I am going to England soon ....flying from Seattle to London. I want to have some British pounds in my purse upon reaching the taxi rank there. Am I better off to get GBP at the money exchange in the airport in Seattle or wait till I clear customs at the airport at London? Or does it really make very little difference? I can take dollars with me to Seatac and bye the bye...where is a money exchange booth in the airport?
Thanks for any help in this earth shaking problem.....
MJB
Wait till you get to Heathrow, then get pounds from a bank ATM - not the Travelex machines. ATMs give you a better rate than an exchange booth.
Nancy is correct but if you want a few pounds in your pocket buy at Seatac. You will pay to 10 to 15% premium but I like having a little local currency just in case I cannot find a working ATM, my card doesn't for some reason, etc. NOW, I have never had any of those problems but I like backup.
Thee was a thread a few days ago that said all the ATMs were gone at Heatrow and all that was left were the Travelex gizmos.
Yup, the real ATMs are gone, replaced by what they call Cash Machines run by Travelex--same crappy ripoff rates as at the money exchange booth at Seatac. All the Heathrow Terminals have both live Travelex and/or Amex currency exchanges booths or the machines in the arrivals hall--makes no difference in the rate you pay. So you could just grit your teeth and get the money you'll need either at Seatac or at Heathrow, knowing you're paying a ridiculous markup and accepting it as the price of convenience. I'd do that if it was a small amount, but a cab ride is likely to be a pretty hefty amount.
If you want enough sterling for a cab ride from Heathrow into town, you're better off going to a main branch of your bank and getting sterling there. Still more than at a regular ATM but much less than at the Seatac or Travelex booths. Bank of America's downtown branch actually has pounds right there--my local branch has to order them. So check around and see whether your bank can get you set up before you go.
This is Mollie...
I found out this am that the British 20 pound notes that have Elgar on the back side are no longer being taken....I have two of them. They apparently can be copied by forgers easily so as of March are being taken out of circulation. If you have Adam Smith on the reverse side....you are the LUCKY one!
You can take the Elgars to the Bank of England and exchange them for valid cash though and that's just what all of us want to do with all that spare time we have on a well planned trip......
MJB
