Booking Plane Tickets & Changing Money

[Witch King]

Does anyone know how much in advance you can book a plane ticket?

Also, does anyone know how I can transfer Dollars to Pounds? I plan on going to the UK for a few months this winter and I want o make sure I'm ok.

Or, can I use my debit card in the UK???

[Dragonfire]

You can go to an American Express place, where they do traveler's cheques, and you can change money there. Or, sometimes your bank will exchange money.

I wouldn't go to an exchange place in an airport, because they take a huge commission.

[o_0]

There are sometimes long, long lines at banks.

What I would do is get my pounds wherever I live, and then bring them to the UK.

And I think I booked my Spain flight ticket for June way back in December or November. :-/

[mazil]

I think you can book plane tickets ages in advance if you want ... at least a year. Don't quote me on that, but I'm fairly certain

I just travelled to the Europe and UK a few months ago, and I used my debit card over there to withdraw local currency from ATMs. You can probably find out the details on your bank's website, if you look up "traveling overseas" or similar. Your bank will charge a withdrawal fee and a currency conversion fee... but it worked out pretty similar to currency exchange places, and it was very convenient!

[thelilbear]

Does anyone know how much in advance you can book a plane ticket?

Also, does anyone know how I can transfer Dollars to Pounds? I plan on going to the UK for a few months this winter and I want o make sure I'm ok.

Or, can I use my debit card in the UK???

you can book them pretty far in advance. If you want to check, go to expedia.com or orbitz.com and see if they're already available for the dates you're looking for.

[Rachel]

it tends to be the earlier you book the flights the cheaper/more choice you have, so i'd say as soon as you know the dates you want book it.

in terms of changing money - you can change your dollars into cash before you go, you could get sterling travellers cheques, or you could use your card. i would suggest going to your bank and asking what they would charge for you to use your card to withdraw money abroad/ pay for stuff abroad, and then decide if you are willing to pay that. if you are i would get some pounds to tide you over when you arrive, and then use the card, if not get a mixture of pounds and sterling travellers cheques.


ooh, or you can get a travellers cheque card where you "load" the card with money and can then use it as an ATM card but you dont get charged for it - its somewhere between a travellers cheque and an atm card and probably worth finding out about.

[Alex]

it tends to be the earlier you book the flights the cheaper/more choice you have, so i'd say as soon as you know the dates you want book it.

in terms of changing money - you can change your dollars into cash before you go, you could get sterling travellers cheques, or you could use your card. i would suggest going to your bank and asking what they would charge for you to use your card to withdraw money abroad/ pay for stuff abroad, and then decide if you are willing to pay that. if you are i would get some pounds to tide you over when you arrive, and then use the card, if not get a mixture of pounds and sterling travellers cheques.


ooh, or you can get a travellers cheque card where you "load" the card with money and can then use it as an ATM card but you dont get charged for it - its somewhere between a travellers cheque and an atm card and probably worth finding out about.

http://www.cashpassportcard.com/

I used that when I went to China. It was very good

[Asparagus Queen]

Whenever possible, if you can afford to use a credit card, use that. Most credit cards will give you the best exchange rate over 3 days, so really if you buy an item on one day, you'll get the best price over a 3 day span.

[Ixistant]

Yea, as far as I know you can use foreign debit cards over here. But be warned, the UK no longer uses signatures to validate any transactions made by credit or debit card; we use the Chip & Pin system, so make sure your card has a pin number to go with it.

BTW, Where are you planning on going while your over here?

[Witch King]

Yea, as far as I know you can use foreign debit cards over here. But be warned, the UK no longer uses signatures to validate any transactions made by credit or debit card; we use the Chip & Pin system, so make sure your card has a pin number to go with it.

BTW, Where are you planning on going while your over here?

I've got plans to actually come live there, but for now it's going to be three months time span, maybe a bit more. None the less I'm going to be there in Gateshead.

I'd suspect my debit cards pin number (example being like 3348, something you type in when your withdrawing money) would work over there?

And I've booked marked that website Alex, it looks interesting. You just transfer money to it basically or are you able to access your account through it, how did that work for you?