cash machines

[simonuk]

just wondering as i normally take all of my spending money over with me, i am only taking a little as i get paid the day after i arrive can i use my lloyds card to take money out at the parks etc?
cheer
simon

 

[sharon78]

Im not sure,the best thing to do is to check with your bank.

 

[edie w]

If you have the Cirrus logo on the card, then you can use it in cash machines in the US. We always do this and find it very convenient.

You will get a good exchange rate, but remember you will also be charged a couple of $$ each time you use the machine to draw out cash. Best take out one or two larger amounts and rather than several smaller ones, provided you can keep it securely.

 

[amf]

As a general rule you will not be charged any fee if you use ATMs in supermarkets. Your own bank will probably have a foreign currency loading charge....so switch to Nationwide and you will get the full Market Rate

 

[Korbs]

I think the charges for most banks are more or less the same (apart from nationwide). I know for Barclays, the charges are 2.75% for using the card abroad and if using cash machines an extra 1.5% on top of that (min£1.50, max £4.50). Natwest are about the same so i think lloyds would be similar. You get the rate at the time of processing.

 

[Korbs]

Also, check with lloyds to see if they have an arrangement with any of the american banks, so you know for sure which ones you won't get charged at. (Barclays is Bank of America if anyone's interested!)

 

[2BoysMum&Dad]

We will be taking one credit card each and some cash. In fact, we have already got our cash as the exchange rate is good for us Brits at the moment. We are not going for a few months yet, but the current exchange rate made it tempting! The US is very credit card friendly and we plan to use cards as much as possible and as little cash as possible - would rather do this than have too much cash on us (or even in the room) etc.

2BoysMum&Dad

 

[Dimplenose]

If you've got a fairly old cashpoint card you might not be able to use it, I had to change mine last year to one which included a VISA debit card from Lloyds. It's certainly worth checking with your branch.

Libby