Moving to USA in 2 months: Pound to devalue between now and then?

faust-yusov

I've just today read that the pound is expected to fall from $1.6 to $1.5 in the near future (rough figures).

I am in fact moving to the states in roughly 2 months time, and am thinking it would be wise to transfer what savings I can into dollars now, while the pound is still strong.

Naturally I'd rather not do this with cash, so I was considering transferring as much as I can onto my FairFX card. Their exchange rate is hardly stellar (~$1.57) but it seems to me the best option.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan to you folks? Or are there any other options you can think of?

Thanks in advance,

f-y.

faust-yusov

PS. Have I selected the most appropriate forum for this? Was not entirely sure.

iceburn

How much money roughly are u thinking of transfering. If in £1k+ range than might be better to use money transfer speciality. Over £5k would be better to use them. Here is article that explain it

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/foreign-currency-exchange

One good thing of speciality company is you can fix the exchange rate at today rate but with option to use future exchange rate if better at a later date. There is a small charge for this but might be worth paying it when talking about risk with big money

Voyager2002

I can't comment on the timing. I will say that you would do much better with a transfer into a US dollar bank account, roughly in the way that Iceburn explains. You could open a dollar account with (for example) Citibank in London. They would exchange your pounds for dollars at a reasonable exchange rate, but you could do a good deal better with a speciality company, asking them to pay the funds into your dollar account. Oh: if you later opened a Citibank account in the USA, you could move funds there from your account in London instantly and at zero cost.

neilbond007

I moved over 2 1/2 years ago. When I paid the deposit on my house I was getting $1.35 to the pound. When I needed to transfer money I got $1.51 and then $1.70.
I've been looking at the $ rate for the last 3 years. No one knows what the rate will do in the future. They're all basically guessing.

Here's a good website to get the best rates for money transfer - http://www.fxcompared.com/
I used TorFX both times and they were superb. I've since read they are run by some people who ran Crown Currency Exchange...

faust-yusov

Thank-you for the advice! I will look into getting a CitiBank account, and (subesequently) into speciality transfers.

Best,

f-y.