Dollars

tinkerbell212

What's the best way to take money for a holiday. Use the till whilst I'm there? Or take traveller cheques? Or take dollars?
Any help greatly appreciated.

Nordictat2

I go to the US every year and when we started out..we would get all the money converted into USD but now we usually just hit the ATM a few times and take out big sums during the trip. It works out better for us that way. We sometimes have a bit of left over dollars from the last trip as it is good to have a little bit of cash on you once ya land BUT not a big deal 8to us) if you don't have any til you land.

Mich81

I usually change over a small amount of money into $ for the taxi from airport/first day - and then use a prepaid card like fairfx which I top up throughout the year for spending money.

dzug1

Depends what you mean by 'best' - cheapest or most convenient or a combination of the two.

Really do whatever you are most comfortable with. Pesronally I take a bit of cash without worrying too much about where it comes from and put most spending on my CC. If I run out of cash debit card in ATM. I'm becoming tempted by the fairfx card - they (prepaid cards) were poor value when they first came out but have become quite attractive with competition.

TCs - cumbersome and expensive, particularly changing back. These days they have few advantages.

But all of those ways have differing costs depending on the provider.

AJUK_3

Whatever you do, don't take traveller's cheques! Actually I should say, it might depend on where you are going. I made the mistake of taking travellers cheques when I travelled across europe several years ago. I had a very hard time finding places willing to cash them for me and some wanted to charge a fee. I have heard from friends that it has gotten even worse over the years.

stephb34

I personally wouldnt take tcheques either too much hassle, i take local currency of wherever im going, thomas cook prepaid cash card, nationwide debit card and my credit card incase of emergencies.

torbrex

I go to America every year and take a combination of cash and CC, I have figured out over the years that I will spend an average of roughly $30 a day cash and everything else just goes on my card, excursions, fuel, hotels, main meal of the day etc.
You get the best exchange rate using the card and I have been using the Nationwide Visa with its no charges policy, though that has come to an end, it is still cheaper that currency or ATM withdrawal charges.

Dan_S_3

Cash only here.
I prefer to have cash on me at all times rather than having to worry about finding an atm etc