GBP Travelers Checks vs. ATMs?
 

We are headed for England and Scotland in about two weeks. I went to AAA yesterday to get travelers checks in pound stirling as I've done in the past -- although the last time we traveled overseas was in 2000.

The rate they charge is $ 1.95!!! I can buy some cash, but it's $ 1.97. :(
I've never used ATMs outside of the US, but this seems like a good time to try.

Any thoughts/advice/experience regarding using ATMs and debit cards in the UK, most specifically Scotland, would be appreciated! My husband dislikes the fees to use them, but if the exchange rate is better, that's a false economy. Any one bank better than another? RBS?

OR, if there's a better suggestion about buying travelers checks, let me know.

Ugh -- I'm beginning to take the weakness of the dollar personally...

Forget travelers checks. Use ATMs. The ones associated with banks (as opposed to those in convenience stores) won't charge you a fee -- the only fee will be whatever your own bank imposes. They also offer hte best exchange rate. Past threads on this subject report fees from zero to $5 per withdrawal.

Hi Debe,

I agree with Anon. Not only will you pay a higher exchange rate to get the TCs in GBP, you will often have to pay a fee to cash them.

PS,

It is much safer to get an ATM card that is not also a debit card.

Had some friends that got cash from Bank of America for a lot less than $1.97 (just this week). You could get some cash from BOA and then use your ATM card for anything else you need. You will find that Travelers Checks are hard to cash and the extra fees for cashing them will kill you.

We were in Scotland in June/July and had no problems using ATMs. I don't recall what the 'published' exchange rate was at that time, but I just looked at my transactions and, as an example, a £100 withdrawal on June 25 cost us $183.30. There was no additional fee charged.

Also, as mentioned above, we used ATMs that were located in banks. And, since our ATM cards carry a Mastercard logo, I went to the Mastercard ATM locator website beforehand to determine where I could find ATMs that are part of its network. The list of ATMs on the site may or may not be up to date, but it was easy to figure out which bank brands were affiliated -- Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale, etc. -- so we could look for those.

And for the record, we found ATMs everywhere across Scotland. The only town in which we did not see an ATM was the town small town of Uig (pop. 100) on the Isle of Skye.

One other tip: There's been a lot of discussion about it being necessary to have a four-digit PIN. I've always had a five-digit PIN and have never had a problem with it in Europe, but just as a precaution, I did change it to a four-digit PIN before this trip.

Good luck, and have a great trip.

Thank you all! This gives me a lot more confidence to relax a bit -- great information. :-)

Call your bank and find out if they partner with a UK bank. My bank is Bank of America, and when I use any Barclay's ATM there is absolutely no charge for using it from them OR my bank. And I can assure you it is a better rate than any travelers cheques. Forget those archaic things, unless you want a couple "just in case" -- although I still question where you could cash one at 2 in the morning if you really had an "emergency" need for one.

Debe,

I know how you feel!! I USED TO BE of the "old school" who said "I'm going out of country, I need my AAA travelers checks."

Well, I have learned from my ignorance!! :) AAA is a MAJOR ripoff.

Not only that, the day of the "travelers check" is gone. - No one uses them anymore.

Use a ATM, you will get the best rate for that day (not like a prepaid check where you are locked in to a fixed exchange rate PLUS a heft comission ... who are they trying to fool by saying there is "no charge" for the TCs (their fees are in the jacked up exchange rate!!)

There are ATMs all over the airport. You shouldn't have to worry about bringing any foreign currency with you.

I agree with those who recommend using ATMs. There are some things you need to do *before* leaving home to make sure your card will work in Europe. Here's the URL for a very helpful article on changing money in Europe: www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm

Thank you, thank you for all this info (I'm a data junkie by nature). I checked with our bank to see if there is a UK affiliation -- no such luck. But I did get clarification on the MasterCard network (Abbey Banks) and a list of locations.

Hard to get my head around how much has changed since we were there just four years ago...

I had one thought when you mentioned Mastercard.

I use my Visa card to access ATM's in Canada - it saves having to carry round two cards. In Canada it is no problem because when I go to an ATM it asks me what I want to do- withdraw from chequing,savings etc. When I went over to UK there was no such choice - so the transaction went as a cash advance against my Visa card. It was no sweat as I went on line and moved money across to pay it - saving the interest.

Not sure if your card is set up the same way

Traveler's checks are a great value as long as you don't mind paying possibly 15% or more in fees and poorer exchange rates compared to ATMs.
Everyone knows I knock down traveler's checks every chance I get. I suppose in all fairness they do have some value as a last resort safety net for those afraid to carry large amounts of cash.
And by the way, I think its spelled check, not cheque. Or do you even give a heque?

Make sure you call your atm card company and notify them you'll be in Europe. Just calling to ask about fees isn't the same. Just came back from Europe and could only use my atm card in 3 of 5 countries.

uh, platzman, "cheque" is correct.
It's "check" if you live in the US; it's "cheque" if you live in the UK, Canada, Australia, etc.

It's called the "Queen's English" ... and if you do a Google search, you will find a lot more under "travelers cheque" then "check"

Whoa, I was just kidding.
No more second glass of merlot for me!