How much spending money should we bring?
 

My husband and I will be in London for 4 days. We are on a land tour with almost everything paid for in advance. My question is approximately how much spending cash will we need if we will be charging on our credit card the expenses we are able to. My best guess for what we will need cash for are street vendors for food and souvenirs, 2 tube tickets and incidentals. We are not sure what else we may need cash for. We didn't want to exchange too much money and have a lot of GBP's left over at the end of the trip. If anyone can give me a "guesstimate" or can think of expenses I have not listed please let me know. Thank you for the help!

tube takes credit cards as does practically every establishment selling anything save street vendors and pubs - how much can you spend then at street vendors is the question. $10/day would be tops i would think - any real nice souvenir you would buy in a shop that should take c cards IME.

Use c card to get an Oyster Card and refund the amount left over on your way out after your last tube or bus ride. Oyster Cards save money and are a no-brainer.

Just go to an ATM and pull out 50 pounds as you need it.

What do you mean "bring" -- buying GBP in the US and taking it with you to the UK? Don't bother. Do what Roger says.

And pull the money out on your bank card, NOT YOUR CREDIT CARD.

What you charge to credit cards will incur a 3 percent added fee (technically a one percent plus a two percent) unless you have one of the rare credit cards where that doesn't apply (CapitalOne, Schwab, maybe one or two others...).

Your best bet (and the way to get the best exchange rate) is what rogerdoger suggests: Your ATM debit card. Now your bank may charge not a percentage but a fixed transaction fee of just a few bucks, so don't take out tiny amounts too often or that fee adds up. But 50 or 100 once in a while will keep you liquid and save you hassles and money.

You need to tell your bank that you'll be doing that or the transactions will be blocked (since you probably have no record of frequent withdrawals in the UK). And tell the bank to increase the limit on daily withdrawals in case you have an emergency that requires a bunch of cash. And make sure you have a hefty balance in that account in the first place, of course.

ATM has replaced travellers' checks and is by far the best and cheapest way to pay as you go. You may see the marked as Bancomat, Teller Machine, and such names.

Oh yes - BigRuss makes a good point - do not withdraw CASH with your credit card - that incurs finance charges from the moment you get the money. Use your ATM DEBIT card for Cash.

"We didn't want to exchange too much money and have a lot of GBP's left over at the end of the trip."

Lucky, LOL, when you travel in London, having much left over is unlikely...

Have a great trip.

My bank writes off the ATM card charges when I ask them to since it doesn't have affiliates abroad (and I always ask them to).

You will find London is a great deal like most places in the USA and unlike many other places in Europe. Credit cards are taken almost everywhere although some small shops have a minimum charge amount (we used to have no minimums allowed on credit cards in the USA but some jerks in the Senate and House took that away from us). So you can use your credit cards almost everywhere...the tube for oyster cards or any other media, fast food places, theatres (TKTS too), I like to eat lunch at a sandwich shop such as pret a manger (yes credit cards there), most restaurants, many pubs for food, those tourist attractions that charge admission fees, grocery stores and convenience stores (I stop in one before attending a show to pick up drinks and say chips for half time (or as locals say the interval)...a lot better to get 2 coks for £1.40 then pay £3.50 for the same soda (sometimes even smaller in a can) for £3. This past August, I was in London for a week and never once paid cash for anythging although I don't go to street fairs....if you're smart you will have a credit card that doesn't charge the 3% fee (there are many around, you have to look) and an ATM card where the bank doesn't charge for an ATM withdrawal (there are many around)...in that way, as I need cash, I can pull out £10 or £20 at a time. This is the 21st century and all these things work quite well thank you.

I agree, for pocket money, AFTER arrival, just go to an ATM and use your regular debit card associated with your checking account back home. Take 50 pounds as suggested and see how far that gets you.

Thank you so much for everyones comments. Withdrawing money there with my bank card sounds like the way to go. Much appreciation!!!

You don;t bring any spending money - changing it will get you ghastly exchange rates. You pull cash for walking around money from your checking account with your debit card at the local ATM.

We usually pull about $300 equivalent at a time, then replenish. But we travel independently - so need to pay for everything.

Can;t think 50 pounds would get you very far - even if you just go for a couple of drinks somewhere.