While visiting London, should we pay with our Visa, or pull GBP from an ATM with our Visa, and pay in cash?<BR><BR>Drew

I'd use the Visa if you get miles on it.

I would use Visa whenever possible, for you will get the best exchange rate this way, at least more consistant.

Let's reconsider this credit card use for a minute. Some banks now add a 2% conversion fee onto each transaction.<BR>Visa and Master Card have since the beginning added a 1% fee by adjusting the exchange rate. With an additional 2% conversion fee added on, the total fee is 3% add on for each transaction.<BR>That rapidly negates any advantages of getting the bank wholesale exchange rate when you use your credit card.<BR>Whether or not the bank charges you a fee for using your ATM card to withdraw money is another matter. Some banks do and some don't. I get 2 free withdrawals per month at non Bank of America ATM machines. Too bad the 2 freebies do not carry over!!

Not even close...you should use your credit card everywhere it is taken for whatever....if there is a credit card decal on the window you use your credit card. You are paying for that anyway. I am not embarassed in the slightest walking into a McDonald's that takes a credit card and paying for a &pound;1.99 breakfast special and you shouldn't either. The Underground takes credit cards for tickets and now has many machines that do also.<BR><BR>One caveat...only use a credit card that doesn't extort the additional 2% fee on it. This is easy to avoid. Of the big banks, you never use Citibank, Chase, First USA, Bank of America, Providian or any bank controlled by these crooks (ex. Citibank controls AT&T, Associates). To be on the safe side, only use out of the US credit cards issued by MBNA or Capital One or USAA....

Some banks add "foreign transaction fees" to credit card purchases and some don't but I think Visa International adds a 1% (?) overseas transaction fee regardless of the issuing bank's fee practice....<BR><BR>Of course you have to weigh any Visa fees against ATM fees....at any rate, either a credit card or an ATM is better than exchanging $ for &pound; at a bank and FAR better than visiting a "bureau de change". <BR>

We just returned from London. I recommend a minimal amount of cash and use Visa. Just about every place, including the Tube, Museums, restaurants, tours etc take Visa. We only had a max of50GBH with us at any one time. Also, see if your bank has a "partner" bank in London. Our B of A partner bank in London was Barclay Bank, which was all over. There was no service fee for using the Barclay ATM.

Give me a break on Visa vs GBP. Use Visa without question. Carry a very minimal amount of cash.<BR><BR>This 2% - 3% Visa fee is not worth wasting time on. You're talking $20-$30 for every $1,000 spent!<BR><BR>Going to London is expensive. But if you decide to do it enjoy and don't sweat the small stuff. <BR><BR>There are more important things to do like planning your days, where to stay, etc.<BR><BR>We loved London, had a ball and used our Visa. If, god forbid, you decide to buy a Burger King Happy Meal in London it will cost you about $9. So keep a perspective on the big picture!!

Hi randy.<BR>The next time you see money lying on the street, say $20, please pick it up and send it to me. It may not be worth anything to you, but I can put it to good use.<BR>On a more likely expenditure on a Europen trip of $3,000, we are talking $60 to 90. Again, if that is trivial to you, and you ordinarily would just keep on going a'la Bill Gates, who loses money if he pauses like that, at least pick it up and put in the Salvation Army Kettle next Christmas, or donate it to Easter Seals.<BR>

Assuming your visa gives you ff miles, and anyone who's smart should make sure theirs does, then just count that $60 extra expense on $3000 worth of expenses as a great extra 3000 miles. I'd rather have those 3000 miles than have a credit card that doesn't give me the miles and just saves me $60 on each $3000 I spend.

Depends on your card...I pay NO fee or conversion rate on mine..neither do I pay for ATM use.. so check your card..if you are going to pay for either, or, then use your card and get the miles..but I'l bet your bank or CC company can work a better deal for you!<BR><BR>I use my CC since there is no conversion fee and when we need cash use the ATM card..no fee there either..<BR><BR>CHECK WITH YOUR BANK

We just received our first credit card statement. There were no fees and it is a frequent flyer card. The exchange rate beat the competition. So no fees and we got miles! Plus, we feel there is great value, in terms of peace of mind, of not carrying a lot of cash on one's person. <BR><BR>Oh, and Al, we do contribute to charities and don't leave money lying around. I won't give you any money but I will donate it to a charity instead. I'll even buy you a drink(small size) next time I see you!

Check with your personal bank and CC company, depending on your acount you may or may not pay a fee.<BR>I do not pay a fee to either as I maintain a healthy balance ,both credit and debit, pay off my card monthly, have a high limit on cards. So I use the visa and get the miles and carry a minimal amount of cash for taxis and tips

BTW ...I use a citibank card and pay NO fees...it all depends on your account and credit history.And don't let them tell you otherwise

I recently called Citibank again and checked on my Citbank Aadvantage (American Airlines) Visa. They do finally admit that they charge 2% on all foreign currency transactions. When you get your bill there is no indication of this. They show an amount in Euros or pounds or whatever and then the amount in US dollars. I just charged a ferry to Dubrovnik through a London agency so it was billed in pounds and also a couple sets of London theatre tickets. I have also paid a couple of advance deposits on the card in both France and Italy. Although it is impossible to tell that there is a charge for the conversion, it is there. On the other hand, my Euro charges came out to about 89cents to the dollar with all the fees included and the British one came out to $1.46 per pound, both on last month's statement. While it might be possible to save a little money with another card that doesn't charge the fees, I am happy collecting my frequent flyer miles for those extra pennies, just like some of the posters above. If it weren't for those miles, I wouldn't be going to Europe in the first place. I content myself with knowing that it is still a better exchange rate than I could get buying travelers checks or exhanging actual cash.

Patrick, you are paying 2 cents a mile, so your free trip at 50,000 miles costs you about $1000. Is that really free? If my math is bad, just tell me--I'm usually pretty good, but when it comes to decimals, my head spins.<BR><BR>It seems to me that I read somewhere once that anything over 1/2 a mile was a ripoff. So I will continue to save my Aadvantage card for US purchases.

Well, Sue, no your math isn't really bad, it's just that there is a lot more than that to it. First of all I just spent 90,000 miles for a free businessclass ticket to <BR>London, then to Amsterdam, and then home from Paris three months later. Most of those miles weren't accumulated from foreign transactions. I may spend about $15,000 total during the three months on my credit card so it will cost me about $300 for those 15,000 miles. But the point is that it would be hard to rack up that many miles to be able to get a ticket every year without those extra ones. The much greater number of miles I earn with my credit card are in the States, so there is no additional charge for all of those. Since my ticket is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $7000, I figure it is worth it. I really don't mind paying $300 for a business class ticket like I have. I could use fewer miles and buy a coach class and upgrade, but the cheapest three month fare I could find for that itinerary in the summer was about $1800 -- don't forget, you can't get bargains when you stay for three months. <BR>By the way, I've also read that estimate of 1.5 cents per mile. But you divide a $7000 ticket by 90,000 and see what you come up with. I come up with a value of about 8 cents per mile. It all depends on how you use your miles. Since most of my miles are truly free, I don't mind paying 2 cents a mile for some of the others in order to get enough to do what I really want to do.

Most except MBNA charge the 3% but bury it in the transaction so you don't notice it. Shell (Chase) is even worse. They charge the 1% and then add 2% to that amount. It doesn't seem like much but it can add up over a long trip. We use Shell here in the US exclusively for the gas rebates but when we travel internationally we use MBNA.

It is almost amusing to read posters like JOdy, who claim that their credit cards do not add charges for foreign transactions. All Visa and Mastercard credit cards, no matter who is the issuer, go through the Visa and Mastercard system who add a 1% fee for handling the foreign currency transaction. Its built into the exchange rate. The same is true for American Express. The only real issue is whether your particular credit card company adds an additional 1-2% charge for foreign currency transactions. Some do and some don't. As far as I can determine, all of the airline affiliated cards add the extra 2%. With frequent flyer miles costing about 2 cents per mile, it basically means you are paying the airlines the cost of the miles. <BR>As far as using ATMs, the answer is also quite confusing and depends on where you are and what bank or credit union your ATM card is from. For instance, in England, the banks do not charge you for using their ATMs, even when using another bank's ATM card. However, your home bank may or may not add such a charge when you use an ATM other than their own. My credit union does not. However, banks and credit unions also use several different networks for handling the out of country use of their ATM cards. Some charge a fee. An ATM card associated with the Visa network generally charges 75 cents each time you use your ATM card to make a cash withdrawal in another country. The bottom line is that it is usually cheaper to use an ATM card than a credit card. On the other hand, using a charge card can often be more convenient and keeps you from having to carry around large sums of cash.

Gotta agree with Randy. (as politely as possible) Pain & suffering are worth something. Exchanging currency and using ATMs has some hidden costs. Even carrying minimum cash I'm always in the airport trying to figure out how to spend the last $20 worth of foreign cash in duty free. <BR>Bottom line is if you are VISA person here, like most of us, you will probably be a VISA person there and if you are a cash person here you should probably be a cash or ATM person there.