kdobbins

first trip abroad, does anyone take amex travelers checks in pounds? should i take mostly cash/pounds and just use chip and signature cards at the hotels? only get to stay a week, want to see an away manu match in newcastle and look forward to riding a train. can you put money on debit cards over there? if i take my camera, should it be in a backpack versus camera bag?

Calchas

Hello,

Most places, including hotels, will accept your credit and debit cards as normal without any problem. Amex, Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted. Small shops and restaurants do not always take American Express, so take a Visa/Mastercard in case. You will have to sign like you do in the US and your signature may be carefully inspected, because it is now unusual (the staff may even be surprised that the machine instructs them to take a signature!). However it will will work in most places.

Some vending machines require chip and pin cards and will not accept chip and signature. If this happens, try entering 0000 as your pin. If that doesn't work, talk to a real person in this case.

Be sure to tell your bank you will be in the UK, because US banks get very nervous when people leave the country.

In another thread you mentioned you would be happy to get a new credit card. Consider getting a card with no foreign exchange fees.

Buy some hard currency before you leave to conduct small transactions. In London it is quite normal to buy a coffee or a beer with a credit card but this is a bit unusual in some places further afield. If you run out, and for some reason you really need cash, you can use an ATM with your US credit/debit card (but your US bank will make this expensive, usually).

You can put your camera wherever you want.

Personally I would not bother with travellers cheques.

Raffles

No-one, I repeat no-one, will accept travellers cheques. Most banks now refuse to process them (HSBC just stopped last month).

We have cash machines, just like America. Put your card in, get some money. Far better rate than a money changing place and far easier.

Camera - common sense says that if you look or sound like a tourist, don't put a camera in a camera case. Crime is not an issue in the UK though in the right areas.

flatlander

I suggest bringing some home currency (USD for you) cash with you and expect to use your US ATM or credit card to withdraw cash as soon as you arrive. If it doesn't work, then exchange the USD cash at a Bureau de Change in the airport and then sort the problem out when you get to your hotel. Warn your card issuers that you are going abroad by telling them when and where you are going so that they are less likely to think the withdrawal is fraudulent.

This is what I do and it always works for me, and I will not be out of money if electronic banking fails while I escape crappy Bureau de Change exchange rates most of the time (almost all the time so far).

kdlynn06

You will find ATMs and bank machines all over. Get a card (Visa or Mastercard is the most widely accepted) with no foreign transaction fees and when you land in the UK withdraw cash. I agree with the last poster and I always feel a bit more comfortable having some USD on me, for incidentals. However, I wouldn't do traveller's cheques or buy currency before hand.

Before you leave your home, you can purchase an Oyster card with rail access. After you touch down at LHR (presumably), you could hop right on the Underground at the airport and to your hotel stop. It's something that may be helpful for you.

As for the camera, I feel like that's personal preference. If you feel more comfortable with it in a backpack, I'd go for that. However, I have a tendency of preferring side bags, just because I can keep an eye on them a bit more.

Have a good time!

IAN-UK

Couple of points based on my cousin's recent visit from Boston:

If you've time, do get yourself a fee-free credit card: one that changes your GBP purchases into USD at a near-perfect exchange rate. It will save you a packet.

You can pay for just about everything with a credit card. Don't be embarrassed at using it to pay very small amounts.

When you pay with your card make sure you are charged in GBP. If you are charged in USD you will paying an unfair exchange rate to get there: it's called DCC (direct currency conversion) and it should be avoided.

Carry a spare card, or two+

Tell your bank/CC issuer you are travelling.

You'll need some cash, exchange USD at places offering good rates (i.e. not at airports!). It's probably not worth the effort to chase down the best possible rate (as you'll be changing small amounts).

You can get cash in GBP by using your debit card or CC. Check before you leave how much this will cost. Most probably a fixed charge plus one related to the cash amount - so frequent low-level withdrawals are to be discouraged.

jedikiah

American Express sterling travellers cheques can be exchanged in most Post Offices, Nat West branches and some travel agents. About the only place you can spend them directly is in Tesco, although I have never seen anyone try. Don't bother with such a bygone relic though (travellers cheques that is, not Tesco).

Efrem

There is no more need to take traveler's checks for a week in London than there is to take them for a week in Chicago (or in Los Angeles, if you happen to live near Chicago). It's really quite a civilized place these days. While it's true that banks may add a high surcharge to ATM withdrawals as a percentage of the transaction, your needs for cash will be so small that the surcharge will be negligible in the context of what your trip will cost. Don't waste time and energy obsessing over it; you'll lose more money buying water at a convenience store rather than a supermarket, getting fish and chips at the first place you see rather than looking for a less expensive spot, or other trivial things that you don't give a second thought to. Just get cash at an airport ATM and enjoy the match.

lwildernorva

As an American who has made two trips to London in the past three years and five other trips to the UK in the last sixteen years and who is on a current six-week trip through Scotland, let me add my voice to the advice given above. When I arrived in Edinburgh nine days ago, I pulled 100 pounds at an ATM at the Turnhouse airport--I doubt I'll be required to use all of that cash before I end my trip although I'll be in smaller towns by far than you will. So far, I've used cash twice to give a gratuity in a restaurant where the server forgot to give the credit card machine to me to enter the tip (BTW, gratuity is nice but really isn't expected or needed as in the States since restaurants generally pay an hourly wage well in excess of what's required in the US--I still tip because that's my way), to pay for parking on the street, and to do a load of laundry. I could have used a credit card for each of those transactions, including parking because I have a cell phone that uses a UK SIM card and could have downloaded an app that would have allowed me to pay for parking by credit card via the app.

Use a credit card without foreign transaction fees. A number of these cards are now available to us in the US, including several from Chase, Citi, and Amex. If you're interested in making further trips to the UK, maybe a Chase BA, a Chase Sapphire Preferred, or an Amex Platinum, which all either earn Avios or points that can transfer to Avios (not the place to discuss the advisability of using Avios for flights to the UK but do a search around FT before going down this path--it works for me but will not for many). None of these cards have FTFs and are widely accepted throughout the UK. Amex is more widely accepted than it used to be, but it is true that Mastercards and Visas are even more widely accepted so govern your card choice accordingly--I like to carry an Amex, MC, and Visa for maximum flexibility. The ATMs I've used here do not impose an independent fee for a withdrawal but my home bank, which doesn't charge its own ATM fee, does charge a foreign transaction fee.

Also agree about keeping all charges to pounds rather than conversions to dollars. Although the conversion to dollars sounds logical, there is a fee charged for the service so if you buy something in local currency, the convenience charge adds another 3-5%. If you're using a card that charges FTFs, then add another 3% on top of that. Why pay 8-10% more than you're spending--for nothing?

I've found that creating a daily budget in the local currency works best for me. Take how much in dollars you're prepared to spend on your trip. Divide by the number of days in your trip. Do a Google search for GBP to USD to get the current exchange rate. Of course, this rate won't be the exact one you'll face on your trip as the rate changes daily, but it'll get you thinking in terms of the local currency rather than constantly having to make pounds to dollar conversions in your head. I like to round up to an even figure so 100 pounds rather than 92. The extra cushion is nice since most people generally spend more on vacation than they expect.

If you spend less than your daily budget, tack it on to your next day's budget--hooray, you have extra money to spend. If you go over, then subtract, and have a fish and chips lunch instead of high tea.

The world has changed a lot in the last two decades. I wouldn't bother buying travelers' checks for your trip.

Giggleswick

I wouldn't use a credit card to get cash. A cash advance incurs a much higher interest rate than purchases, and the interest begins accruing immediately, not after your payment's due date. Or at least that's how it's been with the cards I've known.

The only time to get a cash advance on your credit card is in an emergency, i.e., if you can't get your ATM card(s) to work and you desperately need cash in hand for something that can't you can't charge as a purchase.

BearX220

State that you wish to pay in pounds before you hand over / swipe your card; otherwise you may see your total displayed in US dollars by default and without your asking, as DCC works to issuers' and bankers' advantage (but not yours).

Raffles

That is not allowed under MasterCard / Visa rules (although it does happen). It must show in the currency of the country you are in unless you explicitly say otherwise.

I don't think Amex has DCC so that solves one problem (although as a lot of small places here don't take Amex, it can create another one).

BearX220

In the UK I am sometimes asked, "Pounds or dollars?" before they put the transaction through. I was in Ireland a couple of months ago and to my surprise had a few Visa transactions put through in dollars without any discussion until I learned to pipe up and say, "In Euro, please," before the card dip/swipe. Sometimes I got pursed lips in return. Nice little earner for some, the DCC.

BardLucyHumeXI

Don't look forward to riding a train. No-one else does.

Only joking, long distance rail travel is usually OK, as long as you don't get your hopes too high!

slawecki

do brit telephones take credit cards? if not get some coins to make emergency calls. we were once trapped in the BA luggage delivery room for 6 hrs. we could not leave, as we would not be allowed back in. we paid six hrs of wait time to the car we had arranged before leaving.