Exchange rate woes

Exchange rate woes -

Arriving back from Orlando on Thursday, after a cross country route to Heathrow to catch the return flight up to Edinburgh, I was shocked at Travelex's exchange rate.

Now, I know that unless you've prebooked, you should never buy from airports before I get smart comments, but on Thursday, Travelex's exchange rate for US dollars was $1.06

It was an ultra expensive trip at $1.20 but the near futures not looking good if this trend continues.

There's an interesting article on the BBC about the rising costs https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48954323

David

[mitchja]

One thing I've found that helps a little is to grab yourself a credit and / or debit card that has zero rated foreign transactions fees or zero rated foreign ATM withdrawal fees.

The UK credit cards offering this are dwindling fast now as I believe there's only a couple still offering this. One still available is the Halifax Clarity card.

Nationwide offer the Select credit card with zero rated foreign transactions fees, though you do have to be a Nationwide current account holder in order to get this credit card.

Nationwide's FlexPlus current account comes with a debit card which has zero rated foreign ATM withdrawal fees (NOT zero rated foreign transaction fees though).

There may well be others available as well.

At least with a credit and debit card you are getting real-time exchange rates and not the the lower tourist rates currency conversion comes with.

Virgin Money are currently offering a new customer promo on their VS Mastercards with a time limited offer (up to the end of November 2019) of zero rated foreign transaction fees (NOT foreign ATM fees though) BUT only for new customer sign-ups. This offer is not available to existing VS credit card holders.

We use the Starling bank debit MasterCard. Its an App only based bank and there are no credit checks. you just transfer money into the account then use it whilst abroad for free cash withdrawals and a pretty much international bank exchange rate when using it to make purchases, as soon as you use it it sends you a message through the App, giving you the cost and exchange rate they also pay interest on your credit balance. We really like it

Thank you BRIXIT

v-flyers might want to look at the Caxton Black Card (Mastercard); no overseas ATM fees, 0% commission and you can load up to 14 base currencies.

Today's US$ rate for a £1000 loading is US$1229.48

https://www.caxtonfx.com/currency-cards ... y-account/

At Thomas Exchange (a chain of bureaux de change in London, normally the best rate you’ll find on the high street) it’s currently £1 = $1.24.

The moral of the story here is - never, ever, use Travelex!

The MBNA Horizon card which I got after they ended the Amex has no foreign exchange fees for purchases.

I also have FairFX $ and € cards as they are fee free as well for spending (but not ATMswhere it's a $2 plus any ATM fee the machine provider charges but even then likely to be a better rate than travelex) and handy for small amounts (bit don't use for hotel 'holds' as it ties up the cash you put on the card)


The change in the £-$ rate this week is more to do with oil and what's happening in the gulf and the Federal Reserves Interest Rate policy and a fall in the $ rather than specific to do with the B word

I think some of the rates that certain airport based exchanges and some high street travel agents are absolutely appalling and you get better rates at the other high street bureaus but people get locked in the the mentality that the airport / travel agents must provide the best rate.

In London I used Thomas Global Exchange on Victoria Street as they have good rates. (As recommended by Buns many years ago)

In Brighton it's a couple of the independents and it usually comes down to which is nearest to where I am at that moment in time or once which was just open!

I also have the MBNA Horizon card and a Santander Zero. I use Revolut (app based account) all the time which lets me have accounts in GBP, EURO, Dollar (many others available). Fee free and uses bank rates for exchange and is really handy when living in Cyprus but receiving income in the UK into UK accounts.
Unfortunately can’t apply for the Virgin credit card now as I’m no longer a UK resident grrrr...

I use my Jaja card for foreign purchases.

I rarely use cash nowadays when abroad, except in the USA where you have to tip and have a lot of smaller notes, I always use a card.

The RBS black current account comes with a Visa which has no foreign transaction fees, and so does the RBS black MasterCard.

I always use these abroad, and rarely bother changing money before I go.

Just got the Halifax Clarity card which seems good for travel.
However off to Vegas next month so will need plenty of 'cash' for Blackjack and the Slots at the Cosmo!!!
Although last year nearly missed the flight back home because I was winning at the tables and didn't want to leave.

The RBS black current account comes with a Visa which has no foreign transaction fees, and so does the RBS black MasterCard.

I always use these abroad, and rarely bother changing money before I go.

I didn't know that! Thanks for pointing it out.

I used Transferwise card on our recent trip to the US. I'd originally got the account as I have some USD shares and it's the most cost effetive way of rendering USD to GBP, and then noticed they had the card. It worked a treat.

@david - Highly reccomend opening a SunTrust account when you next over if you havn't already got one - they welcome DVC members with open arms. Have one for my DVC dues, as allows a direct debit from it for the dues. However, it has had a side benefit - when USD rates are acceptable, we transfer some cash over so we have a buffer in USD at an acceptable rate - and of course a US cash debit card so we can spend it like the US people do. Example right now, the account has been funded at an average of 1.34 - as I saw an article earlier in year predicting a 1.15 rate upon Brexit initially - so we topped up with a few years of dues/US spending.

It has allowed me to engage Smug mode with a friend coming with us to MCO this summer though - as they failed to do similar transfer technique via their bank (they have a US account too) - as they bet the exchange rates would recover to 1.4 before we go next month.

Oh and I'd add opening a US bank account takes no more than 1 hour out of your Holiday - it's that quick (close to 15 mins in our case). Nothing like UK banks, you just make an appointment on phone, turn up with passport, driving license and the initial funding for the account (to deposit) and they will have your cards send back to the same branch before you leave (or waiting at door in UK on return). As a real bank you then have all protections a US citizen would have on a account. Also Transferwise do what seems to be same day transfers from UK to US so funding it is really easy - it's strange how you can transfer from a UK to US bank faster than you used to be able to do a UK transaction before faster payments. Warning though Transferwise max time is ~ 3 days - it's not always instant, it's just thats only happened "once" to me of it taking > 1 day.

Exchange rate woes -

Arriving back from Orlando on Thursday, after a cross country route to Heathrow to catch the return flight up to Edinburgh, I was shocked at Travelex's exchange rate.

Now, I know that unless you've prebooked, you should never buy from airports before I get smart comments, but on Thursday, Travelex's exchange rate for US dollars was $1.06

It was an ultra expensive trip at $1.20 but the near futures not looking good if this trend continues.

I'm hoping to book a trip to Florida next year, but the poor exchange rate is making me reconsider combined with an upcoming wedding (and subsequent honeymoon) the following year needing paying for also sharpening my mind.

The exchange rate will put some people off for sure, though it's noticeable how it doesn't seem to have affected demand that much. I can only assume the appeal of the US means people will still go no matter the cost. I consider myself lucky having visited several times in the past, so it's not a scramble to go ASAP compared to someone who hasn't been before; but I still want to go at some point.

If we end up going, I'll be carefully planning expenditure and could end up being a "cheaper" affair compared to previous years such as getting accommodation to allow for more cooking in instead of eating out, packed lunches to take to the parks, cutting back on spending at the likes of Premium Outlets (not that the deals are great anyway when the exchange rate is poor), etc. Being smart about expenditure isn't a bad thing though and some sort of trip is better than nothing.

Nationwide offer the Select credit card with zero rated foreign transactions fees, though you do have to be a Nationwide current account holder in order to get this credit card.

Nationwide's FlexPlus current account comes with a debit card which has zero rated foreign ATM withdrawal fees (NOT zero rated foreign transaction fees though).

Another vote for the Nationwide Select Credit Card having had one for a few years now. The criteria is a minimum £750 going into a FlexAccount per month over 3 months or if you have one of their other current accounts, though you're also eligible if you've switched to the FlexAccount from another bank/building society in the last few months. More details here: https://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/c ... d-benefits

v-flyers might want to look at the Caxton Black Card (Mastercard); no overseas ATM fees, 0% commission and you can load up to 14 base currencies.

Today's US$ rate for a £1000 loading is US$1229.48

https://www.caxtonfx.com/currency-cards ... y-account/

I've not used my Caxton card for a number of years now because I had issues using it in some places even when there was money on the card and I found it a pain in the US and Canada to find an ATM that was low cost/no cost to withdraw let alone find one that would let me withdraw. I also had a handful of problems in Europe.

I now use cash, with credit cards being used for hotels and other major expenditures. If it gets to a point in the future where my destinations are moving to card-only (I ended up in a card-only cafe in NYC last year) and/or I'm confident I can fully get by using cards only, I might stop taking cash.

The change in the £-$ rate this week is more to do with oil and what's happening in the gulf and the Federal Reserves Interest Rate policy and a fall in the $ rather than specific to do with the B word.

Very true, though it's safe to say the GBP/USD rate has never been the same since the 2016 referendum apart from the early part of last year where it peaked at around £1/$1.42. The same applies to the GBP/EUR rate, though over the last year it's more or less hovered at the rate we used to get earlier on in the decade and it was worse around 10 years ago when at one point it was almost at parity.