advice, please...

I would like to preface this by saying I searched and searched, and couldn't find an answer. Please move or whatever if need be....

To all,

I have been thinking a lot lately about my move to London. And the one thing that remains at the forefront is the banking situation. FYI, I am coming over to take some classes in April. I will only be in London until the middle of september, so a little less than 6 months.

My questions to you all:

1. Is it even worth it to try and get a UK bank while in London?
2. Is anybody aware of which US banks have friendly ATM's in London (either no charge or a very low charge)
3. Will I have an issue with using my check card in the UK now that chip&pin has been implemented?
4. Since my cost of living will be low-I am staying in a dorm, so I will have no bills except for groceries-do you think $6000 is enough to live on for the 24 weeks? Or should I allow more like $8-10,000?

If there is anything else you need to know about me to accurately help me, feel free to ask.

Thanks so much!!


Jessie

1. If you're going to be here for less than 6 months, I'd say no.  I was in the UK for 4.5 months in 2005 for study abroad, and never had a bank account and managed just fine.

2. Bank of America!!  They have an agreement with Barclays, so if you use Barclays ATM's in the UK you don't get charged fees.  I have a BoA account and this has been a lifesaver.  Highly recommended (even if you just get a basic checking account for this trip, it's worth it!)

3. You might have some issues, yes.  Merchants are *supposed* to take cards w/o a chip&pin and swipe them, but in actuality many shops have just gotten rid of their swiping systems altogether and just have a chip&pin, or aren't familiar with the rules and will just refuse to take your card.  That's not the case everywhere, though- many big retailers (think Marks & Spencer, etc) and some of the smaller ones will happily swipe an American credit/debit card.  I tend to avoid using my cards here, though because of the currency conversion fees- if I need to use money from my American account I just take out cash.  I lived almost exclusively on cash/ATM withdrawals throughout my semester study abroad, and it worked out pretty well.

4. Does your $6,000 figure include your accommodation fees?  If it doesn't and you have $6K in spending money, I'd say that's definitely enough.  If it does include rent money, then it's on the low side but still doable I think if you live on a tight budget.
edited to add: that's from my experience outside of London, though.  London (as I'm sure you know) is miles more expensive than anywhere else in the UK, so keep that in mind...hopefully a Londoner will be able to give some more realistic figures.

I tend to just say in my loud booming American voice, "this is an American credit card without a chip" and they just swipe it.  I haven't had an issue yet with anyone not accepting it.  Though I do have the annoying American habit of carrying quite a bit of cash with me, so I don't use them as often as the rest of the UK.

The $6000 does NOT include my rent, which is paid when my tuition is paid.

Ok, So i will look into BofA. I really do not mind living off of cash while in the UK, but if I had to pay an arm and a leg for it everytime, I would probably end up crying. :\\\'(

Does anybody have any experience with having a US Citibank account and using the atms in the UK? Do they charge?

Thank you all so much for your help!

Jessie

Oh, that's the other thing.  Most (I'd say 95%) of the ATMs in the UK don't charge fees at all, regardless of which bank you're with- the ones that do are usually "convenience" ATMs that aren't branded with a specific bank name.  The fees you'd get charged for withdrawing cash would come solely from your US bank (if I use my BoA account with a non-Barclays ATM I get hit with a $5.00 transaction fee each time- ouch!)

I have never had a problem with my US card...I hardly ever use my British account.