How do you buy your currency ??

[fairytale]

As a past customer of Crown Currency Exchange I have never actually purchased Dollars over the counter, as such.

How do you guys purchased your currency?

I know there are a few of you that take various cards to use in stead of purchasing actually dollars, we do have a PO Credit Card which we will also be taking with us.

It appears the best rates are through companies like travelex but they seem slightly similar to CCE, ie you pay them via bank transfer etc, which obviously ring alarm bells with me although they maybe quite legit

 

[wayneg]

Personally I don't change any money, I just take enough to cover tolls, this month I will have about $75 with me. Everything else will go on PO card and hope to get $1.60+.

Just looked at Travelex, looks to be $1.57, on Wednesday I was in White Rose shopping centre in Leeds, rates in there were $1.58 over the counter, maybe dropped 1 or 2 cents since but certainly not enough to be worth dealing with internet companies IMO. Travelex is probably the most secure company of them all, I just don't see point in parting with money when you can do it over the counter at similar rates.

 

[darthtatty]

If you do buy currency over the counter, you probably will need to go the week before you want it as they may have to order it in. They generally give you a better exchange rate than the one in the window if you buy lots.
I know our local travel agent charges about 2% for buying currency using credit cards and they dont take take debit cards at all. I usually pay using cash.
check out supermarkets as they offer higher rates for being loyalty card members eg sainsburys Nectar.

 

[Goofyish]

In the past I have had $$ travellers cheques and a little currency from OnlineFX with no problems and everything delivered next day by special delivery at a competitive rate.

This trip I am only taking a little currency as I have the free dining plan and will probably get it from the Post Office

Will use cc for any larger purchases and if I need more cash will get it from the ATM.

 

[2Tiggies]

I like take mine in more than one form. TCs, the maximum amount of cash DD and I are covered for by our insurance and the rest on a FairFX. The FairFX and TCs were more or less a 50/50 split between them last year. I also take a few credit cards just in case of emergency where I have to pay for something at the time and claim from insurance at a later stage. I like to know that if a problem arises with one means of currency (e.g. lost travellers cheques) I don't have to put the brakes on the entire trip while waiting for it to be dealt with. Being covered for these things is all good and well, but no resolution is immediate and in some cases you may only be reimbursed after you return home.

 

[crabbie1]

Db has now got a CC barclays gold account i think. Do they charge to use cc in the US? Sorry been years since i used one.wont b using it to withdraw cash. I hv alo found an old fairfx card and it has $68 on it!! It expires 2012. If i start adding a bit on here and there and they go bump will the card be useless then? Sorry to be negative but dont want to preload a card to find i cant use it.thanks.

 

[wayneg]

Db has now got a CC barclays gold account i think. Do they charge to use cc in the US? Sorry been years since i used one.wont b using it to withdraw cash. I hv alo found an old fairfx card and it has $68 on it!! It expires 2012. If i start adding a bit on here and there and they go bump will the card be useless then? Sorry to be negative but dont want to preload a card to find i cant use it.thanks.

Barclaycard Gold charge for Overseas transactions: 2.75%

I don't know a lot about pre loading cards, I prefer to use their money and pay it back then a company holding my money. I believe Fair FX are supposed to keep the money in secure accounts but who knows til something happens.

 

[jtlover]

We use a coupole of fairfx cards and a small amount of cash. As we stay on site we use the in room charging and then pay one bill at the end of the holiday. When we go shopping we just use our fairfax cards.

We dont use credit cards and have never had a problem. We also find that we get paid when we are on holiday so we transfer more money onto our fairfx cards whilst on holiday. We love uses these cards in Florida

If you want a fairfx card there is still the offer via Matalan's website to get the card for free

 

[Elise79]

Before we had our Suntrust account we used to take some cash (few $100) some TCs ( around $500) and then use the CC for the balance. I always bought my money over the counter - used to use M&S as their rates were consistently better than most other but don't know if that's changed recently.

Now I usually have about $100 or less in cash and use my Suntrust Debit card and for large items my PO CC.

 

[DISWolves]

When the exchange rate was high $2/£1 I got quite a few
TC's and have used these gradually in combination with a fee free Credit Card.
With the fast fall of the dollar, and lower interest rates this counteracted any loss interest of not keeping the money in a short term account.

 

[Mrs Hobbes]

We take a small amount of currency for the airport and tips on arrival day. Then on check in we link our debit card to our Disney resort key, we then make all purchases however small on this, the resort set us up with a $1000 limit and once we reach that we go to the desk or telephone to clear the balance. Then it starts again, this way we never have more than 2 transactions on our debit card so minimal bank charges.

 

[Cyrano]

The troops tend to take their spending money in $$ cash. Like others I prefer a PO credit card. If we need cash I will spend on the credit card and recover from the troops.

 

[crabbie1]

Barclaycard Gold charge for Overseas transactions: 2.75%

I don't know a lot about pre loading cards, I prefer to use their money and pay it back then a company holding my money. I believe Fair FX are supposed to keep the money in secure accounts but who knows til something happens.

Its not a gold its a platinum bcard. I dont know wht to do now. May do what mrs hobbes says and put attatch it to the KTTW card with a limit of $1000 pay it when spent then start again. Good idea thankyou. Are there anyother prepaid dollor cards apart from fairfx? Will hv to hv a look into it.

 

[wayneg]

Platinum is same as gold "Overseas transactions: 2.75%" I have the Platinum also but wouldn't use it abroad unless I had to.

 

[crabbie1]

Platinum is same as gold "Overseas transactions: 2.75%" I have the Platinum also but wouldn't use it abroad unless I had to.

Ok.May stick to our normal TC and Cash but will take for emergencys

 

[T16GEM]

Personally I don't change any money, I just take enough to cover tolls, this month I will have about $75 with me. Everything else will go on PO card and hope to get $1.60+.

Same as us, last year I had $20 in cash, mainly because we didn't get chance to change any before we went, we used it for tolls and lockers at the water parks. We used our PO card for everything else. No need to carry cash IMO.

 

[skelfbsfb]

For years we always took a mixture of TC and cash, last year we took cash only. This year we will be using our PO CC and only taking very little cash with us.

 

[wayneg]

Ok.May stick to our normal TC and Cash but will take for emergencys

Probably a very similar rate using TC's & cash compared to your Barclaycard, either way will cost you 2-3% compared to using a free free credit card.

Same as us, last year I had $20 in cash, mainly because we didn't get chance to change any before we went, we used it for tolls and lockers at the water parks. We used our PO card for everything else. No need to carry cash IMO.

I found watching the exchange rate trying to guess when to swap was not worth the hassle compared to using a credit card. Sometimes you win with a credit card, sometimes you lose but over the years I have saved a fortune with cards.
Only time you really win with TC's & cash is when the rate is high then it drops just before you travel, then you should have bought in advance.
Losing my wallet with over £500 in a few years ago changed the way I spend abroad, thankfully I got it back but it was a wake up call.

 

[Disneymad]

A number of years back I got myself a US bank account. Due to a dry spell not visiting the States for a couple of years it kinda sat in the proverbial cupboard collecting dust.

On subsequent trips I was like Wayne and just used Credit Cards however with the exchange rate being seemingly volatile and me wanting an element of locking in the good rates when they came I decided to ressurect the US account (Suntrust).

Now I use XE.com to transfer over amounts to my US account (XE.com requires a 'wire transfer which panicked me until I realised that my UK online banking does exactly that for free) when it hits an exchange rate I like and it's sitting there waiting for me in safety - well as safe as any bank can be in the current climate.

As long as your UK bank has the online banking facility that allows payments to other people, then there is no cost involved in the transfer. XE takes their cut by skimming a few cents off the Interbank rate and is comparable to Fairfax etc.

 

[Rohais]

We'll be taking a couple of credit cards with us, for 'bigger' purchases, such as a couple of pairs of Skechers, several chamilia charms etc

We'll probably take a few hundred $ in travellers cheques, and then pay the front desk with those to cover any KTTW card charges we make

Other than that, it will likely be cash. I have it all split up into different sections, for different uses etc. I like knowing exactly how much money I use, and how much money I have left. With cards, it gets away from me