General Questions-UK
 

Hi! I'm new here, and have a few questions. I've never been out of the US, and I don't know anything about travel abroad, so please forgive me if my questions sound silly.
My daughter is traveling to the UK this summer. One of her college friends is from Scotland, and she invited a bunch of the girls to come visit her. My daughter applied for her passport a few weeks ago. We're hoping it arrives in time. I asked her friend how we "exchange" money. She said instead of doing that, we should get a debit card that she can use there. She said we put money on it and then she can use it there like money. What is it called? Would you also recommend it? Also, how do I communicate with her while she is there? Is there a special app or am I overthinking this?
I have more questions, but I'll start with these. I'm nervous but very excited for her. I just didn't know how to get my questions answered until I found this forum. Thank you!!!

Welcome to Fodors -- no silly questions but yes. you are over thinking just a bit ;)

Does your daughter currently have a bank account and/or credit card of her own? Almost anything and everything can be charged on a normal visa or mastercard - either touchless or signing a slip just like at home. If and when she wants some cash - just sort of 'walking around money' she can withdraw some from a cashpoint/ATM also just like at home.

Does she have an iPhone/cell? If so, who is the carrier. Some US carriers you and she can just call and text like at home -- but some US carriers you need a special plan. Or she can buy a cheap unlocked phone and put a UK sim card in it.

More specific details are possible when we know what sorts of card(s) and phone she already has. . .

Thank you for your reply. Originally I thought she would be able to use her debit card when she traveled, but her friend said that if she did use her US Debit card, she would be charged more. Our cell carrier is TMobil.

Her friend is sort of correct. She may be charged a little bit more but not enough to worry about. Just like at home when she uses an ATM card there may be a fee to use a different bank's machine. As for credit cards as long as she ALWAYS makes sure to have the charges calculated in £ and NOT in US$ the extra charges are insignificant really. Using her US credit card and ATM card is by far the easiest option.

I use verizon so not 100% sure about TMobile but I think they have a very simple overseas plan. Check their website.

Some US debit and credit cards charge foreign conversion fees,some do not. She should check with her bank. Credit cards are safer than debit cards. In any case, she should always pay in the local currency (look up "dynamic currency conversion" scam).

She might look into a temporary plan with T-Mobile, which has good and cheap coverage abroad, although she might need to get her phone unlocked to change carriers.

just signing on to offer help. There are multi-currency debit cards (not sure how easy they are to access in US) but these take out the extra cost of conversion. However, since we are only talking $ and £ here I'd just stick with a debit card. As janisj says make sure you pay in £ then the only add cost will be from your local bank.

If you want to call her or she you without long distance fees use Whatsapp. If she has access to the internet that will work just fine and cost you nothing, provided you both have it on your phones of course. It is how I talk with my brothers in the UK.

It’s much easier to communicate between countries these days. WhatsApp is great, and you can use it to send photos too. If you both have iPhones you can use FaceTime, another way to make free calls. All you need is a wifi connection. Just this afternoon my brother in Wisconsin, and I in England, were sending text messages back and forth to each other.

For money, have a good debit card for withdrawing cash from ATMs, and a Visa or MasterCard credit card for charges. Pay the credit card balance off each month if you can to avoid interest charges. I live in England but do most of my banking online with a US bank and a credit union. With my bank the credit cards convert my charges in £ to $ at the interbank rate and give me 1.5% cash back. The UK is almost cashless these days, so she probably won’t have to draw much cash out from ATMs if she uses her credit card.

Agree - no silly questions in Fodorville!
T Mobile is great for European travel - texting is free and the per minute charge for voice calls is reasonable. No need to buy any special traveling package. Plus, by using WhatsApp or a similar app you can make voice or video calls over WiFi without incurring any charge from T Mobile.

Agree with janisj that credit cards are better than debit. If she doesn't have one, get one. Look for one that has low (or even no) foreign transaction fees. Do not mess with the hassle of buying a third party cash card which produces little, if any, financial benefit. Do use debit card if it is able to get cash from ATMs as the fees are usually less than a cash advance on a credit card.

And the passport should arrive well ahead of summer.

Just to underline that free wifi connection is widely available in cafés/pubs/big stores/public buildings as well as hotel rooms.

I agree with all of the above. I live in Italy, but my daughters live in the US. They use their US debit and credit cards when they're in Europe for work or pleasure. The extra fees are not enough to worry about, certainly not enough to justify getting a new account or card.

Most US banks have a flat fee for use of their debit card outside their own circuit. Obviously it makes sense to avoid frequent small withdrawals. When travelling, I try to put almost everything on my card, to avoid having to use cash.

WhatsApp is widely used in Europe, but if you and your daughter already have Facebook Messenger you can use that for phone calls.

Thank you all so much! Her debit card is a Visa Debit, so it looks like she is all set there. Hearing all of your experiences with facetime/Facebook messenger/WhatsApp made me feel so much better. I am so glad I found this discussion forum. I'll definitely come here with any/all questions I have. Have a great day :)