Travel money.

[Disney Frenhines]

Taking into account the terrible rates because of the Brexit fiasco I'm curious about where you get your travel money from and how you take it.
I spent some years working in a currency exchange bureau and it was an eye opener. I immediately learned not to get it from your bank and to shop around for rates, online is always best if you have the time before your trip. I worked for one of the most popular in one of its supermarket branches and it had one of the worst rates outside of an airport or TA, they rely on last minute travellers. I pop by regularly now I'm retired and I'm always gobsmacked by their rates, generally 3 cents less per GBP than online, doesn't sound a lot? Well that's $30 less per $1000 and that's a round of decent snacks for a family of four.
My advice is to get a currency card. Get it well ahead of time, ready to top up as soon as it hits a rate you are happy with. If you can, keep an eye on the political situation, since Boris lost that vote last night the GBP has gained a cent. Not being overtly political, but, if a second referendum were to be announced (not going to happen ) then we would probably see a decent rate rise as Brexit is bad for the economy. I'm not sure what a General Election would do, but, I doubt if it would be as detrimental as a No deal Brexit, which will be disasterous, so, if it carries on as it is with Boris' kamikaze attitude then think about getting your currency sorted now if you are going after October 31st, definitely keep an eye on the rates. I use Fairfx as a guide or one of the comparison sites.
Also, don't feel the need to get both currency and card top ups from the same provider and if buying cash online factor in postage. Many offer free postage, or free if you buy over a certain amount. The Post Office online is currently the best, so check it out, the rate is a tiny bit less than Fairfx, but, one charges postage, the other doesn't.
I hope this is useful to some who are new to buying currency and remember that you will get awful rates if you are selling it back, so it may be worth buying a few extra little souvenirs before you head to the airport, keeping enough for a meal or drinks before boarding, unless of course you know you will be returning to Disney, then keep hold of it. I have money from my last trip on my currency card and in cash and having bought them at a way better rate I'm glad I didnt spend them as every little bit helps.

 

[MichelinMan]

I wouldn't automatically assume that a no-deal scenario would result in a massive drop in the exchange rate. What the currency markets hate is uncertainty, and that is why the rate is so depressed at the moment. Once the markets know with certainty what is going to happen (either no-deal brexit, other sort of brexit, or even remain), I suspect that rates will recover again.

With regards where to get money from, I have an M&S credit card, and you can get a better rate at M&S Bank because of that. I usually take most of my money as cash, to avoid foreign currency transactions on a credit card. I know there are some cards that don't have a foreign currency transaction fee, but I don't really want another credit card.

 

[csimon]

No-Deal Brexit is uncertainty! All bets are off as to what's going to happen to the UK economy if we crash out. If there is an agreement made, or if Brexit is cancelled, we know where we stand.

I'm sure I've mentioned it before in other threads, but I'm actually off to California Disney on November 2nd. I haven't paid for my hotel yet (I'm at Candy Cane) and I think I'm going to do it now. There *might* be a slight improvement if there's positive news on October 31st but there won't be a massive improvement and IMO there's more likely to be bad news and a massive drop. I'm convinced in a No Deal scenario, sterling is going to go below parity with the dollar. Let's face it, No Deal is good for the USA.

Anyhow, back on topic, I have usually got my cash with Post Office online (far better rate online) but last month Tesco Online (for pickup at a local branch) beat the Post Office.

Initially I wasn't going to take much cash and just use credit card (I have a clean-rate no-foreign-fee credit card with Halifax) but again because of Brexit I thought it better to get cash at the exchange rate a month ago than use exchange rates in the first week of November. When I'm there I think I'll get a Disney gift card and put a sum on it and use that instead of fiddling around with actual cash.

 

[Jennisney]

I got £500 cash from post office the other day online and it was $600. Kinda makes me feel sick considering when I visited the US in 2008, £1 was almost $2 . We plan to get a currency card as well so hopefully the rates improve soon

 

[alanandline]

As for the rate falling below parity of we get no deal, my personal belief is this is quite possible to the Euro but my gut is 1.1 to dollar more likely. My guess is the country could not afford for a bigger run on the pound as a 10% fall in sterling means food going up by not much less, how much can people afford? So I think the Bank of England would have to step in and raise interest rates to shore up the pound.

However biggest thing is nobody knows.

Fee free overseas credit card or one of the newbies like a Starling are best way for much of your spending rather than taking thousands in cash. Take some cash of course

 

[starrysky]

I’ve been looking into currency for our upcoming trip and found of all the places I checked JohnLewis was coming up as the best rate.

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I got my currency last week when the rumours started about parliament being closed... the amount I got would be £40 less that this week so I'm glad that I jumped. Still a shocking exchange rate compared to a few years ago. The outlet shopping day isn't as much fun these days!

 

[Disney Frenhines]

After the fiasco for the government in the voting over the last two days the GBP has risen 1

I got my currency last week when the rumours started about parliament being closed... the amount I got would be £40 less that this week so I'm glad that I jumped. Still a shocking exchange rate compared to a few years ago. The outlet shopping day isn't as much fun these days!

I know what you mean, shopping is still fun, but, not the fun it was before the referendum. Thank goodness my AP gives me 20% off Disney shopping

At the weekend you could get $1.20 with Fairfx, that dropped to $1.18 on the return of Parliament on Tuesday, but, after BoJo losing 4 out of 4 votes in two days, it is becoming clear he probably won't be able to leave the EU with no deal. If this doesn't show how Brexit and how we leave affects the economy then nothing does.

Today the rate is $1.21with Fairfx, the best I can find. Compare that to $1.1695 in my local Tesco currency exchange just five minutes ago, I'm afraid I did say 'Bloody hell!' louder than I meant to, it trades under Tescos name, but, is actually a Travelex. The Euro is equally a shocking difference of 6 cents between Tesco/Travelex and Fairfx. The only place worse is the airport.

 

[Jennisney]

After the fiasco for the government in the voting over the last two days the GBP has risen 1


I know what you mean, shopping is still fun, but, not the fun it was before the referendum. Thank goodness my AP gives me 20% off Disney shopping

At the weekend you could get $1.20 with Fairfx, that dropped to $1.18 on the return of Parliament on Tuesday, but, after BoJo losing 4 out of 4 votes in two days, it is becoming clear he probably won't be able to leave the EU with no deal. If this doesn't show how Brexit and how we leave affects the economy then nothing does.

Today the rate is $1.21with Fairfx, the best I can find. Compare that to $1.1695 in my local Tesco currency exchange just five minutes ago, I'm afraid I did say 'Bloody hell!' louder than I meant to, it trades under Tescos name, but, is actually a Travelex. The Euro is equally a shocking difference of 6 cents between Tesco/Travelex and Fairfx. The only place worse is the airport.

I actually found the post office had the best deal when I got my dollars the other day which was shocking as usually there’s isn’t the best !! Ugh just hope it maybe goes up a bit more before we get the next lot of money on a currency card ! The $600 cash for £500 we got actually makes me want to cry !! But didn’t want to risk it going down anymore

 

[wayneg]

MSE is always a good start for finding best deals, although not everyone is on there, I looked yesterday and saw Thomas Cook was not showing. TC were giving by far the best rate recently, Interbank rate was 1.20, TC were giving 1.19. https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/
Personally I don't use cash anymore (I have $120 from past trips, probably take it and bring it back again) I use my Halifax Clarity card for everything with interbank rate.
Over the 50+ trips to the US we have had rates right up to over $2, gave up worrying about it years ago, some trips cost a little more, some a little less.
It's not always about the exchange rate, been to Turkey last 4 years, exchange rate this year was best ever at over 7 Lira per £1 but their inflation is at over 30% (officially less but media say higher) a steak meal last year cost £8, this year £11, a beer up from £2 to £2.60 even with a great exchange rate.

 

[Jude71]

I have used M&S click and collect for their best rate as a card holder and most recently have bought dollars from John Lewis with their partnership credit card. JL rates are usually one of the best and you also get points if you pay with their partnership card. We also use Halifax Clarity CC when abroad as there is no transaction fee and the rates are usually good, just don't get cash out with it!

 

[wayneg]

We also use Halifax Clarity CC when abroad as there is no transaction fee and the rates are usually good, just don't get cash out with it!

No problems drawing cash out abroad, no fees. As soon as the transaction goes thru I clear it off on the app. I drew out about £500 in Turkey earlier this year, zero fees and zero interest. You just need to find an ATM with no fees, Wawa gas station ATM's used to be free, not sure if they still are.

 

[Carol unsworth]

I have found John Lewis to be the best lately. We usually just charge everything to our room( staying on site at Universal or Disney) and get the business rate. This year we got all of our anticipated spending in cash when it was 1.3 to the pound. So glad we did. We will use gift cards which we will buy with our cash at Universal and Disney and cash anywhere else

 

[Jatoas]

I don't travel till 21 November, so I am hanging on, hopefully Brexit will be sorted by then to some extent and rates will recover, but its a risky strategy. The best online rate I have found is the Post Office!

 

[Carol unsworth]

I don't travel till 21 November, so I am hanging on, hopefully Brexit will be sorted by then to some extent and rates will recover, but its a risky strategy. The best online rate I have found is the Post Office!

I hope you are right but I doubt it very much!