We are off to Scotland the middle of August. Is there a bank ATM at the Glasgow airport? If more than one bank ATM, which has lowest fees/best exchange rate?
If you are unable to recommend an ATM at the Glasgow airport, do you have a recommendation for an in-town Glasgow ATM?
Thanks
First question is do you need much cash? A very small amount will probably be sufficient. Otherwise almost everywhere is contactless payment.
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-machine-atm-tips
There will be ATM at the airport ,likely on the Link network.
Some of these have a transaction fee generally less than £2 and that is stated on the start screen before you even enter a card
The fees will likely be determined by your own card provider/bank. At least that is true of UK based cards used abroad. Most ATM's in the UK are free use, so the fees are the foreign exchange conversion, and what your bank sets as useage fees. Any ATM charging for it's use has to clearly tell you that at the start of the transaction.
It is quite likely that the ATM's at the airport will charge a use fee because of the captive market. But if you are catching the airport express bus into the city that is contactless payment as is any shop at the airport.
So no need to exchange any money there.
In the first instance find out from your card provider/bank what their charges are.
Hi, wr630,
Whatever, you do, do not get money from one of those exchange booths (like Travelex) at the airport. You will definitely lose out on those transactions. As others have pointed out, the express bus in to town takes credit cards, so best to get to an ATM near where you are staying in town.
Look for an ATM at one of the major banks - Clydesdale, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, etc. None of these banks will charge you for a withdrawal using your US based debit card. Any charge would be initiated by your home bank. Check with your bank to find out if there is a charge for foreign ATM withdrawals. If there is, you may want to make as few withdrawals as possible while in Scotland. Some US banks will waive foreign ATM fees if you keep a certain amount of money on deposit. Some of those banks will limit you to a certain number of ATM transactions in a certain time period before they start charging you.
All of the banks in Scotland use the same exchange rate, which of course will vary from day to day. So one day you may withdraw 100 pounds and see that you have been charged $120.00, and the next day you may withdraw another 100 pounds and see that you have been billed $121.50.
As with anywhere else, be aware of your surroundings when using an outdoor ATM.
Best wishes for your holiday!
Mike (Auchterless)
^^Good advice from Mike.
I checked the Glasgow airport's website. Travelex has the money exchange business there. They have a staffed location (booth) and also ATMs. https://www.glasgowairport.com/at-the-airport/airport-services/currency/. The page doesn't state the fees charged by the ATMs but it would not surprise me if there are fees, and perhaps an exchange rate inferior to what you'd get at an ATM in a Glasgow bank. Travelex is there to maximize its profit and squeeze every pence it can from every transaction, so you'll pay something for the convenience of getting cash at the airport.
Wait till you can use an ATM in a bank, unless you absolutely positively need £££'s in cash before you can get to one. Under typical circumstances you shouldn't. You can use your credit cards for food, drinks, transportation, etc.
If you must use an ATM at the airport, their "service" page says:
We currently have ATM facilities available in available in Domestic
Arrivals, Departure lounge, International Baggage reclaim and
International Arrivals.
You might contact the airport to ask if all the airport ATMs are operated by Travelex. I suspect that they are but it can't hurt to ask.
Because the vast number of payments are paid by contactless credit/debit card these days you may find that you are taking home the vast majority of whatever cash you withdraw on landing.
Do you have a particular need for a lot of cash?
The bus in from the airport to downtown Glasgow takes (and that is likely requires) contactless cards. Andy can then find any bank ATM you wish in the city. Note a "money exchange" is not an "exchange" - it is the purchase of currency, and like all sales of goods and services the seller is making a profit. ATMs should allow for withdrawal of your funds as expressed in the local currency.
We were in Scotland for three weeks last June and the ONLY cash I used was with B&Bs that were cash-only. I think the Mousa Boat was cash only, as well. Otherwise, I was able to use my phone with GPAY, occasionally pulling out my physical credit card for places with very old machines, which were tap-and-pay, but not with a phone. Even a single beer or a postcard was GPAY, and many places wouldn't accept cash or would have to run next door to get change. Brought home a lot more cash than I wanted.
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I will wait until I get into Glasgow to go to an ATM.
I spent 16 weeks in Scotland n 2022. I used cash four times.....twice to get a haircut and twice in taxis. The only reason I used cash was because they didn't take cards. I actually had to go to an ATM to get cash.
By the way, depending on which bank you use, you may get Scottish pounds rather than British pounds. Technically, they are the same thing although some shops in England don't like to take them. (Mostly because the people in those shops have never seen Scottish pounds and think it's Monopoly money.)
So you need cash for taxis? Other than haircuts, where else?
Public transport is contactless?
It was surprising for those taxis to not take contactless. (And not anywhere you're going.)
Other than that, nowhere else. Every hotel, every restaurant, every cafe, every pub took contactless. I'm sure there are some B & B's or Guest Houses that want cash but I don't usually stay in those.
Oh, there was a restaurant in York whose credit card machine went down while I was there. Luckily I had some cash but they said I could go to an ATM if necessary.
Yes, public transport is contactless.
Frank II, thank you.
It occurred to me that cash may be necessary for tour guide tips. Let's say a walking tour or day trip bus tour where I'd guess 5 to 10 pounds per person would be appropriate. Is that too dear? So, I'd have to do the math and get enough to cover those contingencies. I always feel awful when a tip is prudent but I have no cash and a credit card isn't an option.
Some "coin of the realm" in your wallet is always a good thing. If we are using a private guide, we pay their fees etc. in cash. More than once we have had a barista that had problems working our credit card, it is called user error!!
a barista should never touch your card.
If it is contactless (it should be), just wave it over or tap it on the machine - yourself.
If it is chip and pin but not contactless - stone age - insert it in the bottom of the machine - yourself - and type your pin, yourself. When signalled, remove the card yourself.
If it is swipe and sign - dinosaurs - you can swipe it as well as they can and wait for the printout.
Never ever should any worker take your card away from you and try some hocus pocus.
Not to be tedious, but what do you folks tip for a walking tour or day bus tour?
Since a walking tour is generally 2 hours or so, I'd guess 5 pounds per person?
12-hour bus tour 10 pounds per person?
One Google search revealed 10-20 percent tip, which is a lot.
The other said 5 pounds would be adequate for either situation.
I've only done tours of cities by TI provided walks, Oxford, Cambridge, etc., - I never tipped because it is/was a council provided service, or an open bus tour of Edinburgh - wet, but you can't blame them for that, that's Scotland for you - and had a recording and no tip, or a Thames boat, recorded, no tip.
So I'm not much good for information. Other countries maybe different. Maybe not.
Just remembered - used to do London Walks, all over. Paid for a service, no tips, but saw Americans tipping. That was a few years ago so things may have changed with Americans. Or not.
Just remembered - used to do London Walks, all over. Paid for a
service, no tips, but saw Americans tipping. That was a few years ago
so things may have changed with Americans. Or not.
Nigel, that's interesting; I'm an American and never tipped London Walks guides. BTW thanks to the pandemic, London Walks has changed from "just show up" to "reserve your spot" although you don't pre-pay. And their guides now carry contactless card readers, although they also accept cash. https://www.walks.com/how/. I haven't researched walking tours in Edinburgh or Glasgow for my trip this spring; I'll look for information on how they accept payment.
On one of the Rabbies all day tours, I had an excellent guide who spent his break time chatting with me. Nothing about the tour but about Scottish independence. (Oh boy was he for it.)
At the end of the tour, I was the last person off the bus. I handed him a fiver and said have a pint on me. I was the only one who tipped.
If you feel the guide did an excellent job, tip up to 10% of the price of the tour. So 10 pounds per person on a two hour walking tour costing less than 50 pounds per person is extravagant.
Not sure if you know this but you never tip when ordering drinks in a pub or bar. It's not necessary to tip in a pub when you order food at the bar and they bring it to you.
Alright. I'll go with 5 on walking tours and 10 on all day bus tours. Something like that.
I suppose I'll take cash for this as it's uncertain to me if you can tip otherwise.
Maybe I'll feign a bad accent, like Mel Gibson.
This is not a tipping culture. If you want to tip, 10% is the max, not the minimum. You are not going to be chased down the street for leaving £5 on a £80 meal. Usually a meal is a handful of change, a delivery meal might be £30 to £50 and the tip to the driver is £1.
If however the tour is free there may be 'this was free, any donations accepted' at the end possibly with a hat passed around at which a tip is generally expected but usually it is something folding per group, not a fixed donation per head. By group, your group, you and friends or family not the entire group.
However, as Norteamericanos, there may be some more hidden expectation to tip as others may have tipped heavily before.
Rick has explained that the organizers of those "free" tours charge the guides something like 3 or 3.50 euros per person (this was years ago, so it may well be higher now). They certainly don't count a couple or a family as one person. If a couple or family hands the guide 5 euros, it's a losing proposition for the guide.
I don't like that business model, so I try to take regular tours. On the rare occasions when my only choice seems to be a "free" tour, I tip the guide 10 to 20 euros for a 90-minute tour, depending on its quality.
On paid tours costing in the 15 to 20 euro range, I'd normally tip 1 or 2 euros. I qualify for the senior rate with London Walks; I often just give the guide my discount, which I think is now 3 euros. That's excessive by UK standards, I know.
Not to be tedious, but what do you folks tip for a walking tour or day bus tour?
Nothing.
stroudy60, that's a rather tart response.
I think one of the biggest problem with Americans in the UK is the fact that the smallest note is 5 pounds. One pound is a coin. And to many Americans coins are just small change. It's not.
