"Theft is a pasttime in Europe"???

Unlike in the US where it is an occupation???

To BITTER and KEITH: Thank you for answering my question without a sarcastic remark. Some of the posters here should take lessons in manners.

I will try to get some GBP from a bank here in Phoenix. Do you know if all banks have this service, or just certain ones? I know after a ten hour flight I will be too jet-lagged to deal with locating an ATM when I land at Heathrow. I also don't want to keep a car service waiting while I stand in line.

I've never seen it mentioned on this board that you can go into a bank and request a cash advance as well as using an ATM. I've done this in the UK, France, Portugal and Spain. Never been charged a transaction fee by the foreign bank nor my own bank. The card I use for cash is a Mastercard DEBIT card and the exchange fee is 1%. My bank doesn't charge extra. I do use a credit card whenever I can.

Interestingly, I've also gotten funds domestically this way without a fee even tho using the ATM at the same bank generates a charge.

I think that Europe is more advanced than we in using credit cards. McDonalds in Heathrow, for example, has accepted credit cards for at least 5 years.

I've never felt it necessary to arrive with local currency but one difficulty can be the size of the bills you receive from the ATM. I usually head for a newstand to get a Timeout, Herald Trib or some such so I have a few coins.

Hi azresptech, no not all banks offer foreign currency, and some will charge an extra fee if you are not an account holder. Start by calling that bank that you use for your personal accounts and see if they can sell you Pounds; if they can sell you the currency ask if you can specify the denominations of the notes as you don't want to receive all large bills. Larger banks (like Chase or Fleet) can usually accommodate you, smaller "local" banks usually do not offer this service.

Both AAA and American Express carry currency exchange (at least here in Southern California). AAA charges no fee as long as you are a member. I'm not sure if you can get it from them if not a member. THey carry Euro and Pounds.

azresptech, don't let those sarcastic remarks get you down. There are some here who always respond to posts just to give a sarcastic response and/or criticize what is stated-not to give any help.
I also believe in having some foreign currency on hand before I leave home.
You can buy foreign currency at a bank-usually at its main branch. There is a fee but it's waived if you have an account with the bank.
As was condescendingly pointed out to me by someone who answered your post, I was told that I'm someone who is caught up in hearing there is "no fee" and that it's the exchange rate to check instead. Of course, I know the bank is making money on my transaction because the exchange rate is not favorable and there is some built-in fee. Another person here nixed going to the local bank and said to go to a f/x bureau instead. I know where that particular bureau he spoke of is located but it's out of my way. That's why I choose to go to my bank instead.
In fact, today I went to purchase some currency, and I guess there are alot of us who are stupid. There were five other customers getting foreign currency at the bank.

By the way, azresptech, the bank I bought the currency from is Bank of America. I know they have euros and pounds on hand.

Out here in the hinterlands, foreign currency isn't offered very competitively. My own approach is just to keep some on hand to "seed" subsequent trips.

"I'm curious why people feel they need the local currency before they get to the destination airport? Where can you spend it? Even when I have had a tight connection (plane to train in Venice) there has been plenty of time and opportunity to use the ATM."

Where will I spend these US purchased euros? First, I will spend it on a taxi; I will be in a taxi line after landing instead of in an ATM line. Next I intend to pay for a phone card and some incidentals when I arrive at the hotel. Maybe I will need some euros for a meal or a snack as well.

Oh I know...you are so lucky that your baggage will come off the plane first and you won't have to wait for your baggage....in that time, you can hit the ATM.

ATM queues are rarely very long in most airports and yes there is the theoretical possibility the ATM might not work; so you know what you do. You walk 20 paces to the left to the currency exchange bureau, swallow hard, and hand over2 or 3 US 20's. Voila, you have cash. And chances are, your baggage still hasn't come.

>I will try to get some GBP from a bank here in Phoenix...I know after a ten hour flight I will be too jet-lagged to deal with locating an ATM when I land at Heathrow.<

Hi Az

You can get your foreign currency at the airport before you leave. It will be more convenient and can't possibly cost more than ordering it from a bank.

Thanks Ira. I don't know why I hadn't thought of the airport for the exchange. We have never flown to an international destination directly from Phoenix before, so I wasn't aware they had an exchange booth. I checked the website for Sky Harbor today, and found they have two booths near our departure gate. It may be a bit more expensive to change money here, but it will be worth it for the convenience.

I can't say this is always the case, but I read a sad tale in the Washington Times lately of someone exchanging $60 US for 39 Euros at an airport booth. Clearly that was rather silly of him, since he was quite discouraged at the exchange rate (but didn't quite seem to grasp the markup involved in this).

To: azresptech

I'm going to be flying BA out of Phoenix to London the end of May. If you decided to get GBPs at the airport could you post about the rate? Thanks.

To: cheuvront

Just back from London, and I did exchange money at Sky Harbor Airport. The Travelex booth is convenient to the BA departure gate. If you have an AAA card, you get a 25% discount on the commisssion. I purchased 50GBP for $107, or which $4.12 was the commisssion after discount. The exchange rate listed on Yahoo that day was $1.87 per GBP so I paid about $14 for the convenience. To me it was worth it, but many may disagree. Have a wonderful trip. We had a great time.

Thanks for the info at Sky Harbor!