Hello,
I am going to be traveling to London soon! I'll be there for two weeks. Here is my main question:
Can I get by with using my credit card for every purchase? Or is it wise to bring a little cash, too?
My credit union provides foreign currency without any charge, so I am thinking about bringing about $50 in pounds.
I appreciate your advice!
Linda
Based on my recent experience, I would bring some cash. Pounds, not dollars.
This is from the trip report for my Oct. 2024 trip:
CASH OR CARD: So, it’s always card only, until you need cash. We needed coins for some of the toilets as the card readers never seemed to be working. Luckily, I had some coins left over from a previous trip to the UK because no one seemed to have coins. I thought for sure I’d be able to trade some of my paper British pounds for coins at the post office, but they said they couldn’t do it. The hotel had no coins to trade us as they are cashless. So, if you get your hands on some coins, keep them!
This gets asked quite a lot - here are a couple recent discussions:
The short answer - rarely will you need cash, but if you did you can go to an ATM when you get there.
On the last several trips to London, we’ve used our credit cards (or smartphone, with that card loaded into the Wallet on it) for almost every purchase, including restaurants, merchandise, and Tube and bus tap-to-pay fares. Didn’t use cash at all the last trip, last month. However, there are places there that don’t take credit cards, and if you also decided to make a donation in the box at any of the otherwise free museums in London, you’d need cash.
Having said that, you’ll easily find times and places where you’ll be able to spend $50 (£37) over those two weeks, so if it doesn’t cost you anything extra at your CU, bring that amount of pounds with you. If you used your CU debit card at an ATM in London, would there be fees?
Get a small amount at a bank ATM in London.
In March I spent £9 at a laundromat and put a few pounds in the collection plate at a church. The only other place where I could have spent GBPs was £15 on a London Walks, although they did take my credit card.
I don't agree that you will easily find places to spend cash in London.
We were there for 5 days in 2022 and never obtained any pounds. Even paid a few pence via credit card for the bathroom.
I travel to London 4-5 times a year, and I have the same £20 note in my wallet that I've had for several years. Not only should you not need cash, but you'll get some strange looks if you try to pay either cash. There are card-only places, but they are still a minority. Cyn is right though in that you will be able to spend cash if you have it - people might think it's a bit odd, but most places will still accept it (just be aware they may not have change).
I would recommend you bring a backup credit and/or debit card in case you have problems with your main card.
I agree. I left London yesterday and I'll be back in a week. I spend a good deal of time there.
I haven't used cash in a few years. But....I do have some Pounds in cash just in case. If there's no fee involved, get yourself 50 GBP. You can always spend it.
By all means bring up to £50 - but do not bring a £50 bill!!! if the Credit Union can't supply £5, £10 or £20 notes don't bother.
EDITED after Wasleys reminder below - MAKE SURE THEY ARE "PLASTIC" not paper. Charles notes are strill rare, Elizabeths of the final design are still valid. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/current-banknotes
I was just in London, and I made the mistake of getting £100 from an ATM, thinking I can always spend it.
I actually struggled to find places to spend it. A lot of places are cashless.
The only things for which cash was useful in London was tipping, if you do any guided tours, for housekeeping at your hotel, and at restaurants, where it's unnecessary but nice to leave a small amount.
I have the same £20 note in my wallet that I've had for several years.
Simon, if that is a paper note and not one of the new polymer notes, they went out of circulation in 2022...
Linda, you can always get small change by going into a shop and use a £5 or £10 note to buy coffee or bar of chocolate. DON'T bring dollars....
We were there in 2023, one week traveling in the countryside, one week in London. Never used any cash.
We’ve been living in London for the last couple of years and while the “no cash - it’s all tap to pay” advice is valid, it comes with a few caveats.
Bathrooms: as someone has mentioned.
Food stalls: at smaller food festivals/markets (like the Saturday food bash at Duke of York Square) there are more than a few vendors who prefer cash, and will make that plain - sometimes with a sign, and sometimes by just asking you when you pay. They have a card reader 99% of the time, but this is a real phenomenon.
Black cabs: I’d say a minimum of 20% of black cabs have a sign posted saying they “will accept” cards but “prefer cash,” or some variation of that. Again, 99% of the time they do have a card reader, but prefer cash. Additionally, paying cash can often score you a small discount, i.e., the driver will round down so you can pay with a note and he won’t have to break it to make change. :-)
This is all just to say that if you do get cash out of the ATM, you will likely be able to use it. Just… don’t withdraw very much.
Your credit union apparently doesn't charge a fee when it provides GB pounds, but that doesn't mean it gives you the interbank exchange rate. It may well charge 3% or 5% more than the interbank rate. The employees may well not know that is happening. The non-standard exchange rate won't amount to much if you just buy £50, but I wouldn't buy more than I expected to need without asking specifically, "How many dollars will I pay for £50?" and comparing the answer to the current value you find via Googling.
With respect to tipping in restaurants: A lot of places in the UK now present a bill with a 10% (or occasionally 12%) service charge included. Take a careful look at the bill to check on that. I found many servers were extremely honest, volunteering that there was a service charge already included if I asked about putting a tip on my credit card. This is probably a very new phenomenon; I observed it during seven weeks in Scotland and England, ending on June 25.
"Simon, if that is a paper note and not one of the new polymer notes, they went out of circulation in 2022"
Fortunately it's polymer. Not that I think I'm going to end up using it :)
If you withdraw money from an ATM once here, there is absolutely no need to pay for the privilege. Small shops like convenience stores may have machines that charge around £1.50 on top. Banks, large and medium size shops such as the "local" style supermarkets will not charge. Definitely do not use the ones at the airport. You may be asked or prompted "pay in pounds or your currency". Always pick local currency, ie, pounds for the best rate.
If there is already a service charge added to your bill, don't tip on top. It just encourages them to bump it up for the rest of us.
The advance of service charge percentages on bills has been gathering force for 2/3 years now. It's ubiquitous in London and fairly common in many restaurants around the country now. If there is a service charge indicated on the bill it wouldn't even cross my mind to offer anything else.
You received excellent advice.
When I travel to London I take a debit card, couple of credit cards and a few £’s. The latter for tipping and donations. Always leave a tip for the hotel cleaning staff and if entering a “ free “ museum I add to the donation box. Looking forward to seeing the newish bills with the Kings face. Keeping a 5£ note with the Queens face on it. Kinda historic.
Have a wonderful trip. Great city!!!!
Looking forward to seeing the newish bills with the Kings face
Still rarely rare. £5 notes the most seen as they wear out the quickest.
The free museums have tap to pay donation points. I've never paid to use the loo in London. Always make use of them when you stop at a cafe for refreshments, otherwise nip into one of the free museums or a department store. Failing that, just walk confidently into a pub or a hotel lobby.
I think it’s always a good idea to have some cash. I’ve twice in the UK run into a situation where businesses have said their card processing was down and they could only take cash. One was at a Costa Coffee where they had posted a warning sign about it, and quite a few entering prospective customers had to turn around and leave when they saw it. No problem for me as I had cash. The other was at a restaurant where they only told me this after we’d eaten and they brought the bill. That was a significant annoyance but I did have (just) enough cash. Of course, that’s not uniquely a British problem, it can happen anywhere.
