Travel Money & Foreign Exchange - Heathrow Airport Guide

Planning to go on a holiday and still worried to change your travel money? Every one of us wants to obtain the cheapest foreign currency exchange rates and this act can be a bit of a hassle as well for those who plan their holiday without any intimations. Many people do not realize the big difference which can occur between the prices they pay for various methods of getting easy foreign exchange.

We all know that exchange rate keep on fluctuating daily, so the method you will choose for the conversion will definitely make a big impact in your expenses as well. It may happen like this- One day you might get a cheaper rate and the very next day you might find yourself to be lucky enough as the price might increase. Therefore, it’s all a game of numbers. Various ways through which you can save your money and get the best deal at the best prices are shared as under.

Prepaid Currency Cards: - These currency cards are quite famous among the various passengers due to their ease of use and the attractive rate they offer while downloading them from the internet. Many providers are adopting this mode of foreign currency as they too get benefitted from this new technology of money. These cards work in the same way like a debit card does. Load them into the machine and make a transaction with the help of pin technology.

Benefits of Prepaid Currency Cards: -

a) By using these currency cards you can get the best as well as cheaper currency rates.

b) Undoubtedly, these cards work with the technology of PIN, therefore it’s quite easy to use.

c) Above all, they behave like plastic money. This ensures secure and safe transaction of cash.

d) Best feature about these cards is that you get a fixed rate, no matter what so ever the current rate may be.

You can either have your currency card delivered to your home on the next day you order or choose from choose from the various other options as well. Various cards available are as follows:-

• Fair FX

This is the best service provider in terms for currency card & cash exchange rates. Fair FX offers 0% charge on most of the fees except the cash withdrawal fee which is the very less as compared to any other card. Normally, a person pays £9.95 for purchasing the card but an Airport guide visitor can buy this card for free. These cards are only for home delivery feature so you need to make sure you have time before you leave for your holiday.

• Caxton FX

Caxton FX presents the home delivery currency card with a bundle of features to make sure you do get the best deal on your foreign currency. Caxton FX has no cash withdrawal fee abroad and is the only currency card that is providing this facility. You will need to be extra careful if you wish to go for a different currency as the currency conversion fee is 2.75% on this card.

• Money Corp

A wonderful currency card which offer either Euros or US Dollars at an excellent exchange rate and with very competitive fees. Best feature is that they have a 0% currency convert fee. This means you need not pay anything for using your card in another country in a different currency to the one you loaded it with. The card is free of cost and has a minimum top up of around £25.

Cash & Cheque Benefits

a) An advantage of cheque and cash is that there is no commission rate involved.

b) You can spend the money the way you wish.

c) While ordering it online, we have competitive rates offered.

d) Best feature is that they are delivered directly to home and have a fixed price.

You will save lots of time, hassle and money by pre-ordering your travel money first. Let’s share some news about the bureau de change providers available to purchase from.

Bureau de Change at Heathrow Airport

Travel money providers have bureau de change situated at Heathrow Airport at any of the five terminals which lets you to go with the cheapest option of ordering your money online and further picking it up at the airport before you leave for your holiday. This could allow you to get providers online rates, rather than those high airport rates. Undoubtedly, convenience of picking the cash from the airport still remains.

Travelex

They are the world’s largest foreign currency provider and can help you with all your usual currency exchange services with a VAT refund service only for non EU residents. They serve around 30 million customers every year. Travelex provides a facility of Best price Promise which means that after checking and comparing they tend to give the best rate else they would pay back the difference.

ICE

ICE offers currency exchange service with an option to have a convenient traveller’s cash card. You can even order and collect your currency from the airport as well.

American Express and Thomas Cook both are the leading foreign currency exchange providers as they provide good currency exchange options.

Travel Credit & Debit Cards

You can make cheapest transactions while travelling various countries using a travel credit card or a debit card in various countries. Sometimes it becomes quite expensive as well .You can be lucky if you are using these cards as they might act as one the cheapest way to spend abroad. These cards are usually purchased to make transactions abroad only. The currency exchange providers can offer good rates & charge as they take the chance of spending money by you in UK only. It would hardly matter if you wish to choose these cards outside the country as well.

Here are few of such cards available:-

Santander Zero

This is the best credit card which helps you to spend money abroad. You get great exchange rates with no additional load while you purchase anywhere in the world. You may withdraw the cash without being charged for it and there is no ATM fee for it as well.

However, there is an annual interest charge of 27.9% which is applied to cash withdrawals even if you pay your balance off fully within a month. The amount comes out to be around £2 for every £100. This seems big but is much cheaper than the other methods of spending.

Post Office

The Post Office also has a wonderful credit card system while you are on holiday. Just like Santander, they too offer 0% loading while you make purchases anywhere in the world. They do charge for the cash withdrawals around £3. Undoubtedly, like other cards this is also a great card which beats other methods of carrying money and making purchases.

Nationwide

Likely all the above two cards, Nationwide also does not charge on their exchange rate which is only meant for the transactions done in Europe. For the rest of the countries, the loading fee is 0.84%. Very small cash withdrawal fee is charged. Even if you pay off the card fully at the end of the month, you will be required to pay the interest on cash withdrawals.

Saga

Saga only offers their credit to the people who are over the age group of 50 and if you are into this slab you may make big savings using this card while making transactions abroad. They have very low ATM fees and 0% exchange rate loading in Europe only. They charge 1% of the amount for worldwide transactions. The best feature is that they don’t charge interest for cash withdrawals when one repays the debt completely.

Travel Debit cards:-

Best feature of using debit card is that there is no Section 75 protection for purchases made abroad or in any other country as well.

Nationwide Flex Account

Nationwide Visa Debit card is that debit card which is completely worth using for your holiday as it charges a 0% loading fee in Europe and around .84% worldwide. There is no charge for cash withdrawals, apart from the loading cost on the exchange rates.