US citizen visiting the UK, advice on bringing over money

[Searsison 8]

Hey im the UK beneficiary here and my US fiance is coming over to visit in april and would like to have use of a prepaid chip and pin card as she cant seem to order one from her end without the huge fees they incur. She thought about wiring me money so that i could then order one for her but that would mean more charges from both bank accounts, im interested to know if any of you guys or gals from the US have a better idea about this? i told her bringing over £600 in cash is simply a terrible idea but me being the UK citizen my knowledge is limited to how that stuff works out in the US

[blk 87]

Use PayPal it's a lot cheaper, you both set one up each then she sends the money to you in pounds, but when you first withdraw the money to your bank account it takes up to 72 hrs if I remember, but after that when ever you use it the funds get to your bank almost instantly. I hope this is of help.

Brian

[Boiler 46,003]

Doesnt she have US Credit Cards?

Whats wrong with bring a small sum of cash?

[MAXX1 8]

Hey im the UK beneficiary here and my US fiance is coming over to visit in april and would like to have use of a prepaid chip and pin card as she cant seem to order one from her end without the huge fees they incur. She thought about wiring me money so that i could then order one for her but that would mean more charges from both bank accounts, im interested to know if any of you guys or gals from the US have a better idea about this? i told her bringing over £600 in cash is simply a terrible idea but me being the UK citizen my knowledge is limited to how that stuff works out in the US

Hi, I have traveled all over the planet and I have found that US $100 bills work best. Design and make your own money belt that you wear when you are clothed.Make the belt only with cloth. Do not tell ANYONE about the belt. Going through airports just wad it up an place in your carry on. Carry needle and thread for opening and closing the belt.Only take the legal amount of money allowed .Money exchange on a card will kill you.!!

M

[Amy and Michael 21]

Not sure what the above poster is talking about - that "Money exchange on a card will kill you". I experienced the opposite when travelling to the UK when dating my husband in Wales. I've been over to Wales about 7 times and this is what I've experienced:

I have a Capital One Visa charge card that does not charge the 3% fee for international transactions. They give me the current best rate whenever I make purchases. It is not chip & pin like you have over there - but most places can easily swipe it and let me sing. I have only had problems a few times with business accepting it once or twice and I have used it over 100 times over there. ASDA's seems to be the most consistent - they can swipe it but don't know if their policy will let them one time, and the next time I don't have any issues. It's so easy and it's a great rate.

My debit card / ATM card is also a great way to get money. Most ATMS don't have fees in the UK that I've used. My credit union charges a $1.00 fee per international transaction so I use it to get about 200 GBP's at a time. They also give me the best current rate.

When I've taken cash into a local bank (Lloyd's Bank) in the UK - I got a not so good rate, and they charged about 5-10% exchange commission. I thought the bank & US dollars to convert would be good, but it was the worst way.

I keep some change & bills when I head home so I always have a bit of local cash when I get there every time.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

I'm assuming you have a bank account? What my wife does when she comes here is bring cash, which I then simply deposit into my checking account and withdraw from the ATM as when needed. Pretty straightforward, tbf.