Buying Dollars

Given that the exchange is brilliant (well, travelling *to* American anyway!) we've been giving thought to buying dollars to put in my US account and have it sit there waiting for us for when we move to the US this year.

We assumed the best way to do this was through our banks, to have them wire it to eachother (we know they do it because we did it in small amounts a while back)... but I'm wondering if there's another way that we haven't thought about...

I've mentioned it several times, so I'm probably repeating something you already know.  But, I buy travelers cheques through the post office and make them out to myself.  I send them to my mom back home and she puts them into the bank for me.  

The exhcange rate is very very slightly higher, but there is no commission and all you have to pay is postage to send it home.  I do this every month to pay my student loans and more recently to pay for a camera which my mom and dad are bringing over with them at the end of March (where is the over-excited smiley when you need it?)

Probably not practical for large transfers, but if you can do a couple hundred at a go then it is the cheapest way that I have found to do it.  

Cool, thanks! I hahevn't heard you mention that before, we'll definitely think about it!

You can also get Thomas Cook and some other travel places to raise checks in US dollars for you.  This is how we send money over.  They charge a fee but I don't think it's much and it's definitely less than wire transfers.  

We just get the checks made out in my mom's name and have her deposit them in my account.  

I've mentioned it several times, so I'm probably repeating something you already know.  But, I buy travelers cheques through the post office and make them out to myself.  I send them to my mom back home and she puts them into the bank for me.  

The exhcange rate is very very slightly higher, but there is no commission and all you have to pay is postage to send it home.  I do this every month to pay my student loans

Hi Glasgow,

I am sure you already know this, but you can have an automatic debit set up from your checking account in the UK to go to your account in the US.

That is what I did. I too have student loans and had a debit set up through my HSBC account. It was on a wire transfer scheme called "World Pay". It was wired over every month and the charge was 9 GBP a month for the service.

I did not have to worry and whatever the exchange rate was from month to month is what I got. Before long, I had earned enough in the US account through xchange differences, I had a full loan payment.

We've been very pleased with HIFX http://www.hifx.co.uk/
If only we'd waited a couple more weeks to move our money, we'd have made several hundred dollars more!  Oh well, c'est la vie.

Stephanie

That is what I did. I too have student loans and had a debit set up through my HSBC account. It was on a wire transfer scheme called "World Pay". It was wired over every month and the charge was 9 GBP a month for the service.

Does your bank in America charge you for recieving the transfer?  Just wondering because my bank charges something like $30 to process foreign items and I wondered if this counted as such, or if it is not considered a foreign item because it is exchanged into dollars electronicly.

I had looked into transfers with the HSBC.  But what can I say.  I'm cheap.   :-/  It would be a lot less hassel to just do it through the bank, but I can't justify 9 pounds a month when at the moment it only costs postage (47 pence?).  

I had looked into transfers with the HSBC.  But what can I say.  I'm cheap.   :-/  It would be a lot less hassel to just do it through the bank, but I can't justify 9 pounds a month when at the moment it only costs postage (47 pence?).  

I tried doing my transfer through my account with HSBC when I was still trying to figure out how to get money to my credit union to help pay off a loan. After getting assurance from my local branch that they only charge the one fee (£12?) to send and got confirmation from my credit union that they do not charge to receive international funds, I paid the fee only to have it show up in my credit union account less something like $30!

After much hassle and angry phone calls, turns out HSBC London sends money to HSBC New York who then charge another fee to resend yet again it to my credit union in PA.   No one could tell me a good reason why it didn't go from HSBC London to my credit union direct (it's just the way they do it apparently).  I was more angry that I was not told about the extra charge than the actual money aspect of it and I told them I was less than pleased.   I don't use my HSBC account anymore after that as I've never been happy with their service anyway.

I'm sure they don't care but I'm too stubborn to try it again.  D*mn banks.  

I, too, send money by post instead.  

Has anyone tried moving money from a UK bank using Paypal to a US account?  I've done this before, but can't recall what the charges were, but I'm certain it was nowhere near $30.

wow.  thats sounds likea decent idea.  I have never used paypall but heard it works well, though I know nothing about what it takes and costs to do it internationally.  Do they transfer from one account to another?
Anyone have any more info on this?

We were going to do paypal, but then I thought I had heard they changed their rules to avoid people doing such big transfers? That's why we weren't going to do it, and I haven't had the brain to read through my user agreements to do the research... I thought I heard it somewhere on this forum though, that they don't allow it anymore. Not big sums anyway.

Though, I suppose you could get around it by doing smaller sums once a week or something... hmmmmmmm.....

Can't do it with PayPal anymore.   :-/  In fact, I can't even use my US account to do bank transfers for US purchases on ebay anymore because I'm registered as being the UK.  

Which means I'm probably going to have to try to open a "US-based" PayPal account to pay those people on ebay who don't take credit card payments through PayPal, only bank transfers.  Double  

I have a US PayPal Account and a UK PayPal account.  Granted I did have to use my mother's US address (physical), but theoretically, I could send money to myself.  However, it does look like I have a receiving limit of $1000 per month before I would have to upgrade my account.

I've got 2 paypal accounts, UK and US - - the US one linnked to my still existing US bank account and my parent's address. So we think I'll be able to transfer there, yeah?

Has anyone done it before, and know about the exchange rate/hassle/fees that go along with it?