Buying holiday currency

[rebby]

We're going to America soon - and I'm wondering what other people find the easiest thing to do with money - I'm going to get a small amount of US $ in cash but when it comes to repleinishing our funds was thinking about either: getting travellers cheques, or getting cash from an ATM when we need it. Any ideas which would be the most practical, or of any other way?

[STAH]

I would ensure that you take a credit card for purchases. Visa, MasterCard, AmEx and Diners are widely accepted all over the States; it is more secure than cash and you invariably get a better exchange rate.

Cash should only be used for taxis and for tipping etc. Keep carrying dollars to an absolute minumum. You could take travellers cheques, however the encashing bank in Amercia may impose a comission fee and you will need a form of photographic ID (ie driving licence or passport).

Cash machines are widely available in the states. You will have to check with your UK bank what sort of charges they impose for overseas transactions. Some do levy a commission fee for cash withdrawals; others don't.

Have a good trip and enjoy yourselves! I hope that this helps you in some way another!

[Uzoma]

I think that everything STAH said is fairly accurate plus - most places do accept travellers cheques instead of cash & will give you change as well. It's worth bearing in mind that Visa & Mastercard credit cards offer a guarantee for some items lost, stolen or not received if you use them to buy things instead of cash.

[goldfish1]

If you've time open a Flexaccount with the Nationwide and deposit some funds in there. Nationwide don't charge for cash withdrawals on overseas transactions (as long as you have sufficient funds). The Nationwide credit card allows you to make transactions without charges as long as you use it for purchasing goods and not for cash withdrawals. With the credit card, you don't get as long to pay the bill as with some card providers.

Enjoy the trip.

[evo_Rizla]

After going to the states and canada this year i vowed i'd never bother with travelers checks again, most banks seemed to require passports to cash them which i never liked carrying around all day with me, and i liked making a special journey to exchange cash even less.

Next states trip i'll definitly be using my bank card for cash, although esp. in canada it did seem some areas were predominantly mastercard only and some areas visa only.

One thing i have seen advertised and will look into before i go again is the american express traverlers check cashpoint card http://www.americanexpress.com/uk/tcc/index.shtml