Best way of taking money to the US?

StrugglingStudent

Hi,
I'm about to start studying in the US for a year as an exchange student
and was wondering what the best way of moving money from the UK to the US would be?
Initially I thought about getting one of the credit cards suggested for use abroad from this site and just sending over what I need for rent but I was rejected twice (by Halifax and Sainsburys).
What would be the best way of getting it all over without being exploited by fees?
Thanks.

P.s. In case it's of any use I currently have a Barclays student additions account.

Lith

A year you say?

Maybe Try HSBC - USA branches, draw out ya uk money change it to us dollars take it with you and get a usa bank?

im sure you can be accepted for an american bank seeing as ya there for a year.

StrugglingStudent

Lith wrote: »

A year you say?

Maybe Try HSBC - USA branches, draw out ya uk money change it to us dollars take it with you and get a usa bank?

im sure you can be accepted for an american bank seeing as ya there for a year.

I can do that initially but I'll be receiving money from my university and student finance to my account at regular intervals throughout the year.
I'd need a way of getting it across remotely.

Degenerate

There are a few current accounts with free debit card usage abroad. As a student you may not qualify for most of them, but you could try for a Norwich & Peterborough BS "Gold Light" account. This has no minimum income, it just requires 5 transactions a month to avoid a £5 low-usage fee. You have to be resident in the UK, but as a student studying abroad for a limited time period I think you could be argued to be "ordinarily resident" in the UK.

http://www.nandp.co.uk/current-account/gold-light-current-account/

lr1277

Some points you may not have thought of:

Please remember if you are taking $10000 or more into the US in whatever form, you haveto declare it on the customs form.

I am guessing you want a $ denominated account. As a student, it might be easy for you to get an account. When I tried to get an account there, it was difficult as I did not have a social security number. Or you could get a UK based dollar denominated account. HSBC and Citibank both do dollar accounts. Paying in might be difficult and they have different charging structures. May be of use to you?

Also remember the post office do a card for international transactions. 0% commission on all purchases. Also remember you can get £14 back if you get it through Quidco. I suppose this will only be useful if you are already a member.

HTH

suicidebob

Ask the Uni?

StrugglingStudent

lr1277 wrote: »

Some points you may not have thought of:

Please remember if you are taking $10000 or more into the US in whatever form, you haveto declare it on the customs form.

I am guessing you want a $ denominated account. As a student, it might be easy for you to get an account. When I tried to get an account there, it was difficult as I did not have a social security number. Or you could get a UK based dollar denominated account. HSBC and Citibank both do dollar accounts. Paying in might be difficult and they have different charging structures. May be of use to you?

Also remember the post office do a card for international transactions. 0% commission on all purchases. Also remember you can get £14 back if you get it through Quidco. I suppose this will only be useful if you are already a member.

HTH

Over the entire year I'll be taking in $23.5k total

lr1277

StrugglingStudent wrote: »

Over the entire year I'll be taking in $23.5k total

But at any one time will you be taking more than $10000 over? If so declare. I don't think there will be a problem as you are a student, but I would let the customs people know I had that much money.

I am slightly confused by your approach.

Do you want to pay the bills in dollars or pounds.
If pounds, then get a credit card and take over some cash in dollars.

If dollars, then you will need to take the money over and open a 'checking' account. Shouldn't be a problem as you are a student.

As another poster suggested, contact the university/college for their advice. They might know of local banks that will allow you to open checking accounts before you enter the country and start your course.

StrugglingStudent

lr1277 wrote: »

But at any one time will you be taking more than $10000 over? If so declare. I don't think there will be a problem as you are a student, but I would let the customs people know I had that much money.

I am slightly confused by your approach.

Do you want to pay the bills in dollars or pounds.
If pounds, then get a credit card and take over some cash in dollars.

If dollars, then you will need to take the money over and open a 'checking' account. Shouldn't be a problem as you are a student.

As another poster suggested, contact the university/college for their advice. They might know of local banks that will allow you to open checking accounts before you enter the country and start your course.

I'll be paying for everything in dollars and I'll be moving over around $7000 at a time.
Also, they've suggested some banks to open checking accounts with but have mentioned nothing of how to actually get the money overseas.
I'm really just looking for a way to get the best exchange rate and lowest fees associated with sending money over.

lr1277

StrugglingStudent wrote: »

I'll be paying for everything in dollars and I'll be moving over around $7000 at a time.
Also, they've suggested some banks to open checking accounts with but have mentioned nothing of how to actually get the money overseas.
I'm really just looking for a way to get the best exchange rate and lowest fees associated with sending money over.

As I see it you have a few options, but you may be better of asking your question on the flights, currency board, under the holiday board.

However what I know:
1) My bank will transfer the money. The more I transfer, the better the exchange rate. Then there are a few fees including a fee if you want a set amount to arrive in the US and a few others. Worth checking with your bank.
2) You can use the money transfer sites. Worth asking elsewhere on this forum as I have never used them. However they are meant to give a good rate. Also if you think the rate is going to get worse over the next year, then you can organise transfers in the future at a fixed rate. Not sure how competitive these transfers are.

You need to take a view on the way the exchange rates are going to move over the next year. I suspect this is more important than fees.

Again you might find the currency, flights... board useful. I found by reading this, you can get people's expectations of the way currencies (especially the dollar) will move. No guarantees of course, but this may help form your own view.

HTH

Degenerate

lr1277 wrote: »

You need to take a view on the way the exchange rates are going to move over the next year. I suspect this is more important than fees.

Trying to second-guess the currency markets to time a big transfer is a a risky strategy that could just as likely result in loss as gain. The best hedge against currency movements is to spread the conversion out in smaller transactions over the year and thereby average things out.