:D!

You can still be DCC'd when using Revolut so you do need to worry about it.

Badenoch

dulciusexasperis

You may be in the habit of answering 'a precise question' without knowing the circumstances involved NIckB, I'm not. Many times someone will ask a question based on the limits of the knowledge they have and as a result, get an answer that is in fact not in their best interest. The question posted here is an example of where that can be the case. For any instance you can suppose of why the question might make sense, it is as easy to suggest a scenario under which it might not make sense. Suggesting a scenario under which it makes sense is meaningless UNLESS it is the OP that suggests it.

If someone asks you for directions to the edge of a cliff, it is a precise question and easily answered. But asking them why they want to get to the edge of a cliff is the better thing to do rather than just answer the question as asked. I do not assume anything when a question being asked can have different answers BASED on the specific circumstances involved as this question does. It isn't like asking which bus do I take from the train station to get to X street. In this case the OP is obviously concerned about trying to save money and the only way to answer the real question of 'how can I pay the least money to exchange funds', REQUIRES knowing the specific circumstances before it can be answered correctly. That's because the answer will differ depending on the circumstances, there is no ONE right answer even if the OP THINKS there is only one answer and has asked the question as IF there were.

I find many posters in travel forums do not know the right questions to ask. They need help to understand what the right question to ask is. I also find some posters are quite quick to show off their knowledge of a subject without regard to whether or not the OP has asked the right question. I am not berating the OP, I am simply asking him to clarify the question so that the RIGHT answer for the circumstances can be given. I'm sure that is in fact what the OP wants, the right answer. I will however berate you for suggesting it is not up to those answering to make sure they answer the right question, which is in fact what you are suggesting.

NickB

If you really want to help posters, a good starting point might be to drop the condescension and stop assuming that you know better than other posters what those other posters want.

If somebody asks where to find the best exchange rates for euros in London, there might be a very good reason for them to ask that precise question just as much as it might be because they have not contemplated alternatives. Just assuming the latter (viz. assuming that you know better than the OP) and dismissing the question asked as the wrong question is rather arrogant.

If you really want to help somebody in this situation, answer the question and then briefly draw the person's attention to what you think they might have missed and let them come back on it. You could, for instance, say to someone, "the best bureaux to change are ..." or "others gave given you some pointers on where to find good exchange rates in London" and then add something like "bear in mind, though, that getting euros in London may not necessarily be the most cost effective. Using ATMs at destination or even sometimes local bureaux de change may work cheaper depending on your situation" and then let the person come back if they want to explore that further. That sure is a heck of a lot more helpful and friendlier than intimating to the person that they asked a stupid question and should come back with a better one next time.

Badenoch

Exactly right. The OP asked a straight forward question and some of us responded with relevant information. I don't particularly care why the OP wants the information nor would I be so presumptuous as to chide him for the question. It is actually not a bad question and some of the relevant answers have been very helpful.

I find many posters in travel forums do not know the answer to the question. That does not stop some arrogant gasbags with an over-inflated opinion of themselves from blabbering on with irrelevant observations. They need help to understand that if they don't know the answer to the original question they should just STFU.

NickB

Revolut is great (I have one too) but bear in mind that, unless you have a premium account, the limits on withdrawals without exchange rate loading are quite low (200 in the base currency of your card per month, so the equivalent of Ł200 in foreign currency per month if you have a UK revolut card). This only concerns cash withdrawals, not purchases. There are other cards with no foreign exchange rate loading although I must confess that I have not kept up to date as I already have two (neither of which are currently open to new applications, so no point my mentioning them).

WorldLux

It was a straightforward question but one that does not make too much sense. Euros are somewhat useless in old Blighty and there are only few reasons to get euros while in London (e.g. flying out to a remote airport in Europe). If the OP only wants Euros to spend in Paris, then withdrawing Euros upon arrival in Orly, Roissy or at Gare du Nord will probably be easier and cheaper to exchanging currency X against Euros in London. YMMV

The fees above 200Ł/$/€ are still rather reasonable. Depending on the cards you have (not everyone has cards with 0% fees on withdrawals), it can still be advantageous to use Revolut rather than a standard debit/credit card. I wouldn't use Revolut on weekends though.

NickB

Revolut loading after the first Ł200 is 2%. It is better than most UK credit cards (which are typically on a 2.75% or 2.99% loading) but it can easily be beaten by the best bureaux de change in London like Best Foreign Exchange/Thomas Global which, on a currency like the Euro, are typically operating around a 1% loading compared to interbank rates.

Badenoch

Whether the question made sense isn't particularly relevant. The OP might have had valid reasons to acquire euros at home. He didn't deserve having his question challenged or being admonished for asking it.

FWIW, the euro is even more useless in Canada than the UK but I know where the best rate is offered among the places near my office.

dulciusexasperis

Are you condescending to telling me how I should go about attempting to help someone? There may indeed be a good reason for someone to ask a question that they ask. The issue is that I do not know if they have a good reason or not and so I simply choose to tell them that DEPENDING on their reasoning, they may be asking the wrong question and before answering them, I would like clarification from them in order to insure I do not give them the WRONG answer.

Those who answer without knowing the person's reasoning could be said to be perfectly willing to give the WRONG answer and accept no responsibility for having done so. 'Oh well, if he doesn't know enough to ask the right question, that isn't my fault. I answered the question asked, too bad if it cost the person more money than it had to.'

You write, "there might be a very good reason for them to ask that precise question just as much as it might be because they have not contemplated alternatives." So you obviously do realize that those just answering may be giving bad advice and yet I don't see you admonishing them for 'assuming' as you accuse me of doing. I am not assuming anything, I am asking for clarification before answering. Now what about those who are assuming there is a good reason for the question being asked as it is and not asking for clarification, why are you not admonishing them? Where is the "just as much" being dealt with in their responses? Answer, it isn't. They are the ones who are assuming, not me.

:D!

I don't get the impression that the OP is UK-based. If that is the case, a good reason to get euros in the UK is as a way to get rid of GBP cash.

Thomas Exchange Global buys and sells €1 and €2 coins, generally at the same rate as banknotes for small amounts (i.e. €10 per transaction that includes notes too), so one could rid themselves of most GBP coins by exchanging them to euros if departing the UK to the Eurozone.

But the euro is probably more useful in Canada than the pound...

BTW, I must resist the temptation to reveal posts I have ignored.

NickB

I have no desire to follow you into a pointless prolonged polemical exchange. If you are so tone-deaf as not to realise the unhelpfulness of post 13, I doubt that there is much that I can say to change that. Most definitely not dulciter, let alone dulcius . And as to ex asperis, rather more a case of exasperat, I am afraid.

Over and out for me as far as this particular foray is concerned.

Kettering Northants QC

Thomas Exchange Global on the Strand is where I've used several times

Badenoch

Good point. We don't know whether the OP is UK-based. Another reason to want euros in advance is transiting through a major European airport on the way to somewhere else. Saves the trouble of hunting down an ATM at a strange airport, waiting in line at an airport currency exchange, arriving late when they are closed and avoiding exorbitant airport exchange rates.

The great discovery for me in this thread is Thomas Exchange Global. I didn't know about them before but there's an outlet on Kensington High Street a short walk from where I'll be staying on my next trip. My thanks to the posters who mentioned them. ^

The euro and the pound are equally useless in Canada but are easy enough to acquire. In my own case I do not enter a foreign country without at least some local currency. It provides a greater degree of certainty when travelling.

lwildernorva

Three really good points implicitly or explicitly made in your post. First, any good answer has to consider the OP's circumstances, and sometimes, those aren't all revealed by either the post or the personal information FT members choose to share. Second, many times there is useful information to be found even for experienced members, such as your discovery of Thomas Exchange. I've benefited many times from similar sidebar information in a thread that I file away for future reference. And finally, each person has a different approach to travel. I'm now comfortable enough in most European countries that I may show up without any local currency since I've found acceptance of credit cards from many different parts of the world more widespread than when I started extensive travel twenty years ago. My comfort level, however, is not necessarily someone else's. And my comfort level in much of Europe might well be challenged in other parts of the world.