How to buy travellers cheques or foreign currency

rydan_3

Can anyone advise me where the best place to go to get the best price with the Euro travellers cheques I brought back from holiday

Thanks

SallyJayne_2

So I am none the wiser. I want euros on the 31st, is it better to use an atm or get them prior to the journey. Either way it seems that the commission will be 2.5% whatever anyone says

MarkyMarkD

The commission won't be 2.5% if you get the money from M&S, having withdrawn the cash in sterling from an ATM first.

bengal-stripe

Today’s rate at Marks & Sparks is € 1.417.
http://www.fxcorporation.co.uk/marksandspencer/exchange_rates.asp

The Visa Corporate rate is here:
http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp
Even taking into account a “spread” (bank fees) at 2.5 %, the rate is € 1.43.

Best rate you’ll get at Thomas with € 1.45:
http://www.thomasexchangeglobal.co.uk/

For every hundred quid, Thomas will give you € 3.30 more than M&S.

MarkyMarkD

bengal-stripe wrote:

The Visa Corporate rate is here:
http://corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_services/consumer_ex_rates.jsp
Even taking into account a “spread” (bank fees) at 2.5 %, the rate is € 1.43.

FWIW, the spread is the difference between the buy/sell prices, which isn't the same as the bank fees on a purchase (effectively) of euros.

But it's interesting to hear that the VISA rates are so good that it's still cheaper to buy on card than to get cash in the UK.

Withdrawing cash via an ATM abroad is probably still worse value than taking the readies from M&S, as the cash advance charges will apply on top of the 2.5% with many banks.

bengal-stripe

MarkyMarkD wrote:

FWIW, the spread is the difference between the buy/sell prices, which isn't the same as the bank fees on a purchase (effectively) of euros.

It’s the same thing. It will go in either direction at 2.5%, making a spread (bank fees) of 5%.

If you have a card in GBP buying EUR, your rate will be € 1.43.
If you have a card in EUR, buying GBP, your rate will be € 1.50.

If there are no bank fees the rate will be € 1.47, which is more or less, today‘s mid market (1.46512 at XE.com).

Bureau de Change might have the spread not dead-centre to either side of the mid-market rate. If they buy more of EUR, it might be worth selling them at an advantageous price, then they have to bank less.

General rule: the less the difference between "buying" and "selling", the better the rate.

gazhawkins

Some US cash machines do impose charges, even if you're using a Nationwide debit card. This is the policy of the local bank, not Nationwide.

Nationwide credit cards also have ZERO fees on PURCHASES only.

captain_planet

I've just got some Euros changed back to pounds, I know about the whole commision free myth but was still a little dissapointed when I only got £44.30 for 70 Euros instead of the genuine £47.84 accoring to http://www.xe.com

Also I bought my Euros from M&S, they asked me my name and address, as I don't give my personal deatils to companies like this (Big Brother doesn't like me) I asked why as I would rather not give them, she said they have to due to money laundering regulations, I looked this up and it is plain wrong, you don't have to, M&S shouldn't tell thier staff to (unknowingly) lie to their customers. Naturally I said I was called MR Smith with a very suspicious look on my face and she was happy with that.

Would someone who was going to launder money really give thier real name?!

Simmo_26

Can anybody give me advice regarding travellers cheques. My wife is going to USA in October and wants to know if she will get a better rate of exchange if she takes her travellers cheques in Sterling or Dollars. Can anybody help as I am going dizzy looking around the web.

bengal-stripe

Simmo_26 wrote:

My wife is going to USA in October and wants to know if she will get a better rate of exchange if she takes her travellers cheques in Sterling or Dollars

Americans are not used to foreign currencies. They treat them with great suspicion. Only very few banks in the main cities change money, none in the smaller places. Your wife will be lost with GBP traveller cheques (she’ll have to travel miles before she finds a bank who will change it).

On the other hand USD traveller cheques are accepted like cash. Buy something in a store, pay by traveller cheque and get the balance in cash.