Cash currency on RS

I had to go read the current recommendations…..

I don’t think that they have been updated recently. The key thing that is missing is just how little cash is actually used when traveling right now. This can vary some by country and travel style, but for the most part, transactions are done by card, not cash.

There are many debates about the “best way” to get cash. In my opinion, the best way is the one that matches your comfort level. Some people just feel better getting some currency before they leave. Just remember to only get a small amount. I like your $200 worth. There is a good chance this could last for the entire trip. Some people are looking to minimize fees and will get cash from an ATM on arrival. The best way is whatever method gives you the most confidence and least anxiety!

There are potentially three kinds of extra costs involved in using an ATM in Europe. I have managed to avoid all of them except on one occasion when I needed cash for a bus in a little town in Ukraine, and I travel a lot.

• Fee imposed by your ATM-card issuer. There are no-fee ATM cards available from CapitalOne, Charles Schwab, some credit unions, etc.

• Fee imposed by the ATM itself. These fees are spreading; they seem to become more prevalent each year, but the situation varies from country to country. So far, I've been able to find no-fee ATMs in every country I've visited--which is a lot of them, but some of those visits were quite a few years ago. At least some of the no-fee credit cards listed in the bullet above also promise to reimburse any fees charged to you by an ATM. I don't know how they can afford to do that, and I hope they'll continue that policy, so I go out of my way to find no-fee ATMs instead of relying on CapitalOne or my credit union to give me the money back.

• Horrendous conversion rates that will be used by the ATM if you allow it to record your withdrawal in your home currency rather than in the local currency. This practice is called "dynamic currency conversion", or "DCC", and you want to avoid it always. You may run into a similar offer to "lock in" the amount when you pay for something via credit card. Do not do that! There will be a substantial extra cost buried in the dreadful conversion rate. While in Europe, conduct all your financial transactions in the local currency.

Getting UK currency at home will cost you more than using a no-fee ATM card in a no-fee ATM and declining DCC, but if you don't get much UK currency (and you probably won't need much), the extra cost will not be great. Keep in mind that if you end up with leftover pounds at the end of your trip and don't want to hold onto them for future travels, you will be paying a pretty penny to convert them back to dollars.

Hmmm, ask your spouse what exorbitant rate your bank charges. Seriously, the US banks I deal with and others that I checked, all have rates that are several percent to their advantage, buying and selling. And many of them charge other transaction fees on top of that. It's not a ripoff, they have costs to provide you this service.

Yeah, it looks like many bank ATMs overseas are now charging transaction fees as well, and many US banks also charge a foreign transaction fee on top of that for each time you use an ATM overseas.

But, you have to decide what's more important to you: cost or convenience.

Be sure to use a debit card in the ATMs, rather than a credit card. If you get cash using a credit card, it counts as a cash advance, which does indeed have terrible rates, with interest being charged even if you pay the balance at the end of the period.

And definitely decline "Dynamic Currency Conversion," which purports to be a convenience, but actually can cost you quite a bit extra. avcraven explains this well it the post earlier in this thread.

When using my debit card at ATM’s the London banks do not charge any fees nor does my bank, so I’m charged $0 for ATM’s transactions.

It’s perfectly possible to visit the U.K. and not need any cash at all. You may feel more comfortable having a little cash and that’s fine but US$200 would be way more than most would need these days.

You will need very little cash in the UK, if any. Pretty much everything has gone to card payment and I never routinely carry cash anymore. I’d think $200 would be too much. If I was you I wouldn’t bother bringing any cash and just withdraw a very small amount if you find that you do need it for any reason. Chances are that you won’t.

Have a little cash on you just for walking around money, everything in the UK is tap and pay so that is the way to go.

And remember, any time you change currency or use a foreign ATM there will be a charge, it's just part of travel. Look into the Charles Schwab online accounts if you want your ATM usage to be free.

Listen to Carol now retired. Do what makes you the most comfortable. Your idea of getting 200 or so of the local currency before you leave is good. It's enough to get you started and, if needed, you can hit up a bank ATM for more. The fees for getting it beforehand (or once you are there) are miniscule compared to the overall cost of the trip, so do what puts your mind at ease.

Has "ATM" become too generic a term? A distinction should be made between cash machines related to a bank vs. Cash machines from currency firms such as Travelex, etc. You only want to use machines controlled by banks.

And then only use a debit card - one which levies no foreign transaction fees if possible - and these are different from ATM fees.

Finally, there is always a cost withdrawing foreign currency from a machine - is is the markup to the currency conversion rate levied by the credit card processor. It's a good deal, but is a cost.

promise to reimburse any fees charged to you by an ATM. I don't know how they can afford to do that

In the case of Charles Schwab, who does not have their own network of ATMs, it must be better/cheaper for them to reimburse ATM fees than to install/service their own network of ATMs.

In November 2022 we took out 50GBP and had cash left after a week. The only place we NEEDED it was on one booth in Portobello Market.

In the UK there is no essential difference between "bank" and "independent" ATMs, the latter being more common. They all belong to the LINK network, all may offer DCC but can be declined. Some will charge but these are generally those in small shops, pubs etc.

You will rarely find bank operated ATMs away from a bank branch itself although there are some exceptions, for example all ATMs at Paddington station are NatWest.

In the past year, I spent about five months in the UK. I used cash four times.....twice to get a haircut (same barber who didn't take credit cards) and twice in a taxi in a Scottish city you won't be visiting.

All other times it was Google Pay or actual credit card.

When I needed cash, I went to a bank ATM and withdrew money charging my account in GBP and not US dollars.