Best place to get pounds from a USBank ATM card

Unless your bank has extremely high foreign transaction fees (I don’t know what, if any, USBank charges), you get a better exchange rate getting pounds from an ATM in the UK than you do getting them in the US. The answer to your second question is yes, you should request the local currency.

I have been to EU many times, and I generally always bring 20-40 eu to buy a train ticket from the airport then go to a bank and get more Euros. I have found you might need to shop around - there might be 3-4 different banks and at one, 200 eu costs you $250, and at another it costs you $212 on the same day.

However, last year in the UK was different. I tried multiple different ATMS - in convenience stores, train stations, super markets. And they all seemed to tack on pretty heavy extra fees. I think I was paying $170 for 100 lb or so when the pure exchange should have been $140. Maybe I was unlucky, but it seemed that the banks in the UK are a rip off. I even tried going into a British bank and asking for a conversion. But that did not work. There was no way to avoid getting taken to the cleaners.

Our checking account is with USBank, as is our Debit card for ATM withdrawals. To avoid or minimize bank fees as much as possible, don’t get Pounds from your bank at home, and don’t go to any currency exchange counters or their “ATM’s” at the airport after you arrive in the U.K. Go to an ATM out on the street in town, or in an actual bank (not an exchange service company), and withdraw funds there. While Britain is becoming increasingly cashless - pay by credit card as much as possible - we still found places in London who took Cash Only. Pull out only £100 to £200 from an ATM, and see how that lasts you. Go back for more cash if needed later, but limit the number of times you make withdrawals, as there’s a fee for a Non-USBank-ATM charge with each withdrawal. Generally, make fewer withdrawals, but for larger amounts of cash each time.

Yes, have credit card transactions rung up in the local currency. You won’t have to request Pound Sterling, as most (if not all) of your transactions will automatically get rung up in Pounds. The dollars versus pounds issue will only come up if the merchant offers you the choice, and I’m seeing less and less of that Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) being used, where their bank adds a fee for the transaction, in addition to yours. If that choice should be offered, stick with Pounds.

I always look for a bank ATM in Europe (or U.K.) after I arrive. I stay away from the offbrand ATM machines like Travelex and American Express.

You'll be surprised how little cash you'll spend if you use a credit card for every single expense you can use the card on. That includes taxi's and public transportation.

Europeans are even more ATM users than Americans. One country has mentioned abandoning cash even.

You didn't search first, didja ...

Schwab debit card ...

The most important piece of information you need to know is how little cash you will use in the UK. Almost everything is purchased by credit card with “ contactless card” being preferred. Apple Pay works too. I wouldn’t take out more than 60 pounds from the ATM when you arrive.

Make sure your credit card does not charge foreign transaction fees and that you have also brought a back up card with you.

UK banks doesn’t charge any fees for withdraws, and my bank here in Ohio doesn’t so I have no fees at all.

The biggest waste of money you're likely to run into will come if you accept a conversion rate offered by an ATM. You want the transaction recorded in GB pounds. There may be fee charged by the ATM, but you'll be warned of that and it will be expressed in GB pounds. (This is where it may cost less for one larger withdrawal rather than two smaller ones--but it's true that you'll be able to use your credit card almost everywhere, so you may not need to make one large withdrawal.) If the ATM encourages you to lock in a specific exchange rate and quotes a total amount in US dollars for the withdrawal, you are about to be taken to the cleaners. Read all ATM screens carefully to be sure you know what you are choosing. The wording can vary from ATM to ATM.

That funny business with on-the-spot specification of the exchange rate is called "dynamic currency conversion", or DCC. It will probably also be offered to you on at least some of your credit card transactions. You don't want it there, either. It's just an opportunity for the hotel, restaurant or shop to make an extra profit, with that money coming out of your pocket.

I gotta say than any time I’ve withdrawn cash from an ATM, pounds in the UK, euros in Italy, and so on, the machine has just had me touch on how much I wanted … £50, £100, or €40, €200, whatever. I get my cash and my USBank statement at the end of the month tells me how much came out of my checking account as a result. I don’t know if your USBank checking account is any different than mine, patrick, but the fee for a withdrawal that’s not a US Bank machine (aka an Out-of-Network ATM) is currently $2.50 . Not an enormous amount, but it can add up. Four withdrawals on one trip, and US Bank will charge $10.00 total.

Always use a bank ATM in the UK.

Get a Charles Schwab checking account and use their debit card at ATM's. If there are any fees, Schwab reimburses them. I opened one up strictly for my travels.

I took some money out in December at HSBC. The bank charged, if I remember correctly, a 2.50 GBP fee for using a non-HSBC card. Schwab converted at a rate very close to the interbank rate. They also reimbursed the fee.

Always pay in the local currency.

Always use a bank ATM in the UK.

If you want money and are at a Tesco or Sainsbury supermarket and you think, oh dear they aren't bank Cash Points, don't be a sad face. There is Tesco Bank and Sainsbury Bank and these Cash Points are in fact bank facilities.

I wouldn't worry about using a Cash Point at a Waitrose or an Asda. They will be remote facilities of several banks.