Should I bring some British money (pounds) or just get when we arrive?

If I'm travelling I like to have some local currency with me just in case, not everywhere will accept cards. I am happy to get a small amount from nearest ATM on arrival.

There is no correct answer- just lots, and lots, and LOTS of opinion.
Some say just get cash at the airport (bank ATM), others will tell you to have a hundred pounds or so to cover you until you can get to an appropriate ATM (not all ATMs are equal in terms of fees) - does your US bank have a relationship with a British bank?

I’ve had friends in both Italy and France who had their credit cards eaten by machines ( one atm and one toll booth). There is a recent post on this forum about an individual going crazy after numerous atms rejected his card.

The answer is within you, your sense of adventure, and how well you deal with potential stress situations.

I bring cash but my bank gives it to me at 2% over bank to bank rates and I can live with eating $10-12 when pulling out 500 Pounds pretrip.

I like having one meals worth, if you can get it easily, otherwise don't worry.

Again - LOADS of opinions on this subject.

Based on my own past experience, I like to have enough to cover a cab/meal/unexpected for the first day. To me, that means I want the equivalent of $200 US dollars.

This all depends on your comfort level and how lucky you are. I am the poster child of Murphy's law. I always travel with the expectation that ATM's wont be working (it happened), people will charge more than stated (it happened), and I'm hungry/thirsty in a place which does not accept credit cards (it happened.) YMMV, of course.

Looks like you will mostly be in London? I found that I could use a credit card everywhere I went. Even a coffee at Pret a manger went on the card. Even easier was paying with a smartphone as I didn’t need to carry my cards with me. You may still want a small amount of cash to use in case the CC terminal isn’t working.

Paying by CC works better if your cards have no foreign transaction fees.

There will be many atms in the airport. They will probably have fees associated with them, as will most atm transactions throughout your trip. If you were to get pounds from your local bank, you will probably pay a fee also. So to me, the fees don’t really matter. It’s all about convenience.

If you are dashing from the airport to get into a taxi with no time to stop at an atm, bring enough pounds to get you to your destination and pay for a meal or two. Otherwise, stop at an atm in the airport.

We withdraw a couple hundred euros/pounds at a time to limit the fees, and split it up. In my mind, I’m more likely to be pickpocketed than have my card eaten. But I wear a money belt to limit any losses. My husband discovered a child’s hand in his jacket pocket on the streets in Rome once, thankfully he only had tissues in the pocket.

I’ve never encountered any issues with my credit card being declined or atm card being eaten. But I always notify the companies in advance, put a travel notice on the cards, and know what the daily withdrawal limit is (you can increase this in advance). I also request a PIN number in advance. That said, I carry a second card associated with a separate account (in the money belt), just in case!

I fall into the, “I want some cash on me” category. Since we go the the UK pretty much every year, I get some cash prior to departing the UK on one trip, so I have some upon arrival on the next trip.

It’s fine to just get it when you arrive. However, if you can get some for a reasonable fee before you arrive it’s nice to not have to worry about ATMs right away. 100 pounds should be fine. Once you get to your hotel and put your bags in your room you can find an ATM on your walk around the area.
Again, if it’s hard or expensive you will be fine getting them there.

Assuming you are flying into Heathrow airport you can easily find ATMs.

You will probably pay a fee but odds are you will at your bank as well.
Carrying large amounts of cash is dangerous in that it can be stolen or lost and is non recoverable.
Getting credit cards stolen is a pain but you have protections should this happen vs getting cash stolen.
You can use credit cards for most things in London and most of England like you can in the US.

But cash is sometimes simpler (like in taxis for instance)

The above is not opinion it is basic facts.
You have to ask yourself how comfortable you are with the various points above. As you are the only person that can answer this.

Personally I took some the first time and didn’t the second based on the cost my bank wanted to charge me to get foreign money. But that was just me.

Also other locations maybe harder to get cash at, Arrival in Paris from London (via train) I had to find an ATM outside the station as at that point for whatever reason the station did not have ATMs.

I also plan on getting british pounds before the trip at my bank, probably a few hundred. My bank also charges a fee, but after landing in Zurich once with all the ATM's out of commission and no processing of credit cards payments do to a problem with the airport system, I was one of three people who were able to buy a train ticket and leave the airport on the next departing train...better safe than sorry...

hey hey laurenarky24
you will get lots of answers about yes and no, some may be nice and some not.
i always get about 100 to 200 of country money from my local bank before going. learned the hard way once and that was enough. years ago to rome, at airport one ATM out of order and line for other was sooooooo long. many of ATM's (bancomat) in airports have become travelex that charges big fees. my own opinion, if it cost me a few bucks ($10-30) here in the states it is worth my stress level and start a happy vacation. you have money in your pocket, and can get to an ATM in the towm when you need more pounds.
it's your decision, what suits your fancy, two in the hand is worth one in the bush.
aloha

As said above, the opinions are going to be mixed. I vote no.

Here’s my reasons:

1. The UK is almost cashless, especially London. Paying by contactless card is the norm for small purchases. I didn’t use cash at all for anything in London and I only got cash in Liverpool because there are a couple of late night rock clubs that seriously frown on American credit cards.

2. The banknotes have changed over the past couple of years. If your local bank has the old paper £5 and £10 notes sitting in a vault, they’re not going to be of any use to you. Also, £50 notes can be difficult to spend.

However, if you’re going to be worrying about it during the whole flight over, then go ahead and do it.

We are here and I did end up exchanging enough to get 205 pounds. So far only used them for tips. Already on day one spent 30 pounds in tips (15 was to driver from airport) we didn’t know what was custom and it was a good 45 min drive I think. We didn’t pay for it well our package included the personal transfer.

Wow things are expensive. We popped into a cafe for a quick snack before Madame Tussaud and spent 40 Pounds. Then dinner for three at maxwells in covent garden was 50 pounds which seemed low compared to our snack charge!

Why bring sand to the beach?

Plenty of cash machines when you arrive.

I wouldn't want to leave my arrival airport without some cash in hand. I prefer arriving with some because I know I'll want to get out of the airport ASAP.

If this is your first visit, don't forget to tell your credit card and bank card issuers when you'll be there to make sure their software doesn't see your first UK use as fraud and blocks the account.

Cash is not necessary in order to leave the airport.

Even overpriced London cabs accept credit cards as do the ticket machines for the Tube and train to London Paddington.

Credit cards can fail,
Accounts can be blocked in error if the computer thinks fraud is in play;
Machines/ATMs have been known to eat cards.
Cash never fails. It always works.

Then take out cash from the cash machine at the airport.

It is very easy to travel with more than one credit card in case a rare instance occurs in which a credit card fails. I have been traveling overseas for over 35 years and as long as I have had credit cards, I have never had one fail on me while traveling.

Knock on wood! 😊