Jeff

Message: Do I understand this correctly...if I take BPS in travelers check from AAA at no charge, paying the exchange rate, and then cash them at a bank in London, I will have to pay an additional charge just to have the bank cash a travelers check that is already in BPS? Also, why would the exchange rate be better in London (wouldn't it be a standardized conversion rate)and if not, how much would you save. I will not be using an ATM card or a credit card unless I purchase something very expensive. I had planned on taking TC in BPS and in USD. Comments appreciated.<BR><BR>I don't understand why you don't want to use the ATM's; especially in London. They are the only way to do things in the year 2002. They work perfectly well. Also, why use credit cards just for expensive purchases. They are convenient and I don't have the slightest aversion to using my credit cards for a &pound;1.99 purchase at McDonald's.<BR><BR>By using credit cards, and note they are taken almost everywhere, you get a far better rate than exchanging cash either here or in the UK. I rarely need more than &pound;10 a day in cash and since I have a bank that doesn't charge me for ATM withdrawals, well I pull out &pound;10 at a time.....just got back from London and the best rate I saw for exchanging USD into GBP was $1.48 and that was only at one specific change place. I pulled &pound;10 from the ATM and this was converted to $14.42. Not a big difference, I know but just consider that all the credit card charges came through at that rate...and the hotel bill was &pound;200...In all due respect I just don't understand the attitude of not using 21st century technology....all these people living in the past. You book theatre tickets via the phone, you use your credit card. You pay for your hotel, you use your credit card. You purchase underground tickets, you use your credit card. You go to a museum, you use your credit card. I can't conceive of taking any trip without one.

Leslie

Jeff, thanks for your enlightening posts. Now I have a question for you. I have one of those credit cards that charges the additional 1% foreign transaction fee. I'm more prone to use my ATM card (I'm charged a flat $1 fee, so on a $300 withdrawal, it is 0.0333%), so the 1% foreign exchange charge does not turn out to be a huge sum of money on my credit card purchases. <BR><BR>But here is my query. I used my credit card here in the US to purchase tickets to a concert in Europe. I bought the tickets online actually. When I got my statement, I did not incur the 1% foreign conversion charge. But when I was in Europe and made purchases charged to my credit card, I did incur the 1% foreign conversion charge. What's the difference?

Rex

&lt;&lt;The exchange rate is based more on the TYPE of transaction than on the LOCATION.&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>This is a fairly serious misconception. LOCATION of the transaction has a good deal with the exchange rate. You're paying for the convenience of someone having hauled that other country's currency over here for to buy. It's not different from buying any other imported item. You wouldn't be surprised that a copy of a London newspaper costs more here in the US than it does in the UK, would you?<BR><BR>Same principle.<BR><BR>Buy your currency where they make it.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Victoria

Tom sorry to be so dense but this just dosen't make sense to me. If I buy my pound notes here in Ohio and take them with me to London to spend. Where does the extra cost come in? I know I have to pay the exchange rate here at home, but what other fees will there be?<BR>Thanks for your help<BR>Vicki

Maggie

Gosh! Doesn't this get complicated!!<BR>For several years now, I have exchanged GBP for the currency of the country I have been going to at my village Post Office before I set off on my travels.<BR>I only exchange enough GBP to see me through 'Petty Cash' spending. <BR>I also take a slush fund of GBP in case I run out of the national currency of the country that I am visiting. Everything else I do on my credit card.<BR>If I run out of the local currency, I just pop into a bank and exchange GBP for whatever I need.<BR>It's only money and you are on holiday!!!

Jeff

Message: Do I understand this correctly...if I take BPS in travelers check from AAA at no charge, paying the exchange rate, and then cash them at a bank in London, I will have to pay an additional charge just to have the bank cash a travelers check that is already in BPS? Also, why would the exchange rate be better in London (wouldn't it be a standardized conversion rate)and if not, how much would you save. I will not be using an ATM card or a credit card unless I purchase something very expensive. I had planned on taking TC in BPS and in USD. Comments appreciated.<BR><BR>Just so everybody clear...MC/Visa add a 1% charge to the interbank rate when converting from foreign currencies to USD. Every bank passes that along even if the unenlightened customer service reps say there is no additional charge. In addition, other than Chase, banks do not list the extran 2% charge they impose clearly on the CC statements, it is buried in the exchange rate. They do that so you don't know you're being screwed and I have people swear to high heavens there is no additional charge on their CC purchases when indeed they were paying it. Also please note that the two shared teller networks (Cirrus and Plus) are owned by MC and Visa respectively and apply the same rules for ATM withdrawals i.e. they impose a 1% charge for withdrawals from ATM's above the interbank rate...but still far far far better than you can do by exchanging cash. Also, the rules of the shared teller networks prohibit the imposition of the obnoxeous unlawful (in some cities, but the banks have paid the politicians off enough so they won't interfere) surcharge banks impose for having the audacity to use their machines to withdraw cash from another bank. So when you withdraw from an ATM in London, whatever charges are imposed are those of your bank.<BR><BR>Now to answer your question. If you purchase tickets from a web site for a concert, it depends where the web site is located and how their merchant account is set up. For example, I buy theatre tickets for London shows sometimes from ticketmaster.co.uk. This is a UK based organization, they run their CC charges through a British merchants account so the charge is actually made in GBP and the conversion rules apply. OTOH, some web sites are US based and make the conversion themselves and send the charge through an American merchant account as USD charges so they have done the conversion and applied whatever rate they wish.<BR><BR>Now that reminds of a scam somebody told me about in some touristy areas of Ireland. Some merchants, knowing many Americans just don't understand all this, tell their customers that as a courtesy, they will write charges up in USD. Why do they do that? Because they are ripping off the customers with a lousy exchange rate, of course. When in foreign countries, always insist that charges be written up in local currencies and make sure you are not using a credit card imposing the additional 2% surcharge.

Leslie

Jeff, thanks for your response to my question. I just looked at my credit card statement again. The transaction was done in the foreign currency, not US $, the rate for the conversion is shown, but they didn't tack on that crummy 1% foreign currency transaction charge. It would have only amounted to 40 cents anyway, but its still the principle which you have so well described.

Jeff

Message: Do I understand this correctly...if I take BPS in travelers check from AAA at no charge, paying the exchange rate, and then cash them at a bank in London, I will have to pay an additional charge just to have the bank cash a travelers check that is already in BPS? Also, why would the exchange rate be better in London (wouldn't it be a standardized conversion rate)and if not, how much would you save. I will not be using an ATM card or a credit card unless I purchase something very expensive. I had planned on taking TC in BPS and in USD. Comments appreciated.<BR><BR>Just so everybody clear...MC/Visa add a 1% charge to the interbank rate when converting from foreign currencies to USD. Every bank passes that along even if the unenlightened customer service reps say there is no additional charge. In addition, other than Chase, banks do not list the extran 2% charge they impose clearly on the CC statements, it is buried in the exchange rate. They do that so you don't know you're being screwed and I have people swear to high heavens there is no additional charge on their CC purchases when indeed they were paying it. Also please note that the two shared teller networks (Cirrus and Plus) are owned by MC and Visa respectively and apply the same rules for ATM withdrawals i.e. they impose a 1% charge for withdrawals from ATM's above the interbank rate...but still far far far better than you can do by exchanging cash. Also, the rules of the shared teller networks prohibit the imposition of the obnoxeous unlawful (in some cities, but the banks have paid the politicians off enough so they won't interfere) surcharge banks impose for having the audacity to use their machines to withdraw cash from another bank. So when you withdraw from an ATM in London, whatever charges are imposed are those of your bank.<BR><BR>Now to answer your question. If you purchase tickets from a web site for a concert, it depends where the web site is located and how their merchant account is set up. For example, I buy theatre tickets for London shows sometimes from ticketmaster.co.uk. This is a UK based organization, they run their CC charges through a British merchants account so the charge is actually made in GBP and the conversion rules apply. OTOH, some web sites are US based and make the conversion themselves and send the charge through an American merchant account as USD charges so they have done the conversion and applied whatever rate they wish.<BR><BR>Now that reminds of a scam somebody told me about in some touristy areas of Ireland. Some merchants, knowing many Americans just don't understand all this, tell their customers that as a courtesy, they will write charges up in USD. Why do they do that? Because they are ripping off the customers with a lousy exchange rate, of course. When in foreign countries, always insist that charges be written up in local currencies and make sure you are not using a credit card imposing the additional 2% surcharge.

janis

Rex: of course you are correct - but I said &lt;The exchange rate is based MORE on the type of transaction than on the<BR>location.&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Of course the place make a difference - but the type also matters. Credit Cards and ATMs give the best rates - no matter where one is. I was just trying to simplify it for Victoria.