Cash & Cards: Managing Your Money in London

One of the difficult parts of foreign travel is working with different currencies and figuring out how best to pay for everything. Here at home, you’re likely used to just swiping your debit card for everything and carrying very little cash. While you won’t need cash for transportation — you’ll receive an Oyster Card once we arrive that will cover your transportation on the Tube/Underground and on buses — you will still want to keep more cash on you than normal.

Most weeks, I stop by a cash machine, pull out £100 and then use that for 3 – 5 days; then I go back and get more. I don’t encourage you to carry more cash than that.

It’s easy to check the current conversion rate by typing “1 BPS to US” in Google.

Card Options

One significant difference between US debit/credit cards and those of Europe used to be that we used only a “magnetic strip” while most of Europe uses the “chip and pin” system. More recently, US cards come with a “chip and pin.”  State Employee’s Credit Union (SECU) uses a chip-enabled card, as does Wells Fargo. Cards without chips still work in the UK, but the person taking your card may look at it funny for a minute.

If you are worried at all about taking your main bank card around London, you might consider getting a special card for travel. No one uses “Travellers’ Cheques” anymore, and you absolutely do NOT want to bring a lot of cash and “exchange” it — those places will rip you off!

SECU offers a “Cash Points Global” card. This card is not connected to your banking account, so if it’s lost or stolen, no one could get more money than is on the card. You (or your parents) can also add funds to the card at any time, so you might find this option interesting.

Personally, I (Dr. Banks) use Wise (formerly TransferWise). This “bank” allows me to add funds from my US banks whenever I want; I can then convert that money in the app from US dollars to British pounds and tap-to-pay using my watch or iPhone everywhere in the UK without getting any foreign transaction fees. I’ve used it for several years now; they will also send you a plastic card to use in ATMs or instead of your phones. I’ve found it a great option that’s cheaper and quicker while abroad. You can also convert to many different currencies so if you are going to the UK but also heading to Europe after or during the trip, this option lets you move money from dollars to pounds to euros so you can easily spend wherever you go.

Financial Security

Regardless of whether you get “burner” cards like the two above or you bring and use your own debit and credit cards, you must be careful. For any of your own cards that you bring, be sure to call your bank/credit card company and tell them that you are traveling. You may find that your card has special options for international travel, but you’ll also want to know how much your bank/card charges you for international purchases. Those fees can add up quickly! SECU suggests the following when you travel using their cards:

Important Traveling Tips

• Notify the Credit Union of extensive domestic and/or international travels
• Inquire about potential international fraud blocks before you travel*
• Test your card to confirm that you have the valid PIN
• Verify that your card will not expire while traveling
• Carry alternative payment methods (i.e. additional debit/credit cards)
• Do not pack all payment methods together (i.e. one in a suitcase, another in a purse or wallet)
• Remain observant for pick pockets
• Photocopy all cards front and back and keep copies on hand

Cellphones and Tablets

Each year, the question about phones and communication comes up. And each year, the answer is a bit different as smart phones, tablets, and US cellular providers evolve in a global marketplace. If you have a “smart phone” (an iPhone, a Galaxy, an Android phone, etc) or tablet, then there are options for you once we get to London. Depending on your carrier here, there are options here, as well.

U.S. Carrier Options

A new cell phone option in the US might be something to look into: Google Fi. This service costs what a regular US cellular and data plan costs but has the benefit of working in over 200 countries. Basically, any country you will go to as part of going on the London program is covered. Dr. Kitta has used this service recently had great success across Europe.

If you use AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint, you will most likely want to get a foreign travel plan with them. USCellular doesn’t work overseas. Why a travel plan? The two summers that I’ve not gotten one, I landed at Heathrow, and then one summer, forgotten to turn off my cellular service, while the other, I used it to make 2 texts to find students. My bill? $300.00 … for having it on for 6 hours! If I had had an international plan, I’d have paid the $30 or $40 up front and that would have been it. Even if I don’t use it, I’m getting an international plan this year just to be safe. They’re not expensive and they are really nice if you get lost or stuck somewhere and need your phone for just a minute.

These plans are not very useful while you’re traveling, frankly, and their allowances can disappear quickly, but as a back-up option, I recommend it. You may want to look into what your cell plan offers you. Having an International Plan on your phone can help you if you find yourself lost in London or at the airport. It’s a good backup plan and it’s not very expensive all things considered.

You certainly do not NEED to purchase one of these. As long as you put your phone on “Airplane Mode” and never turn that off while you’re abroad, you won’t find any additional charges on your bill. And now that we have unlimited wifi in the flats, you can use your phone over wifi at the flats, and there are a number of places in London with free wifi (Starbucks, for example).

Cellular Plans in London

Now, if you use your phone or tablet as your main camera, or you just like the idea of being able to upload pictures to FB, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat while traveling, then you might look into getting a SIM card from any of these main carriers:

• eSim.net – Newer phones with eSim technology like the iPhone 14 do not have physical SIM cards, so the options below may not work. eSim.net offers local UK phone lines with lots of internet access for fairly cheap and can be bought and set up before leaving the US so you know it works.
• GiffGaff – GiffGaff is one of the cheapest option (£10 for 15gig of data) and you can order your SIM card delivered to the US so you have it before you and you can make sure your phone is unlocked. Friends used this recently and had great service in London and throughout the UK and most of Europe. You’d want a “SIM only plan” which lets you just buy a SIM card for the one month we’ll be there.
• EE – EE is what I use currently. You want a “Pay as You Go” SIM option, and currently, 60gig of data would run £20. I’ve used O2 and Three and they have their benefits, but most recently, I used EE and got the most data for the cheapest price.
• O2 – O2 probably has the best coverage in London, and each of their SIMS also provides you with free WiFi access at spaces all over the city, including the Underground. Currently, their Pay as You Go option would cost £15 for 20 gig of data.
• Three – 3 is probably the second most popular London-related phone service, but their “All in One 20” month-long option is a really good plan.

If you want to purchase a SIM card, you can join me on the first or second day we’re there. It’s pretty easy to find a shop that sells SIM cards.

Cellphones & Tablets @ the Flats

The WiFi in our flats used to be limited; since 2015, we have gotten unlimited wifi data on up to 2 devices with our individual access cards. Since then, we’ve had very few issues with wifi, which is great. We hope this will be the norm this year, as well! This means you can use your iPad/Tablet/smart phone to make calls home over Wifi, use Skype/Facetime, WhatsApp, and all the other apps you love to use.