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Exchange Rates in Vegas

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by jam13rel, Sep 23, 2013.

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  1. jam13rel

    jam13rel Tourist

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    Hi, im coming over from the UK in November, could anyone tell me what the current exchange rate from Stirling (£) to Dollars ($) is please? Where the best place to get the best exchange rate? Hotels? Bank? Im staying at The Mirage. Current rate in UK is 1
    53 $ to the £
     
  2. Tubbs

    Tubbs High-Roller

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    This post is in the downtown hotels/casinos section. Hopefully a mod will move it.:peace:

    Exchange rates will vary from hotel to hotel in Vegas so no one can tell you the current rate. There is no reason to change money in Vegas unless you really want to bring travellers cheques.

    You can change money in UK before you come, get a prepaid currency card or withdraw from an ATM. There are probably other options.

    I'm not sure where you are looking for £1=$1.53. The pound is quite strong at present. Thomas Exchange Global are £1=$1.59 and decent rates can be had at many other places.
     
  3. jamesnoon

    jamesnoon Tourist

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    You can get better online mate. I'm going in November and ordered my dollars last week. I got $1.59 from fairfx.com. got $4k for just over £2.5k. Sweet!

    If you go on moneysavingexpert.com and click travel and the click compare travel cash you will get up to the hour rates. Just pick the best one that is FSA protected and you can't go wrong.

    $1.53 as things stand now is quite honestly rubbish.

    Having said this, you have still got time for the exchange rates to improve. I took the gamble because I wanted $4k from the outset and when the exchange rate gave me that I took it.

    When in November do you go?
     
  4. jam13rel

    jam13rel Tourist

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    i got 13th Nov. I want to take part cash part traveller cheques can u do that online? Also bit worried about paying online and money never arriving
     
  5. jamesnoon

    jamesnoon Tourist

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    Fairfx.com do travellers cheques I think and as long as you get over £750 I don't think they charge delivery.

    I have used fairfx and ICICI bank online and both have delivered currency and are FSA protected so you can't get conned. ICICI will deliver on the next Saturday for an extra 99p which I did on Euros recently which is really handy if you work Mon Fri.
     
  6. jukie

    jukie Low-Roller

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    I am from the Uk and don't take any dollars with me (maybe a few singles for early tips)

    You have plenty of time to apply for a top debit or credit card.

    I use a Halifax clarity for cash withdrawals and a PO CC for purchases

    Not sure where you are getting your rates from but it is over 1.6 from an ATM

    Casino royale ATM only charges $1
     
  7. jam13rel

    jam13rel Tourist

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    yeah i got some good replies but no body has actually answered the question i orginally asked
     
  8. oc_guy

    oc_guy Low-Roller

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    The exchange rate is the same no matter where you are located, in that it's governed by the market. Here's a ticker where you can get the real time rate http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GBP%3DX%2C+&ql=1


    What will vary is how much of a commission the bank/forex company is going to charge you for the exchange. I can't help you there. Travelex is all over the place, they charge 10%-15% on their website.
     
  9. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    For the current exchange rate go to Google and type in: exchange rate pound to us dollar

    It currently says "1 British Pound Sterling equals 1.60 US Dollar"

    Note that this number will be the actual rate on the currency market and not the rate you will get anywhere: banks and foreign exchange companies will charge usually 3-8% on the exchange.

    Overall, looking for "the best rate" is usually just a waste of time:
    - it only really adds up to much money if you are exchanging a large sum of money
    - if you are changing a large sum of money you usually have to put an order in for it and the rate could change by the time the money arrives
    - if you are ordering in a large sum of money the bank/exchange might charge you a service fee that will eat in to the exchange rate

    If you consider: if you are exchanging 5000GBP to USD if you can actually search around and find somewhere that is a whole percent different thats only going to amount to
    5000GBP @ 1.53% = $7650USD
    5000GBP @ 1.54% = $7700USD

    So you are only going to earn $50 on 5000GBP if you managed to find a place where its a whole percent different... and if you have to do that in Vegas then you have to think about it like: you get to your hotel, check in and all that then you have to take a $20 cab ride plus tip to a bank, wait for probably an hour to do the exchange, then a $20 cab ride back plus tip back to the hotel... in all saving $0 exactly and wasting about an hour to an hour and a half of precious vacation time.
     
  10. jukie

    jukie Low-Roller

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    I did tell you how to get the best rate while there though (doesn't matter what the actual rate is if its the best) even which ATM to use.

    Another poster also pointed you in the direction of the MSE travelmoneymaximiser
     
  11. The Furry One

    The Furry One Low-Roller

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    Buy dollars before you go, why waste time in Vegas doing something you can do before you travel? If you need more when you are out there I would say getting the best exchange rate by a minimal amount would be low down on the list of what's going through your mind.

    Furry
     
  12. jukie

    jukie Low-Roller

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    I don't waste time in Vegas, its simple to use an ATM
     
  13. wigwam_salesman

    wigwam_salesman VIP Whale

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    What bank account have you got for free USA withdrawals? What's the exchange rate like?

    I'll be honest, I like to have my holiday money sorted before I go rather than grab it out daily, but that's just preference.
     
  14. jukie

    jukie Low-Roller

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    I don't get free withdrawals,I use a Halifax clarity CC which gives me the best rate available at time of withdrawal with no foreign loading and no fees and the pay it off as soon as I get home so the interest is negligible (its only 1% per month, of course could be paid off while away).

    I used to take dollars with me but haven't done so for a few years now.

    I usually do have a few hundred left over from last trip though
     
  15. The Furry One

    The Furry One Low-Roller

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    Fair do's.

    Furry
     
  16. asti

    asti Tourist

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    Nationwide also have a card linked to their flex account which do not charge to change foreign currency.
    I too would definitely get some dollars changed before you go to Vegas. Something I get asked a lot at boarder control is "how many dollars have you got?" i know there are limits on what you can carry but I dread to think what would happen if I answered - none!

    As for getting it changed, do not get at the airport you will be fleeced with fees. For the last few trips I have used ICE on line- really easy and really good rates and its just delivered special delivery to your door the next morning.

    On the high street- the post office or Marks and Spencer tend to give good rates, or if you dont mind your street cred and being seen going into pay day loan shops, they often have good exchange rates too
     
  17. The Stig

    The Stig VIP Whale

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    Last two visits I have used a pre paid master card which made it easy to budget what I was spending as it is already in $, the only problem is that you can't get a balance at the ATM, so you have to keep track of what you have drawn out.
     
  18. jukie

    jukie Low-Roller

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    I have added some comments in red
     
  19. pebbles

    pebbles Micro Roller.

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    I have the Flexplus account from Nationwide for cash withdrawals, Nationwide and PO credit cards for purchases and I also take some cash with me. Last trip we found that Cosmo gave us consistently good rates on currency exchange. I would check the actual rate on my XE currency, app and it was never more than 5c different, usually less. Second best was The Quad, surprisingly enough.

    Flexplus probably wouldn't be worthwhile if you don't travel a lot, but as it comes with free worldwide travel insurance for me and my SO, the £120 a year fee is well worth it to us. We travel a lot, both in Europe and the USA.

    The rate at 20:25 on the 25th September is £1= $1.6081. It will be different in a few minutes, that's why no one answered that part of your question.
     
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