Bank account for saving Japanese yen?

jasdev

Hi,
I'm planning a holiday next summer to go visit my girlfriend after her visa expires, and I'm keen to take advantage of the great pound:yen rate at the moment by saving up what I can and converting it whilst the rates are good.

If I'm lucky, the rates won't change much between now and then, but if I'm unlucky, the yen will become stronger and stronger and my pounds will buy less, so I'm keen to start stockpiling now.
However I can't afford to convert too much so I'm planning to convert it gradually as I can save up enough cash.

Short of changing money and keeping it under my mattress, are there any options on offer from the high street banks that won't cost me an arm and a leg?

grumbler

http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-Japan/250-GBP

Keep sending money to your gf and ask her to take care of your money until you visit her.

With the current interest rates it's not much better than keeping cash under mattress, but the rate is likely to be better than in banks or exchanges.

eDicky

Unless you have particular talent and insights into exchange rate movements and are on the way to a lucrative career in the forex trade, it is no use assuming that now is the time to buy and hold JPY. You could come out ahead, but you could easily loose instead. Better to make the best interest possible on your savings in GBP and prepare a fee-free way to take and convert them when (and if) you go - see the MSE travel money section.

Ballard

eDicky wrote: »

Unless you have particular talent and insights into exchange rate movements and are on the way to a lucrative career in the forex trade, it is no use assuming that now is the time to buy and hold JPY. You could come out ahead, but you could easily loose instead. Better to make the best interest possible on your savings in GBP and prepare a fee-free way to take and convert them when (and if) you go - see the MSE travel money section.

That's one way of looking at it but another would be that he can plan a budget with exchange rates as they are. In 12 months time he might not be able to afford the trip if the exchange rate goes radically against him. Of course, it might be the wrong idea to have purchased his Yen now but no one else in the world knows either.

agrinnall

grumbler wrote: »

Keep sending money to your gf and ask her to take care of your money until you visit her.

I suspect that the girlfriend is not actually in Japan at the moment as the OP intends to visit after her visa expires, which suggests she is in the UK (or out of Japan somewhere). Although it may still be possible to do what you suggest if she has an account in Japan that can be transferred to in her absence.

Pincher

Had a packaged holiday in Hokkaido recently, and the tour guide said credit cards were not that wide spread for smaller businesses.
Obviously the tourist traps all take credit cards.

Just in case you intend to bring physical cash in YEN, the landing declaration card wants you to declare how much. The tour guide said they are really sensitive about this, so you must declare the correct amount.

The exchange rate is insanely good.
The Chinese just had a National holiday in October, shopping the country dry.

£384 return London to Tokyo

https://www.airchina.co.uk/GB/GB/promotion/flights/

Travel Period from 05.01.2016 - 26.03.2016

They give you a free night of airport hotel if the flight transfer is less than 24 hours in Beijing. You get a FREE 72 Hour Transit VISA, just join the queue to the extreme left for immigration.

I've just been, but at this price, it's too cheap not to go.
Might bring my ski boots, and hire some skis.

xylophone

If your girlfriend is in the UK at the moment, have you asked her whether she has maintained her bank account in Japan?

Could you have your savings transferred to her account each month and she can give you the value when you arrive in Japan?

agrinnall

xylophone wrote: »

If your girlfriend is in the UK at the moment, have you asked her whether she has maintained her bank account in Japan?

Could you have your savings transferred to her account each month and she can give you the value when you arrive in Japan?

Which is what I said in post #5 in response to grumbler's post #2.

jasdev

Thanks for all the responses.

My girlfriend might still have her account in Japan. However, whilst I strongly hope that we will continue to be together, in the event we break up I might not continue to have access to my money! (I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad, I'm just trying to think pragmatically)

I haven't booked the flights yet but was thinking Lufthansa and Air France offered good value and short stopovers en route. Is Air China a comfortable airline?

I don't believe I have any special ability to predict forex movements but felt that if they do move against me then I'll be able to offset some of the adverse movements by gradually converting GBP into Yen so that the average exchange rate I get is better than what it might be 9 months from now.

grumbler

You can try hedging the FX risk by placing some financial bet. Is it called spread betting?

eproctophilia

the rate went down hey good call