Currency in England?

[MaryAnnDVC]

DS is going to England in April with a group, and we just got an email from a chaperone telling parents where to get euros for the kids before they go. But you use pounds in England, not euros, right?

TIA,
Mare
Clueless in Rhode Island, USA

 

[xviclx]

Yes its Pounds in England not euro

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Thank you!

DH said we wouldn't hear from anyone tonight...that you'd all be sleeping!

 

[xviclx]

I wish,, Im just doing some work. No problem though it would be awful to send someone to another country with the wrong currency! Hope he has a great time!

 

[Goofyish]

Thankfully we still have the good old GB Pound (£). Although I believe that some shops in tourist spots in the the UK (like London) will accept Euros (€), but probably at a poor exchange rate.

I would bring either cash in Pounds or travellers cheques (checks) in $$. The cheques can be exchanged for Pounds at any bureau de change, although the exchange rate is not in your favour at the moment

Perhaps he needs Euros becasue they are going to make a surprise visits to Disneyland Paris LOL

 

[mikki.young]

Tim, wouldn't Travellers checks be better in pound sterling? I know we don't treat them like cash the way the US does but all banks will cash them. Maybe a mixture of pounds for the money you know you will spend and dollars for the just in case you need it?

 

[Claire L]

If your DS is old enough and can get a bank card there are plenty of ATM's about.

Claire

 

[Goofyish]

Tim, wouldn't Travellers checks be better in pound sterling? I know we don't treat them like cash the way the US does but all banks will cash them. Maybe a mixture of pounds for the money you know you will spend and dollars for the just in case you need it?

As you say, you can't use TCs in the UK like you do in the US (like cash), so you would need to get them cashed at a bank/post office etc.
Also, if they have any left over it will be easier to cash them in when they get home to the US rather than trying to convert the £ TCs back to $$.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Thanks for all the replies!

DS is 14. (And he's going without me! ) We did get him a Visa Buxx card, so he can use that (or so they tell us!) to pay for things in stores, and then use it at ATM machines to get pounds for spending money, but we do want to send him with pounds to use on arrival his first day. The card has US dollars on it, but will convert at the ATM machines. (For a fee, of course.) I THINK. We're getting this type of info from my DD's (16) Spanish teacher...that group is going to Spain the same week! So I'm hoping that the information remains the same about how things work, except that Spain uses euros. The Spain trip is EXTREMELY well organized by a language teacher who takes a class to Spain or France every year. The England trip is being organized by an England tour group; the man came here from England for one meeting, and it seems we're basically winging it from there.

The exchange rate to pounds is terrible!! DS hates to shop, although maybe he just hates shopping with ME and his sisters and will discover a whole new world of spending money on a trip to England without me. Luckily, he just got himself a job.

I'm such a nervous packer...for trips WITHIN the states, even for a weekend. Do you know what packing one kid for England and one kid for Spain is doing to me? And, with no kids here, DH and I will be going to WDW, so I have to pack for me too. Thankfully, DH is a big boy and can pack himself. (My 16 yr old DD THINKS she can pack for herself, but I need to supervise, or lay awake at night wondering if she brought everything she needs. )

Thanks again.

 

[Goofyish]

Most debit and credit cards in the UK are now 'chip and pin' type. So make sure you DS's Visa card has a pin number

 

[pokemon_master]

Good luck..

As Tim said, we have "chip and Pin" so be sure to have a pin number! I also agree that the exchange rate is not in your favour when shopping so do tell him to keep it to a minimum or he'll break the bank!

I am not sure about fees but normally banks do cash conversions for you. If not you can always get any cash converted into pounds for free at the post offfice (I think).

Enjoy Merry Old England..

 

[nbodyhome]

I'm not from England, but I'm going back for my 3rd time in 2 years soon - ATM's are everywhere, and the pound isn't great - but going to the grocery store and some other places is very reasonable. Some stores like Waitrose have items like curry chicken, and it's not badly priced.

My favorite place to shop in England is Sainsbury's.

 

[Claire L]

If you use the card for an ATM the PIN will be the same for 'chip and pin' but I am not sure US cards have the chip, if the don't then it will be swipe and sign.

Claire

 

[Claire L]

My favorite place to shop in England is Sainsbury's.

Sainsbury is our prefered shop for food and they do some good curries

Claire

 

[nbodyhome]

Sainsbury is our prefered shop for food and they do some good curries

Claire

I haven't had curry at Sainsburies yet, maybe I didn't go to the right one! I think I also got some chicken tikka at Waitrose.

I also was at my first Asda this past September, I love grocery stores in England!

 

[castanea1985]

Hi MaryAnn,
I'm pretty sure that Bank American cards are linked to the British Barclays Banks, and there is no charge!
We can use our Barclays card in the Bank America ATM's without charge!
So may be worth getting your DS a card from Bank America??
Hope this helps
Tracy

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Nobody goes to sainsburys anymore! Sainsburys is like an old dusty woolworths without the charm
The only place to be seen and to shop at is Tesco's.

 

[tennisfan]

Nobody goes to sainsburys anymore! Sainsburys is like an old dusty woolworths without the charm
The only place to be seen and to shop at is Tesco's.

I beg to differ the sainsburys store I work in turns over £1.4 million in sales each week. Our local tescos never have anything on their shelves.

 

[nbodyhome]

Nobody goes to sainsburys anymore! Sainsburys is like an old dusty woolworths without the charm
The only place to be seen and to shop at is Tesco's.

I love Sainsbury's and Waitrose (and ASDA is pretty good too).

I've only ever been to Tesco Expresses. We also found a Scotsmid in Edinburgh that was very nice.

I'd really like to go to a Costco over there, but I don't know if there is transport from London, and if my US Costco card could get me in.