US $ currency

I have been travelling to the US since 1990 and I cannot recall over all these years the dollar rate being so low. Marks & Spencer are offering $1.34 this morning

It's going to make an awful lot of family Easter hols very expensive this year

I know but all to do with the UK's attitude to the EU at the moment unfortunately,

I am not so worried on getting less US$ for my pounds on USA holiday visit next month, much more of an issue in the business where most of our products are manufactured in China & purchased in US$.

I have been going to the USA since early eighties (yes I know that makes old ) I have got as much as $2.46 to the pound and have got as low as $1.34still this years trip is August so hopefully will go up a bit before that

I am there now and fortunately planned ahead and bought my money at $1.70
But I'm using my card for fuel. Unleaded petrol $1.46 a gallon. That still feels cheap to me.
I drove from Orlando to South Carolina, 345 miles for about £15

Dick D

I haven't been travelling to the US quite as long as some of you, dare I say 'old timers', but I'm used to averaging around $1.50, sometimes a little more, to the £. I'm travelling in 10 weeks so I'm holding on to see if the rates get better. By now we would have normally got our cash ready, but I wouldn't let my OH do it.

Believe it is the lowest its been since mid 80s

Taking a bashing on the EURO as well.

Lets hope trump wins! It will soon reverse!

I am there now and fortunately planned ahead and bought my money at $1.70

At that rate I presume you had to blow the dust off the notes before you used them....

I must admit to seeing only downside for UK tourists abroad for the foreseeable future., and lord only knows what will happen if the June 23rd referendum is not a decisive "In" vote.

I'd read about the risk of the £ dropping so for our May trip in January I pre-booked and pre-paid for all except the Vegas hotels - all are fully cancellable though! I am regretting though not getting some $'s in January

I managed to get $100 off our three nights booking at Aria a couple of weeks ago though when their M-Life rates dropped - but $30 off that will go on the MGM Properties parking fee that's being introduced in April

Hubby and I are both busy playing My Vegas now with a view to getting some freebies whilst we're there!

20% drop.... Guess no tipping!

Hubby and I are both busy playing My Vegas now with a view to getting some freebies whilst we're there!

& worth doing so! I played, my missus played & I played with a 3rd account.
When MyVegas first came out, I bagged so many rewards under the old rules. My mate & his missus also played.

$75 Credit to any F&B outlet at New York New York; $75 Credit for one of the duelling Piano bars (we had 2 of these between us! the one in NYNY + we had a table inside opposite the pianos - got smashed as it was March Madness & free $150 goes a long way on the bottle buckets. Still spent a considerable amount though) , 4x $300 tickets to Beatles show thing, Bellagio Buffet, Buffet at Luxor, Buffet at Excalibur; various souvenir dice & playing cards.
I still have over 80k in reward points. Recently started playing again when I noticed the Cruise Ship rewards - but they have now been pulled. :(

Anyway... best part about that trip was my missus winning big on the slots on our very last night. Idea was we brought x amount to spend, so if we go home with empty pockets, so be it. Covered our spending money

Hubby and I are both busy playing My Vegas now with a view to getting some freebies whilst we're there!

Sounds like a good bit of forward planning.

I know someone who spends two weeks in LV every year. She takes roughly £5k to spend and most of it goes into gambling but she is so proud of the fact she never pays from her room coz it is "compt" (whatever that means) and she gets endless days of free food buffets, meal vouchers etc also thrown in. She does have wins on the machines but promptly puts it all back!!! Apparently she already has this year's room at the Cosmopoltian on a free basis.

I acknowledge it is really good that the hotel management do look after their clientele this way ie the more you spend the more freebies you get and this appreciation must make people go back. I returned to the same Disney deluxe hotel six years running. On one visit, when checking in, I mentioned it was my grand daughter's birthday and he rudely replied"so what, do you want a free cake sent to your room then". The matter didn't end there

I do wish I had got some $ cash a few months ago but I honestly never envisaged this.
UK holidays from now on!!!

I am there now and fortunately planned ahead and bought my money at $1.70 Dick D

You seriously must have planned well ahead to get that rate Dicky

Hope you avoided that storm that went through Florida & the Carolinas. Forecast looked set for some nice sunshine over the next week or do, enjoy. The weather & currency are the two apps I look at each day now without fail The rest of the news is so depressing.

Believe it is the lowest its been since mid 80s

Taking a bashing on the EURO as well.

Lets hope trump wins! It will soon reverse!

We bought our house in Florida in 2004, $ was 1.34-1.36, made it much more expensive. On the plus side we have $$$$$$$ sitting in the US at the moment and are tracking for it's return, it's like roullette, a friend of ours says it could go as low as $1.22 by the end of 2016! Makes a difference of £15,000 - £20,000, lots of factors involved though and knowing my luck I will make a mess of it.

she never pays from her room coz it is "compt" (whatever that means)

Comped. As in compensated.

I have been going to the USA since early eighties (yes I know that makes old ) I have got as much as $2.46 to the pound and have got as low as $1.34still this years trip is August so hopefully will go up a bit before that

We went in 2008 and it was $2 - and everything seemed to be the same price in $$'s as they were in ££'s - some serious shopping was done that trip!!!

I can't remember the rate we got in 2011 but last year I think the average was $ 1.50 - I kept buying a little bit each month to (a) lessen the blow and (b) to try and even out the exchange rate movements.

I know someone who spends two weeks in LV every year. She takes roughly £5k to spend and most of it goes into gambling but she is so proud of the fact she never pays from her room coz it is "compt" (whatever that means) and she gets endless days of free food buffets, meal vouchers etc also thrown in. She does have wins on the machines but promptly puts it all back!!! Apparently she already has this year's room at the Cosmopoltian on a free basis.

To get rooms at the Cosmo comp'ed means some serious slot play!

Last year I moved from MLife Sapphire to Gold in six nights but that was from charging everything to the room! That at least has given me a minimum of 20% off MGM property bookings if made direct

Back on topic I see the M&S Cardholder rate is now $1.3666 .....

We are in Florida at the moment and getting $1.40 using our commission free over 50s card. We also have some currency we bought at around the same rate. If the card rate drops we can switch to the currency. At least the petrol is cheap, $1.57 per us gallon. Re tipping, will continue to recognise good service but only to 10% of the bill. At Friday's last night and the bill shows 'suggested' tips starting @15% then 18 and finally 20%. I added 10%

We are in Florida at the moment and getting $1.40 using our commission free over 50s card. We also have some currency we bought at around the same rate.

Which card is that? I'm on the lookout for anything that treats my advanced years as a benefit.

Re tipping, will continue to recognise good service but only to 10% of the bill. At Friday's last night and the bill shows 'suggested' tips starting @15% then 18 and finally 20%. I added 10%

And you got out alive ?

We use the SAGA platinum card in the US, no fee and no commission for non sterling transaction.

Never had an issue with 10%. Talking with some of the servers over here I realise that many people, not just Brits but Americans, leave no tip at all so they are always happy to get a 10% tip from me, rounded up to the next dollar. The only place I had an issue was Planet Hollywood with a group of 7. They added 20% which I queried and it was replaced by my standard 10%.

As an ex-pat living in Nashville, TN I'm not at all upset about the current exchange rate! I'll be saving around $50 a night in hotel fees this year versus last.

Regarding tipping, I still have the hardest time when I return to the UK. It's expected over here. It's expected NOT to happen in Blighty.

One thing to consider; tips are generally split amongst all the staff - servers, hostesses, busser, dishwashers, etc., and most of the FOH folks are only making ~$3 per hour + tips. Also, it is most definitely not their fault the pound is weak versus the dollar.

she never pays from her room coz it is "compt" (whatever that means)

Comped. As in compensated.

? I always thought it was "comped" as in the "given for free" meaning of "complimentary".

We use the SAGA platinum card in the US, no fee and no commission for non sterling transaction.

Useful to know. I tend to use a Nationwide Gold card which has given me pretty much close to money market rates on the day of the transaction. It would be interesting to track since the last couple of days have seen the money markets below 1.40.

We are off to Vegas in three weeks, have got some dollars left from our last trip but usually use the Lloyds Avios cards its £24 a year but anything you spend abroad gets you the bank rate so its a few cents better and you get 1.25 Avios per £1 spent and no exchange fee either, with three more holidays to USA this year it will more than pay for itself, luckily booked all our Denver hotels in November when it was still 1.55 to the pound.

Will have to pay the resort fee this year for the first time in Vegas and we just miss the parking charges the MGM group are bringing in, in April so will get stung next time, (they don't make it easy for you). We got pulled aside once for not leaving a big enough tip when we only left 15% it was a remote location and the guy said he only earned $2 an hour and his wages were made up with tips. linda

she never pays from her room coz it is "compt" (whatever that means)

Comped. As in compensated.

Sorry but with respect you are wrong on two accounts here!!

Firstly Scoobysu answered my query on "whatever compt means" Didn't quote it in the first place.

Secondly I now clearly understand the meaning of the word 'comps' .. It is just a short way of saying 'complementaries' like pjh said. That sounds a whole lot better than the word compensate. Obviously the moral of this story is the more you spend the more complimentary freebies you get

With lots of freebies around in Las Vegas, I bet the tipping is good though

We use the SAGA platinum card in the US, no fee and no commission for non sterling transaction.

Sounds like the Halfiax Clarity MasterCard we use. It makes such a difference not paying that non-sterling transaction charge on purchases etc and they too usually seem to calculate an exchange rate a few cents above the advertised traveller currency rate.

Simon Calder from the BBC was on tv this morning talking about the falling currency rates and he certainly didn't give much encouragement for change in the near future