ticalinda1969

Hi again:
As I keep on planning my trip to London next week I wanted to ask you if I will need to bring British Pounds with me or is it better to just use my card at the ATM at the Heathtrow Airport. Also, do they use the EURO at all?
Thanks
Viri

justineparis

No to Euros.. I mean,, you can use them at airport of course.. but the currency is GBPs so that's what you would use..

I take a few GBPs with me from home..( maybe 50 ) and then get rest from an ATM.

ticalinda1969

That sounds about right....just a little bit, I was just worried about getting the bulk of money here because the exchange rate is ussually higher in the USA.
Thank you so much
Viri

janisj

If you are nervous about landing w/ no money, just buy a handful of £ at your departure airport - usually after security in the departure lounge or near duty free. One usually has a lot of time to kill after check in so you can easily wait til then. £50 max. I usually don't bother myself.

Then use your ATM card to get cash as you need it.

Pegontheroad

Good advice from the above posters. I like the idea of getting some pounds at the departure lounge in the airport. I would have gotten a few pounds from the bank if I were nervous about landing without the local currency, but I think getting it at the airport is a better idea.

Your exchange rate won't be as good as it will be in England, but iot won't matter, since it's a small amount.

Your exchange rate at an ATM will be better in England. The exchange rate for using your credit card is also good.

sandralist

If you are flying out of a regional airport to a hub with international flights, you may not find an international currency exchange in the regional airport, and you may not have time between connecting flights to stop at a currency exchange at the next airport. So if you want to arrive with some pounds in your pocket, that won't work. Try your local bank.

Kathie

While I always save leftover foreign currency for my next trip, I have never worried about arriving in a country without any local currency. I have always been able to find a working ATM on my first or second try. You get a terrible exchange rate buying foreign currency in the US and you can get GBP once you land.

Let's pretend, though, that all of the ATMs you can locate either won't take your card or are our of cash. What would you do then? Well, most taxis in most major cities in the world accept credit cards and you can wait until you get to your hotel to locate a nearby ATM.

suze

I would either order GBP from my home bank (a few hundred dollars worth) or use an ATM upon arrival.

Gothampc

Get some from your local bank. It's much easier and often is cheaper.

suze

I have never heard of a situation where it is cheaper to order foreign currency at home, than using an ATM upon arrival. I thought people did it for the convenience factor.

Gothampc

"I have never heard of a situation where it is cheaper to order foreign currency at home, than using an ATM upon arrival."

It depends what bank you use. Some banks will charge huge fees for using a foreign ATM: conversion fee, out of network fee, etc. If you buy from local bank, they usually have one standard fee.

janisj

>>Get some from your local bank. It's much easier and often is cheaper.<<

No it ain't - at least not 99% of the time. I bank w/ 3 banks and one credit Union. Two don't handle foreign currency - ever. The other two I'm a 'preferred customer' and just about every fee of any sort gets waived . . . but ordering £/€ from either of them is no cheaper and ends up about the same as buying from a bureau de change at the airport.

>>If you buy from local bank, they usually have one standard fee.<<

The vast majority of small/local banks don't handle foreign currency.

>>If you are flying out of a regional airport to a hub with international flights, you may not find an international currency exchange in the regional airport, and you may not have time between connecting flights to stop at a currency exchange at the next airport.<<

Might possibly happen --- but I live in a city w/ a regional airport and every single trip to Europe (at least 3X a year) I have to connect through a hub and never once have I not had time enough to hit a travelex/Bureau de change.

I think people just over-thnk this. Get some cash at the airport if you must, and then get more after you arrive. I once flew into LHR w/ a transfer to EDI w/ exactly £2.20 on me I made it from SMF > LAX > LHR > EDI > my hotel and didn't need one penny cash. In fact even then I didn't go to an ATM til the next morning.

LCBoniti

I've not traveled to London (Heathrow) quite as much as some other posters but I have never had trouble finding an ATM at the airport, either on the way to or very near baggage claim. I never bring £'s with me other than the odd one or two I have left over.

xyz123

If by some chance I arrive in London without British money, I walk over to the first ATM I see, pull out £10 (I have an enlightened bank which doesn't charge a fee for ATM withdrawals nor will the British bank although some private ATM's do but then again my bank reimburses me when this happens) and then probably will return home with that £10 bank note neatly folded in my wallet because London is a lot like NY and other places in the United States. Credit cards are taken everywhere for most anything. Going into town via the tube...refill my oyster card at LHR either with the machines or with a clerk (yes they take cards and the machines on the London Underground even take the antiquated US magnetic strip chipless cards despite what you may have heard from others. Lunch? A quick stop either at Marks & Spencer or Pret a Manger or Tesco or Sainsbury all take credit cards for any amount even small ones. Want refreshments if I'm going to a theatre matinee? Stop at Tesco or Sainsbury

xyz123

to finish...my mouse has a bad habit of doing its own thing without my permission...stop at Tesco or Sainsbury or Boots or whatever to pick up refreshments for half time (or as they say in London the interval what they call intermission where they come around trying to sell you ice cream in small =, very small cups for £3, a rip off if I've ever seen one. Then dinner. Believe me I don't live high on the hog and can always find a fairly moderately priced restaurant which takes my credit card.

For a place like London, it's easier to list the few places which don't take credit cards. Well let's see. Some pubs, especially at the bar. But then again, for medical reasons, I can no longer down a pint. Internet cafes but then again almost everybody today has a smart phone and data plans are coming down and many hotels now have free wi fi. Street vendors, perhaps but instead of buying a bottle of water or whatever from one of them, I just hop into one of the above mentioned places. And no, I have no problem spending £1.29 for a diet coke cherry which I am addicted to and paying with a card. Yes, unfortunately, some of the mom and pop shops have silly rules prohibiting use of a card for small amounts but I avoid them.

Just make sure you have a card with no foreign transaction fee and despite what you might read elsewhere, at least in London at the present time, there is absolutely no problem with using the archaic American credit cards if you don't yet have a card with a chip. Follow this advice, and your need for any British cash is almost non existant.

ticalinda1969

Thank you all, so super valuable advice.
@sandralist, thank you, good point but I am flying out of JFK and is a non-stop flight to Heaththrow.
@janisj, thank you. I am always looking to read your responses. I am not going to worry about cash... wells fargo is funny, while in Paris I could use the card in most places, but once it was declined and I panicked, so I started using the ATM to make cashwithdrawals ..LOL
@xyz123, thank you. In any case I will need to have some cash with me but I am going to wait until I get there. I live in Connecticut and there are some places (not many) that wont take your card for lower than $10... I dislike that very much, and a few stores wont take credit cards at all (in this century, ugh), so I think its pretty much like here.
I think my bank charges $5 for every transaction, or at least that is what I get charged when I go to Costa Rica (my home country), so I usually take out the maximun allowed for the day every time I need to use the card.
Again, thank you all.... I am so excited about or trip...a week from tomorrow ....YAY!
Viri