Is conversion of US Dollars to British Pounds necessary?
 

Traveling to England in Sept. Is it necessary to convert US Dollars to British Pounds or can US Dollars be used in Britian? If conversion is necessary, is it better to do the conversion of dollars to pounds in the USA at a local bank or wait until arrival in London to convert dollars to pounds at an ATM?

Definitely wait and use an ATM to withdraw money from your checking account. It's fast, easy and the cheapest way to get foreign currency when travelling. If you have a VISA debit card, VISA has a website where you can locate the ATMs for whichever country and city you'll be visiting.

Short answers: Yes it's necessary. ATM is the better way to go.

That's the advice I've received, but in a very simplified form. Hopefully if I'm wrong or misunderstanding what others have said, someone will come around to correct me. Thanks.

Andie

OK, this may come off as being abrupt, but why would think it would be possible to use US dollars in Britain? Can you imagine standing in line in at a supermarket in Chicago while a Brit tries to use pounds to make his purchase?
Yes, you NEED pounds. And the best way to get them is at an ATM as others have said.

dottimann: I'll come across as even more abript than Patrick. Have you done ANY research about your trip? Besides Patrick's comment why you'd think US$ would be accepted in London -- on another thread you asked about "tours of Bath and other parts of London". (Since you are only there 2+ days, you probably won't have time to take trips to Bath or anywhere else.)

Your only ever other 2 posts were to recommend tracfone.com as the best cell phone to use for calls UK/States. Just seems odd to me that you are an expert about international cell phones but think dollars work in London . . . . . .

Now, Now everyone - let's play nicely together.

Perhaps dottimann has only traveled in the Caribbean; let's say (for example) Jamaica or Barbados. Where US dollars are freely accepted and Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state but, as a UK citizen I have to have a passport to enter the country and (at the moment) all a US citizen needs is a Birth Cert. and a driver’s license.

It's all too confusing! Perhaps Dec 31st will clarify things but then again I wonder how many people will arrive at the airport and not be able to fly because they don’t know the rules have changed

Hopefully Internet travel sites will alert people before they let them book flights – kind of a “Yes, I have a passport” button.

Sorry Dottiman, you can't use US dollars in the UK, If I was you I'd take some UK currency with me - just in case. It also might be helpful to get used to the different banknotes - they're different sizes and different colors. I still find US currency awkward, well the notes not the "shrapnel" (coins).

well, The Queen may be head of state, but Jamaica and Barbados aren't British colonies anymore.

Anyway, yes, Pounds Sterling for G*d's sake, whatwver the political commentators might joke, we aren't the 51st state just yet...

Just in case dottimann, or anyone else for that matter, would like a brief general introduction to UK notes and coins, I had a look on Google. Of all things, the "official" sources I tried don't have anything useful; frankly, the best thing I could find is this page put together by a primary school!:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch...ons/money.html

It looks to me as though some of their other pages might be useful for some Fodorites too!

Thanks everyone even those of you who were not very kind. I have traveled to France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Holland and the only place, I ever had to exchange currency was in Holland. Everyone in the other countries accepted US dollars, so you see why I posted my question.

They may have accepted your US$ but at what exchange rate? Even in Canada US$ are accepted - at par.

dottiman,

I hope this is a troll, because if not you are one of the rudest US travellers. Didn't it ever occur to you that it is a smart idea, not to mention good manners when you are a guest in someone else's country, to use their currency and not impose a foreign (to them) currency on them.

"I have traveled to France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Holland and the only place, I ever had to exchange currency was in Holland. Everyone in the other countries accepted US dollars"

I'm afraid I find that very hard to believe.

When were you able to use US dollars in Italy?? I remember being there in high school back in the mid-1990s and I always had to use lira even though the dollar was the stronger of the two currencies. Actually... it wouldn't have even occured to me (at age 15 mind you) to try to use my home currency in a foreign country.
Certainly on my trips since 2000 I have used Euros.

If you only spend money in big hotels and tourist-orientated restaurants and other businesses, it's probably not too difficult to rely on dollars, and in many countries there are plenty of people who would be quite happy to take them. But I'll bet you'd get royally ripped off on the implied exchange rate - I say implied because my guess is it will be rough, ready and rounded up: and then some.

Maybe dottimann traveled on all-inclusive tours with little need for local currency, and used a credit card for any additional expenses. Still...the mind does boggle...

US Dollars in Spain ? You are obviously kidding....

"Everyone in the other countries accepted US dollars"? You were handing out US dollars to cafes, newsstands, tobacco shops, hotels, in cash?
And, you don't think you were ripped off as to exchange rates? Your 'everyone' isn't mine, is all I can say.

I'll be glad to exchange GB pounds for 'everyone' from Britain who comes here to the US.
You get one dollar for each pound.
Then I've got a bridge I'd like to sell.

Elaine...if you decide to franchise your "currency exchange" I'd like dibs on the Florida branch!!

well, what about France, that one really amazes me! I can't imagine where in France you could freely use US dollars to buy anything or at a restaurant.

I have been able to use USD in small resort countries that are poor and/or heavily dependent on US tourists, or in Mexican resort cities, which is the same only they aren't small, and in some other poor countries with a black market because their own currency isn't any good. In these places, it can be a good deal as you don't have a high markup (Mexican peso is tied to USD, for one thing), or even any markup.

Oh, also in Budapest a few years ago when they were still trying to get on their feet after Communism and trying to get into the tourism game -- but then only in one main area of shops where tourists shopped. They could have had a high markup, don't know.

I never used USD in Greece, though, I don't get that one, either--I suppose if you are on a cruise and stopping in Mykonos or something, you could get by with USD.

I think maybe I get it now. Dottiman has perhaps only traveled by group tour or cruise, where most everything was paid for and the only other opportunities to spend cash were at the places they were taken to by the cruise or tour. Those places gladly accept US dollars as they hand over a big percentage of them back to the tour or cruise as their reward for bringing you into those "special" tourist shops where prices are set accordingly.
But you can't expect a "regular" shopkeeper or worker to have a clue what the current exchange rate of dollars to euros or pounds is.