Great Britain: How Many Pounds to Order Before I depart?

It's a personal preference, but I like landing with 50-100 worth of the local currency. My rule of thumb is, I want to be able to get to my accommodation, and some food. Then ATM for the rest of the way. But, that's my rule of thumb at home too and I never leave home without that much USD cash. Everyone's different but that's my comfort level.

ATM's are plentiful in the UK. I like to take enough pounds to get me from the airport to my hotel and out on the street the next morning. I usually take 100 pounds or so. There are ATM's in the airports, of course. But, the last thing I want to do after a flight is look for one. About ATM cards: Call your card issuer in advance and provide the dates of your travel. Otherwise, first use of the card in the UK is likely to be flagged as bogus. They'll block your account. Also, consider asking them to boost your daily withdraw limit for the duration of the trip. That will come in handy. The UK is not cheap.

I'm of the "why buy money beforehand when there are ATM's at every corner" crowd. But everyone has their comfort level. Since buying pounds in the US is more expensive than using the local ATM, only buy about $100 worth if you decide to take some with you.

Bradford,
I'm another person who prefers to have a day or two of pocket money on hand before I leave. If you're going to the trouble of ordering money at home anyway, see if your bank can get you smaller denominations. I always fought with my American Express exchange bureau because they tried to pawn off all their 20GBP and 50GBP notes on me. I find having smaller denominations on hand, especially one and two pound coins if you can get them, were much easier to use if I just wanted to order a coffee or purchase a street map upon arrival.

I usually get about $100 worth of GBP on arrival at the airport. That is enough for me to get into town, get myself a bite to eat, and get to wherever I am staying. After that, I use ATMs as I need them. To me, at least in the UK, there isn't really a reason to get a bunch of cash before you get there as ATMs are ubiquitous and seemingly everywhere. But as a previous poster mentioned, its all in your comfort level. I should also echo what Matt just said - try and get some smaller denominations. While they will usually be accepted, you might get a funny look or two if you try and pay for a 2GBP coffee with a 50GBP note! Enjoy your trip!

I've had good luck at American Express (I am not a card holder) as far as getting decent denominations and a reasonable exchange/fee. Ordering money through AAA doesn't appeal to me, and traveller's cheques are now plastic cards you have to pay to load or use as an ATM. If you are near a major city or a university town, you may have a bank that has pounds on hand. I would suggest having some cash to start out with and then work with ATMs and credit cards. Some times it is hard to figure out where you can use your ATM and what network they are on, but your bank may have some actual locations for you.

I never exchange money before I travel to London. Too much of a hassle and not worth the fees charged. Here's what I suggest you do. Arrive Heathrow, after going through immigration stop at an airport ATM and take out 50 pounds. Buy a Timeout Magazine (good resource as to what's on and where AND you break up a bill), then walk over to the Heathrow Express station. Use a credit card to purchase your ticket from a kiosk and board the train. 15 minutes later you're at Paddington Station. NOT going to argue if this is a cost saver, it's not BUT it's the quickest way into London and that's a personal preference for me. Getting into London quickly so I can enjoy it! At Paddington walk over to the Underground station, go to the manned ticket booth and put 30 pounds on an Oyster Card. Look at the Large Tube Map on the wall and figure out which line is going to get you closest to your accommodation. Hop on the tube and away you go. Check in, freshen up, make sure you're wearing your money belt, ask the hotel staff or B n B owners where the closest Bank ATM is located, head out the door and get what ever amount you wish to carry while you explore London.
Easy Peasy.

It hasn't been worth the effort for me to order money before leaving. Years ago, on my first trip, I took dollars and exchanged them. Others on my trip just took money from the ATM when we got there. The next time, I had some dollars just in case I, but I paid for my Oyster card with a credit card and got money from an ATM when I got to where I was staying. There's enough money on my Oyster to get me where I'm going next time, and I have a few GBPs in cash as well.

I definitely do not recommend exchanging any money before leaving US. There are ATMs at every airport and train station or there is a bank ATM close by where you can use your debit card to get some pounds sterling. I assume you are travelling with debit card, as that is the only way to go to secure currency while travelling.

I have gone to Europe every summer for at least 10 years and always wait until I land at my final destination airport to get local currency. I have a debit card tied to a checking account from a credit union that marks up the withdrawal by 1% and that is the only fee I have to pay. I have compared prices/exchange rates here in the US from various sources and none come close to what I can get over there using an ATM machine when I arrive. I have never had a problem finding multiple ATM machines at my arrival airport and I certainly do not stress out worrying about it. Happy travels

We always order foreign currency through Bank of America prior to any trips. We prefer not to be tied to daily ATM visits especially when we usually need pounds, Euros, South African Rand and/or Turkish Lira. We have been blindsided and both our ATM and CapitalOne visa cards blocked even though we notified and REMINDED BOTH of our foreign travels. It pays to have two credit cards and a stash of cash. Capital One is the worst offender. They have blocked the account the last 3 trips, with the weak excuse that they tried to call our home number to verify the purchases. HOME NUMBER!!?? DUH--we were in Istanbul. We've since dropped them. Good help is hard to find these days.....