Obtaining foreign currency?

3 Answers

1. 
   

   
   

   luludoodie on Nov 05, 2011

   UK reply

   You will need cash the instant you land in the UK for taxi, subway, drink etc. so 5 days is plenty of time to change in the US to get some Pounds. Do not accept any 50Pound notes, they are not used in normal trade and will be refused as possible forgeries, like your $100notes!!

   There are plenty of bureau do change at the UK airports and on every high street at the banks and travel agents so you can change some of your USD easily as you need it.

   P.S.
   After reading your additional details:-
   As you are being picked up by UK person suggest you wait until you are in the UK. He will know or be able to research the best rates for you.
   This would probably be the Post Office (for next day collection), Marks and Spencer, or our biggest Supermarket, Tesco. Sometimes Thomas Cook (travel agent). I check all before changing, last time I used the Post office.
   To be honest as long as you keep away from the money exchange crooks you are not going to get very much variation in the rates, just a few pence.

   Other than a few main tourist sites (very poor exchange rate) in London etc. USD will not be accepted/changed for goods!

2. 
   

   
   

   conley39 on Nov 05, 2011

   The fees for using your debit card are usually going to be cheaper than the cost of going to a currency exchange – even in a bank. You’ll need to let your card company know that you’ll be using the card overseas so that it doesn’t get flagged as a potentially stolen card when you try to use it. If that were to happen, you would need to call in to unblock the card. Note that any limits you have on withdrawals from the account will still apply.

   If you want to exchange money before you leave the US, the best option is to do it at the bank where you have an account. You may have to go to a main branch of the bank, but most smaller branches can order the currency for you if you have a few days.

3. 
   

   
   

   younosygit on Nov 05, 2011

   Is 5 days enough time for your US bank to obtain some pounds for you? – from what I’ve heard, US retail banks are not terribly well set up for handling foreign currency.

   Easiest would be to change a relatively small amount of $ at the UK airport when you arrive, so you’ve got at least some usable cash on you. Avoid changing much money at airport or tourist area street bureaux de change, as they are notorious for giving poor exchange rates – they know a captive audience when they see one! The best places to change foreign money are in UK banks or especially post offices, and also some larger Marks and Spencer stores do currency exchange at a reasonable rate.

   Avoid getting any banknotes larger than £20 – we normally don’t use larger notes and it can be difficult to spend them; also don’t accept notes from any bank other than the Bank of England (sterling notes are also issued by the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Bank of Ireland, First Trust Bank, Northern Bank, and Ulster Bank, but they’re difficult to spend outside Scotland or Northern Ireland, and virtually impossible to change into any other currency once you leave the UK).