Page 1 of U.S. DOLLARS WANTED AT BEST RATE

I NEED U.S. DOLLARS, WHICH BANK ETC WILL GIVE ME THE BEST RATE, SO I CAN SPEND MORE................

Post office or Nationwide (call freephone from their website)

Best rate possible is get Nationwide Cashback Credit Card (VISA), you get 1% cashback for 6 months, .5% thereafter but no "HIDDEN" 2.75% currency charge 99.9% of all other cards charge which they hide in the small print!!

I find it VERY useful to have a Nationwide cash point card. No need for Travellers Cheques when in Europe (and I guess the US). Just withdraw cash when you need it and as little or much as you like.... no withdrawal fee. With the Abbey it was £1.50 a transaction!

In my experience Nationwide give the best foreign exchange rate when you use your card abroad at a cash point. The last couple of years I`ve just took enough foreign currency for first day or two & `lifted` money as & when I needed it. Exchange rate I`ve received has been roughly halfway between tourist rate & business rate. Only problem is it can be a little bit worrying being totally reliant on 1 piece of plastic.

I bank with Nationwide and also have their cashback credit card. There are no commission charges levied by them on either the credit card or the cash/delta card supplied with their Flexaacount. I have just returned from the USA and I notice that the last cash withdrawal transaction was converted at just under $1.9 to the £. Should be even better now! The only thing to watch is that some ATMs in the USA will make a charge for using them (usually about $2). It is possible to find some that don`t charge e.g the Publix supermarket ATMs.

It was $1.82 to the pound at the PO today - plus its commission free and you can order online.

I think M&S Foreign Exchange offers good rates for cash. Usually better than the Post Office and other banks.

I found the following site recently while trawling the t`internet

http://www.currency-express.com/cgi-bin/CurrencyExpress.storefront/4034965b00af2f90273fd43a3ba50683/UserTemplate/5

They look very competetive if you see their comparison chat
Hope this helps


"It`s all about the game ...."

I have usually found Natwest gave one of the best rates, specially if you have Advantage Gold (I dont) which gives free currency transactions.

"Great chunks of my past detaching themselves like melting icebergs"


Bigger on the inside

Bugger! Amex were giving 1.88 to the pound at about 2.30, but it has gone down to 1.82.

Might be worth keeping an eye on them though.

This item was edited on Thursday, 19th February 2004, 16:38