US ($) Currency Thread 2

photome

sscrabble wrote: »

did not get a reply from anyone so trying again !!

Would the most economical way to change money in the USA (Vegas) be to take pounds and change at a booth there ? - my thinking being that if I change money and have lots left over I have to change it back and lose both ways , so if I change it as I need it i would be better off even if I lose a couple of cents on the pound at the booth ?

I also didnt answer because i didnt know what you meant by booth.

The most economical ways are withdrawing from an ATM with the best Credit Cards or a prepaid card

The travelmoneymaximiser will help you with the best cards

For me, this year it is the Halifax Clarity

AS Luci says you can use a Casino cage and if you are taking cash that is your best option, but not as econimical as the other options

sscrabble

I understand the cage not being the most economical if you lose the money , but my point is if I changed say $2000 and still had the $2000 when I came back ( being an optimist! ) , then I would lose on the transfer into $ and again on the transfer back into £ - so am I not better taking £ and changing £100 at a time - if I am lucky I might get by just changing a few hundred pounds that way ?

jackieblack

I'd think 'not as economical' means you wouldn't get a particularly good rate of exchange - fewer $ for your £

photome

sscrabble wrote: »

I understand the cage not being the most economical if you lose the money , but my point is if I changed say $2000 and still had the $2000 when I came back ( being an optimist! ) , then I would lose on the transfer into $ and again on the transfer back into £ - so am I not better taking £ and changing £100 at a time - if I am lucky I might get by just changing a few hundred pounds that way ?

Why not take a card and withdraw £500 a time. If you keep winning you wont need to withdraw any more and if you lose..well you lose and you withdraw some more!

Your first post asked which is the most economical way, Not what if I win in Vegas? that is just speculation!

You could gain if you sold your dollars to a friend on return

neilbond007

Afternoon all!

Decent day today. Up to 1.6435. Been a decent couple of weeks

scottishminnie

I'm curious about the Citibank US $ current account. We make 2/3 trips to the US each year and I would happily hold a $ account as it would mean carrying much less cash.

I'd only be interested in a $ account though as I'm definitely not looking for another sterling account so wondered if I could open the Citibank account and fund it by SWIFT transfer from my RBS or BoS current accounts?

If I could that would work well, I'd simply transfer in funds 3 or 4 times a year and then could use my Citibank debit card in the US for purchases and to make cash withdrawals. Sounds a bit too good to be true though.......................


The $ rate is looking better however it doesn't seem to be translating into an improvement for travellers unfortunately:(

FluffyFiFi

scottishminnie wrote: »

I'm curious about the Citibank US $ current account. We make 2/3 trips to the US each year and I would happily hold a $ account as it would mean carrying much less cash.

I'd only be interested in a $ account though as I'm definitely not looking for another sterling account so wondered if I could open the Citibank account and fund it by SWIFT transfer from my RBS or BoS current accounts?

If I could that would work well, I'd simply transfer in funds 3 or 4 times a year and then could use my Citibank debit card in the US for purchases and to make cash withdrawals. Sounds a bit too good to be true though.......................


The $ rate is looking better however it doesn't seem to be translating into an improvement for travellers unfortunately:(

I've just opened the $ account with Citibank and they haven't asked me to open a stirling one as well so when I get all my details through I will see how I can fund the account. My concern is they will charge a conversion fee which will make the account an expensive option. However, I don't know at the moment as they haven't sent me our cards and account number through yet.

scottishminnie

FluffyFiFi wrote: »

I've just opened the $ account with Citibank and they haven't asked me to open a stirling one as well so when I get all my details through I will see how I can fund the account. My concern is they will charge a conversion fee which will make the account an expensive option. However, I don't know at the moment as they haven't sent me our cards and account number through yet.

You should be able to send a US $ transfer from your sterling account elsewhere. Your sterling bank will make the conversion charges but from memory you can opt to pay all the charges at the sterling end so you know that if you request a $5000 transfer then it would be $5000 which arrived in your Citibank account.
I can't remember what BoS charges but RBS are a £20 fee no matter what the amount is on a Royworld Economy transfer although you would have a little more to pay on the receiving bank charges but still to RBS if that makes sense


I will need to work out the costs however was thinking if there is no charge for debit card transactions in the US and no charge for cash withdrawals at certain ATM's then it may work out cheaper (and safer) than carrying cash and using my UK credit card.

I'll go on to their website and see if they can send me some info - I'm a dinosaur and prefer to read the small print on paper:)

sabretoothtigger

Sterling Index At 1500 GMT
 
      (JAN 2005=100)     INDEX      GBP/USD     EUR/GBP 
     PREVIOUS CLOSE      79.4       1.6219      0.8768 
               OPEN      79.0       1.6272      0.8819 
              10 AM      78.9       1.6244      0.8843 
               NOON      78.8       1.6254      0.8848 
               2 PM      79.1       1.6228      0.8793 
               4 PM      79.0       1.6142      0.8785 
 

August 10, 2011 11:01 ET (15:01 GMT)

neilbond007

I'm over in England in a couple of weeks. Let's see the $ get a little stronger until then hey?