I've been having trouble finding any good information in this either here in the forums or on the web in general, so I'm hoping the braintrust can help.


Last two trips through London, I was exclusively on airport grounds and then on the Hounslow West High Street going to a cash only restaurant (more on that for anyone who wants it.)

I didn't have any cash so I stopped at a "free ATM in terminal 3 and was appalled at the 13% fee on the exchange rate so I walked away and ended up at an ATM across from the underground that also had the same 13%fee on the exchange rate.

I walked over to the currency exchange booth and that fee was even worse!

I just want to make sure that I'm clear on what's going on - it's been a year or so, but I recall taking out GBP from my US bank without seeing any outrageous fees attached - just a simple flat fee.

Is the difference between airport or private ATMs vs Bank ATMs?

I'm not crazy right? There are bank ATM's that don't charge a markup on forex transactions?

The machine gives a choice of accepting the forex or not, which I thought meant letting my bank handle the conversion, but when I said No, it cancelled the transaction.

I didn't pay that close attention to what the brands of the ATMs were or the exact fees, but I'm going back and I'd like to know what I'm looking for.

Maybe the simple question is: Are there any actual bank ATMs at LHR?

Thanks!