buying foreign currency

rogue66700 · 24 Mar 2013 at 17:37

I need to buy around €4000 to pay towards my wedding in Italy and was wondering as I'm looking to buy quite a large amount if there was an alternative to the post office and travel agents which would offer a better rate.

Thanks

The1nonly1 · 24 Mar 2013 at 18:16

http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/holiday-money/#results

isonomicjedi · 24 Mar 2013 at 18:20

Ace FX are pretty good. I have used them twice in past with no problems and good exchange rates.

http://www.ace-fx.com/exchange_rates_london

Ahleckz · 24 Mar 2013 at 18:44

ICE. Print out the voucher from their website and take it into their shop to get the best rate.

ste_bla · 24 Mar 2013 at 18:54

TBH with euros the Post Office is so close to the best rate its not worth the bother going else where (in my experience) when over £2k

dowie · 24 Mar 2013 at 19:08

ste_bla said:
TBH with euros the Post Office is so close to the best rate its not worth the bother going else where (in my experience) when over £2k

Not true, see link already posted...

[TW]Fox · 24 Mar 2013 at 19:17

ste_bla said:
TBH with euros the Post Office is so close to the best rate its not worth the bother going else where (in my experience) when over £2k

Rubbish. The more you buy the bigger the difference in actual cash gets even on what looks like a small rate variation. Plus unless you have quite specific need it is almost never a good deal to buy this much foreign currency anyway. There are better ways to spend money abroad than buying actual currency over the counter.

OP - can you pay for any of this by credit card?

If so, use a decent credit card such as a Halifax clarity - Mastercard rate (Which is as close to the best true rate you'll ever get as a consumer) and zero further charges.

rogue66700 · 24 Mar 2013 at 19:38

[TW]Fox;23998559 said:
Rubbish. The more you buy the bigger the difference in actual cash gets even on what looks like a small rate variation. Plus unless you have quite specific need it is almost never a good deal to buy this much foreign currency anyway. There are better ways to spend money abroad than buying actual currency over the counter.

OP - can you pay for any of this by credit card?

If so, use a decent credit card such as a Halifax clarity - Mastercard rate (Which is as close to the best true rate you'll ever get as a consumer) and zero further charges.

Paying by credit card would have been my preferred method but unfortunately I can't, only by bank transfer or cash when we travel over for the wedding. I've paid a couple of deposits so far by bank transfer but the rate wasn't very good and there was a £9 charge for each one so would like to pay in full when we travel.

Thanks for the links they will be a big help.

With spending money it's probably going to be closer to €5000, will I have trouble with customs travelling with that amount of cash?

Sudden · 24 Mar 2013 at 19:42

rogue66700 said:
Paying by credit card would have been my preferred method but unfortunately I can't, only by bank transfer or cash when we travel over for the wedding. I've paid a couple of deposits so far by bank transfer but the rate wasn't very good and there was a £9 charge for each one so would like to pay in full when we travel.

Thanks for the links they will be a big help.

With spending money it's probably going to be closer to €5000, will I have trouble with customs travelling with that amount of cash?

Possibly. I think there's normally a limit of $10,000. Unsure if it applies within the EU though.

Ahleckz · 24 Mar 2013 at 19:42

rogue66700 said:
With spending money it's probably going to be closer to €5000, will I have trouble with customs travelling with that amount of cash?

No problem at all, you only need to declare it to customs if you are carrying more than 10000 Euros and coming from/going to somewhere outwith the EU.

ste_bla · 24 Mar 2013 at 21:23

dowie said:
Not true, see link already posted...

[TW]Fox;23998559 said:
Rubbish. The more you buy the bigger the difference in actual cash gets even on what looks like a small rate variation. Plus unless you have quite specific need it is almost never a good deal to buy this much foreign currency anyway. There are better ways to spend money abroad than buying actual currency over the counter.

OP - can you pay for any of this by credit card?

If so, use a decent credit card such as a Halifax clarity - Mastercard rate (Which is as close to the best true rate you'll ever get as a consumer) and zero further charges.

Best rate unless in glasgow or london is 1.149 (from money supermarket) = £3481

Other Best rate for in london is 1.168 = £3424

P/O is 1.147 = £3487

£6 Difference if not in london

£63 if in london fair enough

Unless im misreading numbers?

[TW]Fox · 24 Mar 2013 at 21:26

ste_bla said:
Best rate unless in glasgow or london is 1.149 (from money supermarket) = £3481

Other Best rate for in london is 1.168 = £3424

P/O is 1.147 = £3487

Spend the same money on a Halifax Clarity = 1.1754