Buying USD

Cotta

Hi All,


Where are the best places to buy USD at present?


Thanks

stevie11

Cotta wrote: »

Hi All,


Where are the best places to buy USD at present?


Thanks

Good question, not a good time to buy is it Do you have a credit card that gives commission free transactions i.e. Halifax Clarity?
When are you going?

The reason I ask is if you have enough time to apply and receive such a credit card that will make things easier for you to get a better rate IMO.

The MSE web site has a holiday money checker in the travel section. That may be a good starting point for rates. I got a small amount of currency recently from Debenhams who will give a better rate compared to their normal rates if you have a Debenhams card.

Indout96

When are you actually going, if its next summer then a lot can happen and probably will before then.
If you need it now then all you can do is hunt around for the best rate. Just dont buy at the airport and once you have bought stop looking

NiftyDigits

Cotta wrote: »

Hi All,


Where are the best places to buy USD at present?


Thanks

https://revolut.com

Mr_Wangers_Wang

Having always used FairFx for multi country currency etc. I have just looked at your link, I have never heard of this card before but have a couple of questions.

1. Have you used it?
2. Whats the catch!

Aside from anything else, if this is a good as it looks, this is a an amazing find. Literally getting it right now.

Thank you

NiftyDigits

Mr_Wangers_Wang wrote: »

Having always used FairFx for multi country currency etc. I have just looked at your link, I have never heard of this card before but have a couple of questions.

1. Have you used it?
2. Whats the catch!

Aside from anything else, if this is a good as it looks, this is a an amazing find. Literally getting it right now.

Thank you

Catches are that you can only withdraw abroad £500 per month or the equivalent amount in foreign currency via ATM, Above that, a 2% charge is levied. No such restriction on purchases.
You can get around that limit by having more than one account.
Some people have noted at weekends, that the rate is slightly off. So best to do exchanges during the week.
Some currencies aren't exchanged at the full mid-market rate, such as Thai Baht and russian Rouble. Either way, you can check the rates via the application before exchanging/spending.

Spending with the Revolut multi-currency card in store or online is free. Using the Revolut app to transfer money is free. Withdrawing cash from an ATM with your Revolut multi-currency card is free for £500 (or equivalent) each calendar month after which there is a 2% charge.

Using Revolut to spend, transfer and exchange in a foreign currency is free for the first £5,000 / €6,000 / $6,000 (or equivalent) per calendar month. A 0.5% fee will apply to any further cross-currency transactions performed during the same calendar month.

Topping up via bank transfer within the Single Euro Payments Area is free. Topping up via bank transfer outside of SEPA may incur a third party fee, please reference our 'Top up via Transfer' page. SEPA comprises the 28 E.U. member states as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino.

Topping up via debit card in EUR or GBP is free. Supporting credit cards and top-ups in USD is expensive for us. We’re working to bring these costs down, but until then we have to charge:

- 1% per top-up with a credit card

- 3% per USD top-up with a debit card

- 4% (1% plus 3%) per USD top-up with a credit card.

In these cases, it might be cheaper for you to top up via bank transfer.

Revolut provides the real interbank exchange rate for 87 out of 90 currencies which work on the Revolut card. 3 of 90 currencies (THB/RUB/UAH) are difficult to provide and will be provided at the best available exchange rate.

Revolut only charges you a fee in line with our fair use policy and uses the best available exchange rate for every transaction.

Pauljo1

be carefully with FairFX when I used it in the USA merchants regularly transact say $150 on hold (covewrs tips), then when you pay only $120 the transaction is then closed on the $120 but until the transction is closed the extra $30 is "used" by the card so you cant spend it...... so running your card balance down to zero is impossible.

So card is ok for regular travelers to US, but for in frequent travelers totally usless and this cost eclipses anything you save on the better exchange rate.

Cotta

So the Clarity card is my best option? Does this allow me to get some actual physical currency from Halifax before I go abroad?

eDicky

Cotta wrote: »

So the Clarity card is my best option? Does this allow me to get some actual physical currency from Halifax before I go abroad?

No it doesn't. You just put it in an ATM in your arrival airport (or later) and get your cash that way. But the card itself can be used for virtually any payment in US (assuming that's your destination). If you want to buy dollars in advance use Revolut.

[Deleted User]

I get all my currency from Ramsdens pawnbrokers.

Todays USD rate is 1.2472.

Indout96

Pauljo1 wrote: »

be carefully with FairFX when I used it in the USA merchants regularly transact say $150 on hold (covewrs tips), then when you pay only $120 the transaction is then closed on the $120 but until the transction is closed the extra $30 is "used" by the card so you cant spend it...... so running your card balance down to zero is impossible.

So card is ok for regular travelers to US, but for in frequent travelers totally usless and this cost eclipses anything you save on the better exchange rate.

Been using FairFX since it started and never had this, just got back last week and my card is down to $3.11 and my wifes just over $12
They may not be the best rates about at the moment but never had a single problem. Thats why we still use them.