Creating a dollar account for a trip abroad

kapowaz

I'm planning on travelling to the US early next year, and after various conversations with friends it has occurred to me that the exchange rate between dollar and pound could drop rather dramatically between now and then, pushing the overall cost of my trip significantly up. One friend who is also travelling at the same time as me said that he'd likely buy his dollars in advance (i.e. very soon) so as to be insulated from a probably drop in exchange rate, and I'm considering doing the same.

Now obviously exchanging a grand in sterling for dollars would result in me having a very large amount of cash floating about, and I'd rather not be in that situation. One suggestion another friend made was of opening a specific dollar bank account that I can make deposits to, where the exchange rate at the time I make any deposit is used, guaranteeing the dollar value of the contents. This would seem like a good idea, and it also got me thinking about another aspect of my trip.

Last time I visited I ended up paying a considerable surcharge on all cash withdrawals from my UK bank account, and so I was wondering if there are any UK banks that would offer a dollar account where you can use the account as if it were literally a US account, i.e. no international withdrawal fee.

Can anybody offer any advice on this? Banks that are worth investigating? Is this whole scheme very bad for reasons I've not considered (other than the possibility that the dollar could fall against the pound, which is a possibility even if I doubt it to be likely)?

dzug1

Buying dollars in advance means you buy and pay for them now for delivery just before you leave. Depending on the money market's view of future exchange rates you may get a very good rate for this.

Nationwide offer a current account (in ££) that doesn't charge for overseas withdrawals.

There are banks that offer what you want - can't remember which but someone else probably will. ISTR that they had quite a high minimum deposit which might rule them out for you. Sounds a bit like a sledgehammer to crack a nut to me.

Tojo_Ralph

kapowaz wrote: »

I'm planning on travelling to the US early next year, and after various conversations with friends it has occurred to me that the exchange rate between dollar and pound could drop rather dramatically between now and then.

Is this an old thread?