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Ok I know it’s always a mug’s game trying to predict exchange rates but do folks think GBP is going to continue falling against USD and therefore should we buy some USD now ahead of our Florida trip in August?
How much cash will you spend? My view is if you can afford the trip the diff between 1.3 and 1.2/GBP is insignificant. Apart from tips, hotels and baggage type people, all your spending will be on a card, else what are you doing on this site 🙂
Will your home insurance company need to be informed which biscuit tins you are storing the USD in?
Given the market size and leverage available, anyone who can reliably predict currency moves between major currencies is a billionaire so doesn’t need to worry about miles and points, so won’t be on this site.
Effort minimising fees and thinking about which card should get which spend is probably time better spent. How much physical cash do you need anyway? Vanishingly close to $0 I’d suggest.You don’t need to convert to physical cash if you think the USD fx rate will keep getting worse.
Using Revolut or Wise you can buy some USD and then use that while travelling (when you spend with your Revolut card in USA it will use your USD balance first).
If the change is large enough you can also convert back to GBP and pocket the difference.
You don’t need to convert to physical cash if you think the USD fx rate will keep getting worse.
Using Revolut or Wise you can buy some USD and then use that while travelling (when you spend with your Revolut card in USA it will use your USD balance first).
If the change is large enough you can also convert back to GBP and pocket the difference.
Currency speculation. I see that ending well.
You don’t need to convert to physical cash if you think the USD fx rate will keep getting worse.
Using Revolut or Wise you can buy some USD and then use that while travelling (when you spend with your Revolut card in USA it will use your USD balance first).
If the change is large enough you can also convert back to GBP and pocket the difference.
Currency speculation. I see that ending well.
I would not say that trying to limit one costs is speculation. Think of buying some USD as insurance if you know you are travelling to the USA later in the year:
– You know you may spend $1,000 on your trip so can decide to spend £500 now and buy USD. You now have fixed the cost of part of the USD you think you may use
– If when you do your trip the USD is even more expensive for GBP holders then part of your cost has been hedged which is good
– If the rate reverses and becomes better, well, you can argue you knew your costs in advance so could budget for it and not be stressed (just like insurance, you paid a premium to get it but did not use it sometimes)How much physical cash do you need anyway? Vanishingly close to $0 I’d suggest.
I’d agree for most other countries, but USA – you do need some for tipping. But it’s going to be a trivial amount compared to overall cost, so not worth getting concerned about.
You can tip on the POS machine.
As mentioned above, Revolut is good for this. You can convert GBP to USD and back in real time. I did this with ZAR for my trip to South Africa and worked out quite nicely.
Well obviously the time to buy USD was when it was 1.4 or so, but nobody ever asks this sort of question when the pound is at a local high…
I don’t go to the US but I do go to places which have a USD-linked currency – I did buy a chunk of USD at 1.4 without any firm travel plans. It isn’t really speculation as I know I will spend it eventually.
If the pound dropped, which has happened, I can convert it back (I don’t actually convert money, I just spend on my USD-linked cards in the UK).
I think Wise is safer than Revolut.
just back from Florida and second the advice above to buy half now as a hedge
1) I prefer to tip in cash rather than add to the EPOS as I know where it goes
2) a couple of petrol (hate gas) stations had problems with my English CC – you might find a savvy guy in the kiosk who can sort it but its easier to put $40 worth in
3) a few places offer a cash discount – sometimes 4 or 5%2) a couple of petrol (hate gas) stations had problems with my English CC – you might find a savvy guy in the kiosk who can sort it but its easier to put $40 worth in
Were you trying to key your 4 digit PIN instead of your 5 digit ZIP code?
2) a couple of petrol (hate gas) stations had problems with my English CC – you might find a savvy guy in the kiosk who can sort it but its easier to put $40 worth in
Were you trying to key your 4 digit PIN instead of your 5 digit ZIP code?
Some of the newer pumps recognise chip and pin cards and ask for pin rather than zip. If it asks for zip the most reliable method is Amex as you can use any zip. People will offer zip solutions based on UK postcode, but they don’t always work. Amex is most reliable and suck up the 3%.
Numerical digits from the UK postcode, topped up with zeros to get to 5 digits total. That approach has never failed for me when asked to enter a Zip code, and saves the 3% Amex charge when using a non fee charging card.
Numerical digits from the UK postcode, topped up with zeros to get to 5 digits total. That approach has never failed for me when asked to enter a Zip code, and saves the 3% Amex charge when using a non fee charging card.
+1
2800 mile road trip in March and this worked for me at every station. Wish I’d known it years ago.
C&P (for UK cards in the US) is massively more widespread than it was back in 2019, and also contactless works in a lot of stores now.
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