cautioned against pick pockets and purse snatchers at popular travel centers like Victoria Station. The article advised travelers to withdraw money from an ATM with another person or else in a less visable site, like a bank lobby. It also advised travelers to know the cancelation policy for an ATM card. Enjoy your trip.

Adina

By now you probably know that you pay for travelers checks in possibly three ways (1) at the time of purchase, unless you buy from your own bank; (2) commission fees in the country of exchange; and (3) by the rate of exchange you receive. I just got back from U.K. - with almost all of my AmExpress checks. I got them free from my bank; made the exchange for pounds with no commission an an AmExpress office; and got 1.777 or 1.76 as the exchange rate. The prices are really high there, so I quickly changed to my ATM cash card and VISA. I received my VISA bill (already!) showing an exchange rate of 1.71. All other things being equal, there are many more Thomas Cook offices than American Express. They also do not charge commissions to exchange funds on their travelers checks. Good luck to you!