London/Scotland/Ireland Money Question

We have only been to Europe twice and each time in the past I went to AAA before and got currency for where we were going

I did this previously as well, but my local AAA doesn’t provide this service any longer (since Covid it seems). So for our trip this year we just visited ATMs and we needed very little cash. We were careful to use ATMs attached to actual banks and not those stand alone ones that charge higher fees. We have a Capitol One ATM/debit card that doesn’t charge fees (although the ATMs bank can still charge a fee). Maybe just have a good idea of what cash you’ll need immediately on arrival and plan accordingly (taxi cab maybe). We didn’t need any cash right away since we used public transport from Heathrow Airport. Maybe your local bank can get you foreign currency, but ours doesn’t.

For electrical outlets, you just need the little adapters, not a converter. The adapters are widely available and very inexpensive.

I always go to the bank and get 100 EUR or 100 GBP, just enough to get you through the airport, into your hotel and for your first few days. Then go to ATM's for the rest of the trip. I use less and less cash each time, though, as chip/pin machines become ubiquitous. But there will always be a need for cash (tips, hotels that require it, emergencies).

For plugs, most devices these days are dual voltage, but it is best to check. It will say right on the device somewhere "110-240V". If you don't see that, you will need a voltage converter as well as plug adapters.

Travel often to the UK and Eire. Always keep at least 10£ and €’s for return visits. Taxis take debit and credit cards. So does the Underground.

I’ll presume you are flying into Heathrow. The Heathrow Website addresses where ATM’s for cash withdrawals are located in each terminal.

DO NOT USE the TravelEx ATM’s. Use only bank ATMs.

Then again, if it eases your angst get some currencies before you depart the states.

Safe travels.

I was just in England for two weeks and hardly used any cash. In fact, some shopkeepers and bartenders seemed slightly annoyed when I did use it. If you have a no foreign transaction fee credit card that you can use to pay by tapping (the preferred method I saw everywhere in England), then you are pretty much good to go. As someone else said, it's always a good idea to have maybe about 100 pounds or slightly less handy just in case. Whether it's better to get that from an ATM or your bank depends on your bank and the type of fees they charge.

If you do plan on using a lot of cash, keep in mind that Scotland issues its own banknotes which are used interchangeably with Bank of England notes. You should spend any Scottish notes in Scotland though as they are not widely accepted in England. Yes, the Republic of Ireland uses Euros. Haven't been there in years so I can't say if they've moved to basically a cashless system like England has, but I do recall that at the time of my last visit they had stopped using the 1 and 2 cent coins, so if you have any of those laying around don't bother to take them with you.

Thank you so much, everyone!! This is all really helpful.

Remember that Northern Ireland is part of the UK and uses pounds. It’s the Republic of Ireland that uses Euros. You haven’t specified which bit you’re going to, so just be aware of the two currencies in use on the island of Ireland.

Peggy, RIck Steves sells a variety of adaptors, including those for the UK (which includes Ireland). https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/uk-power-adapter

If you are going to be there for a while and have multiple devices that will need to be charged, you might want to consider getting several UK adaptors, or buying a single adaptor that has multiple ports for USB-A and USB-C connections (like your phone, tablet, CPAP, hearing aid batteries, etc.) I just bought one yesterday (actually a set of 2) that contains multiple ports, which will be handy for my trip next year. They're on sale today (Amazon Prime Day) for around $15. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C27DSWHB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you both. We are going to be in southern Ireland (not the part that is in UK) so will need to consider euros as well as pounds.

On the electricity thing, thank you so much for the links - would the one on Amazon be all that I need? Why does it look so different than the one on the RS site? Sorry for being such a dunce about this! All we need to charge are our iPhones (older ones - 6s?), a laptop and iPad. I may stop by AAA to ask as well. When we were in France a few years ago, I recall just having one converter that I plugged into the socket and then plugged my charger into that. But it sounds like the UK is different?

I am assuming you're going to the UK first, then Ireland last. Consider getting some Pounds. Then before you go over to Ireland (by plane I also assume), exchange whatever pounds you have left for euro at an exchange kiosk. Yes, you get hosed on the rate, but it saves time and is convenient for small amounts. But you get hosed by AAA and your bank as well.

My bank will provide foreign currency, but on top of a 7-10% premium on the exchange rate, they charge a flat $15 fee per transaction for the service. If I wanted to buy pounds and euro, that would count as two transactions, thus $30.

Yes I bring some cash on me, enough to cover a taxi ride, one night hotel, and maybe some meal costs. I must be the only one who has bad luck with cards not working when you need them.

The Amazon adapter looks different because it has USB ports for your charging devices, not just the plugs. Yes, plugs are different in the UK versus France.

Thanks, Stan - all very very helpful! I like having some cash and yes, we are first going to the UK, then Ireland. Will look for an ADAPTER for the UK. Same one will work in Ireland, I assume?

I live in the UK and use almost completely zero cash. It is all tap and pay (up to £100) or credit card above that (credit cards give protection in the UK for purchases between £100 and £30,000 if things go wrong it is the law, Section 75), or usually I use Apple Pay and my wife uses Android Pay (usually no limits).

I have been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to remember what I last spent any cash on. I know it was something last week (first time in nearly a year) but I can't remember. It was something really insignificant but I can't remember. I do remember it was a £5 note from my wallet and it had mixed itself up with the Euro in my wallet which I sometimes use in Germany. I don't carry coins at all in the UK.

Hi Peggy, your trip sounds wonderful, I hope you're enjoying the planning!

I don't use a lot of cash over there but I do like it having it on me. We were in Iceland some years ago, went to pay for lunch and the card machine wasn't working; they could only take cash. We only had enough cash on us for one lunch so my sister and I shared a bowl of soup. Sad at the time, a smile worthy memory now. I say if it eases your mind, get some cash before you leave. Travel is like cooking, make it how you like it and don't worry about what others want you to do.

I now carry forward a bit of cash from trip to trip but wanted to pass on a warning that still catches me off guard. I have an ATM card (not debit or credit) that is only linked to one savings account at Wells Fargo. This is the card I travel with in order to pull cash from a machine in London or other places. What I have found is that for some reason, my basic, ATM Wells Fargo card does not work at airport ATMs. I've tried multiple airports and always verify the network is a match for my card but for some reason, I can only pull cash from machines "out in the wild". I usually go to a machine right outside a bank as it's a popular tip and feels safe.

TL;DR: If you try to pull cash at the airport and can't, try again at a machine in the city.

Thank you, Nigel and P&M! This is exactly my thinking as well: I never use cash here in the states, but do carry some "just in case" (like what happened to P&M in Iceland..) I'll see about getting a bit but not obsess if too difficult. Once again, I am so appreciative of all the wonderful, helpful people on the RS forum!

Peggy, for the record, your ATM card is a Debit card. If you want to confirm that, check with your bank. When you withdraw funds at any ATM, it debits that amount from your account. I’ll bet you could use it to pay at a shop or restaurant that accepts plastic, too, but I won’t guarantee that. There might be additional fees if you use your Debit/ATM card at a merchant, though, so you’d need to verify that with your bank.

Get some cash at an ATM after you’ve left the airport. If you need to pay a cabbie, see if a card is accepted. I’d avoid any ATM at the airport, as it’s likely tied to an exchange bureau m, not an actual bank, and will give you a poor exchange rate. Once in the city, find the neared bank ATM.

I'm with Nigel, I can't remember the last time I used cash in the UK, in fact I've found that I rarely take my wallet wth me when I leave the house as I always pay by phone. Taxi's take cards/contactless (I don't tip taxi drivers, it's not expected). There are only two places local to me that only accept cash, an Indian takeaway and a pizza restaurant both I suspect for tax evasion purposes.

I'm finding that more and more I don't need to take cash out when I'm travelling, the exception is the US with its pesky tipping obsession. I haven't used cash in Crete other than a €1 coin for the supermarket trolley and the same for Mallorca a couple of weeks ago. Germany is probably the only major European country where I would expect to have to withdraw some cash.

I spent a total of four months in the UK in the past year and returned to the US last week. The only places I needed cash were in a small city in Scotland. And that was only in taxis and to get a haircut.

They were honest and admitted they didn't want to report it.

More important was having either contactless credit cards or Apple Pay/Google Pay set up on your phone.

All really good to know - many thanks!