Should I buy US Dollars now or wait?

Phil&Michelle

Booked to go to Disney World Florida for Christmas but not sure whether to get currency now or wait. I know its a much better now than a few months ago but it could go down again but on the other hand it goes up every time Trump sends a stupid tweet which seems to be quite frequent now :-)

MABLE

Phil&Michelle wrote: »

Booked to go to Disney World Florida for Christmas but not sure whether to get currency now or wait. I know its a much better now than a few months ago but it could go down again but on the other hand it goes up every time Trump sends a stupid tweet which seems to be quite frequent now :-)

Oh wait a minute. I'll get my crystal ball out and let you know.:rotfl:

jonesMUFCforever

Buy some now - get some more next month and again before you fly.

Average out the highs and lows of currency exchange rates.

Unless you want many thousands of dollars IMO this is the best course of action.

bigadaj

You can out most things on card in the states. So make sure you have two suitable credit cards, or add ons, and you shouldn't need much cash at all.

No one knows whether the exchange rate will be better or worse than now, but hanging into the cash you have available and earning a little interest on it will help either way.

takman

The best way to spend money abroad is to use a specialist credit, debit or prepaid card which allows you to make purchase and/or withdraw cash at an almost perfect exchange rate with no fees.

So I wouldn't exchange ant currency before you go considering you will always loose out and never get as good an exchange rate.

So just apply for your chosen card now and just pay for everything on card while your there and get the best exchange rate at the time.

realaledrinker

The FED are allowing some of their version of 'quantitive easing' aka printing money to lapse and there is talk of an increase in the prime rate before the year is out. As so the Bank of England's base rate, both of which should strengthen the respective currencies. As per my own crystal ball. I bought £1,000 of euros on my FairFX card a few weeks back so not the best font of knowledge on the subject!

eDicky

The chances of the GBP/USD rate going up or down between now and Christmas are 50:50. But if you 'buy US dollars', either in cash or by loading a US$ prepaid card, the rate will be a few points worse than the mid-market rate, putting your chances of an advantage in buying now of less than 50% when compared to keeping your money in pounds and using cards that give the ideal rate without fees when used at your destination. So in my view, the latter is always the best bet.

Phil&Michelle

Got us a Revolut card and they seem like a good option but going to hold out for a while to see if the rate moves.

Sarastro

You'll never beat the market so don't try - you should just exchange the money at the time you want it. Put as much as possible on one of the travel cards that don't charge stupid fees and take the smallest amount of cash possible.