Time to buy British pounds before travel?

Were you thinking of getting pounds at a bank?

I'm leaving three weeks from Thursday and I bought them early Friday morning after the vote. I ordered them from my bank. I would be doing this in a few weeks anyhow. I do believe that the market will correct itself. The exchange rate before the vote was $1.48 to 1 pound, the next day it was $1.38, now it is $1.37.

What you need to look at is the cost of changing your currency. I probably saved about $50 (I exchanged $1,000). Is it worth having your cash tied up in foreign currency for a couple of months to save whatever you would be saving? This is a question that you can best answer yourselves.

can you predict the future?

The more important questions is the rate and fees charged by your bank. Typically in the US that can be as high as 10, 12% so I doubt if you saved much.

I would not buy the currency, but I would consider paying amounts due for apartments, etc. early with my credit card to take advantage of the drop. Of course it could go lower, but it could also go higher, and it is nice to take advantage of the current rate.

There is huge financial and political turmoil here and I doubt that the GBP is going to recover any time soon. One thing markets don't like is uncertainty and the UK is as uncertain as it gets these days.

Look at your bank's charges and if you like the offer, get some pounds. I can't see the exchange rate recovering before your trip.

Unless you are in one of the 5 or 6 big US cities with access to good rates, I don't think it's possible to take advantage. There are some companies like Travelex that will deliver pounds (for "free") to your home at a rate of $1.51. But it is unlikely that you wouldn't be able to do better than that from an ATM when you arrive.

Tom_MN, which 5 or 6 big cities were you referring to? I'm traveling to Ireland in September/October...

I'm guessing he means places like NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles.....places that do a lot of international business. There are no good rates at banks anywhere near me in central IL even though Chicago is less than two hours away..

Yes, as mentioned, and also San Francisco. I can't get good rates where I live so don't think about it.

How much do you need? If you just need some "carry around" pocket cash, just wait and use an ATM at the airport. Make sure your credit card company, and bank, know that you'll be in the UK.