$13,500 Please help...

hertfordshirechap

I'm flying to New York on Jan 27th 2009 for surgery.
My question is simple; what is the cheapest way for me to pay the remaining cost of the surgery, $13,500 into the medical facilities HSBC account.
I have a HSBC bank account and HSBC credit card. I have the funds currently sat in my HSBC bank account.
Is it better to pay by bank transfer now? or in Jan or get dollars over here and take them over (i know i can only carry $10,000 into the USA), or even apply for some super new $ friendly credit card.....?
Any help / advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

GlennTheBaker

Nationwide FlexAccount and/or Nationwide Credit Card. Both have zero foreign exchange fee so very $ friendly.

hertfordshirechap

Thanks Glenn.

This may sound like a silly question but all banks, building society offer the same exchange rates?

Tojo_Ralph

hertfordshirechap wrote: »

This may sound like a silly question but all banks, building society offer the same exchange rates?

They may offer the same exchange rate, but the vast majority then apply a foreign exchange fee as mentioned.

The Nationwide do not charge this fee, hence the effective exchange rate is superior to just about all other exchange rates on offer via other Debit/Visa/Credit Cards.

dzug1

If you get a Nationwide card I doubt if you will get a credit limit as a new customer sufficient to cover that bill.

If your HSBC card will cover that much then I'd use it. (It will charge 2.75% unless they've changed that recently - some have been putting it up to 3%).

If it doesn't a bank transfer is likely to be the best way - it will probably cost around £20. I'm not sure how much they doctor the exchange rate.

Do TCs count against the $10K you can take into the US? If not, that's another way.

monkeyspanner

How about a cash back credit card.

Voyager2002

Firstly, ask HSBC directly. A large amount like that should enable you to benefit from wholesale rates, so see what they offer you.

Otherwise, open a Nationwide Flex account and get a debit card to go with it. Put your budget into the Flex account, and use the debit card to pay for your treatment.

Note that medical treatment is as good as or better than the USA in Cuba and the Philippines, but costs are a good deal lower.

robbie_save

hertfordshirechap wrote: »

I'm flying to New York on Jan 27th 2009 for surgery.
My question is simple; what is the cheapest way for me to pay the remaining cost of the surgery, $13,500 into the medical facilities HSBC account.
I have a HSBC bank account and HSBC credit card. I have the funds currently sat in my HSBC bank account.
Is it better to pay by bank transfer now? or in Jan or get dollars over here and take them over (i know i can only carry $10,000 into the USA), or even apply for some super new $ friendly credit card.....?
Any help / advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks

BEst in terms of no fees, no commission, and best exchange rates is to use a FOreign Currency Specialist.

They can also handle the transfer - find a list below.
http://www.whichwaytopay.com/compare-foreign-exchange-summary.asp

ALso with the exchange rates going bad for the pound would be better to move quickly.

Effectively you purchase the dollars at a good exchange rate (just below interbank spot rate) - the foreign currency is then transferred to the account in the US.

sheilanick

Agree with previous poster, you should be able to get a better rate than the published tourist rate. When we imported a car back in the days when it was fashionable, we arranged wholesale currency rate with the Co-op bank. The sum involved was around £8000