Paying US credit cards when in the UK

I'm not sure if this is the best place for this so feel free to move it, Mindy.

I have a credit card in the US still. Since I came over here as a student originally, my mother handled the payments on them for me. It has a zero balance now but the DF and I need to use it for upcoming wedding expenses. We don't however, want my mother to pay the bill anymore. Does anyone have any suggestions for the best way to pay a US bill when all our money is now in UK banks? I do have a US bank account we could wire money to but am wondering if that's the best option.

Thanks!

I still have my visa card and my us bank account.  I set up online payments -- very easy!  I don't use it unless it's an emergency (exchange rates).  HTH 

OK, but I guess my question is, if you are being paid in UK pounds, are you transferring money from the UK to your US account so you can make the online payments? Or did you already have money in the US account? It's the UK to US thing I'm worried about - and yes, it's the flippin' exchange rate, too! 

Balmerhon,

Every month I transfer money from my UK current account to my US checking account. Its pricey at £25 a pop but arrives in the US three days later. The good news is with the exchange rate, its in our favor sending from the UK to the US. I transferred earlier this month at a 1.80 exchange rate....as of yesterday it was up to 1.85.

If anyone else does something different that's cheaper I would love to know as well!

Thanks

Julie

I would suggest giving yourselves a budget of what you might spend using the US cards, then transfer that amount from your UK account (taking into account the exchange rate).  Maybe even a little extra for "emergencies".  If you have internet access to your US bank, just track what you've spent and then top up as needed.  Hope that helps!

Balmerhon,

Every month I transfer money from my UK current account to my US checking account. Its pricey at £25 a pop but arrives in the US three days later. The good news is with the exchange rate, its in our favor sending from the UK to the US. I transferred earlier this month at a 1.80 exchange rate....as of yesterday it was up to 1.85.

If anyone else does something different that's cheaper I would love to know as well!

Thanks

Julie

I used to send money to my US checking account every few months too in order to just transfer the monthly payments online to the credit card.  I think that's probably the easiest way.....not sure if it's the cheapest though.

Just a thought, and probably one you've already discounted,but wouldn't it be simpler to get a new credit card over here?.I have MBNA & Capital One cards and they are so easy to get,so if and when you return to the US you would not have a similar problem.

Dave

I use Paypal.com  I don't notice them charging anything, but they could do.  It's worth looking into.  DH sent me £500 a few months ago for a plane ticket and it was almost $900.

Just a thought, and probably one you've already discounted,but wouldn't it be simpler to get a new credit card over here?.I have MBNA & Capital One cards and they are so easy to get,so if and when you return to the US you would not have a similar problem.

Dave

Because I have over 15 years of credit history established over there and the correspondlingly high available credit (which we need for the wedding now) whereas here I only get a fraction of that. Interest rates are lower on that card, too, though that could be negated with all the fees/exchange rate.

Thanks Stacey, I'll look into PayPal. Might also check out Western Union. I think they charge less than banks do to wire money and Mom can pick it up and deposit it for me.

I use PayPal, too - to send money between my US checking account and my UK current account.  It's been reasonable so far - just remember that it takes a few days to actually credit the account.

amex has a solution for living in the uk with an amex and paying us bills check out their www

Every month, I make a wire transfer through my UK bank account (HSBC) to my US account (Citibank). They say 6 business days but it's usually less than 3 days. I then pay online from my Citibank account. It costs £9 and I try to do it when the exchange rate is the best. All you need is the bank account number, the routing code from the bottom of one of your US checks and the name of the recipient as it appears on the account. Once you've done the transfer for the first time, the bank keeps the template so when you call up, they ask 'Have you done this before?', you say yes and it's all easy from there.
=)Cynthia

This is a 5 year old thread, but XE.com is cheaper than paypal.  There are a couple threads about it

If you are using a US credit card in the UK then every single purchase will be a remittance of mixed funds causing your UK tax returns to be more than horrid...not recommended!

Thank you so much mentioning the Paypal. I never thought about this.
My dilema is how I am going to transfer money for my mortgage here in Canada. I called a couple banks and they charge up to $30 CND for each transaction.
Is anyone here have a mortgage back in North America, if yes how do you handle payments while living in UK?

I use Paypal.com  I don't notice them charging anything, but they could do.  It's worth looking into.  DH sent me £500 a few months ago for a plane ticket and it was almost $900.