How are you paying off your US credit cards?

I'll have most of my credit cards paid off for when I get to the UK, but I anticipate having some left to pay.

How do you go about paying US credit cards while living in the UK? What's the best approach to this? I've seen mentions of xe.com and paypal. Are these the best way to get the best exchange rates or is it better to transfer money?

I would love to hear anyone's experience that has gone through this.

Thanks!

I think XE is financially a better option than paypal. But also speak to the company - I know with my student loans, they let me ring them every month and I give them my UK debit card number (the long number - not the account number) and even though they wouldn't let me set up a direct debit or a debit card payment, they are able to run the number as though it's a credit card.

I am also still paying US cards and I still have a US bank account, and just pay online through my US bank. I have just signed up for the XE account, but haven't used the service yet, so don't have any real experience with it - but will soon.

I also plan on using my US card whenever I visit the US, so I don't get stuck with foreign transaction fees. And it's difficult to get UK credit if you haven't lived here for awhile, so I wouldn't close any accounts right away - just in case...

Lisa

Kept my US account open and transfer money using XE.  Easy peasy.

I've kept my US credit cards and pay for them with money from a US bank account.

They're useful when visiting the US or when buying things from American companies.

Similar to others we kept a US bank account opened and just did things with online banking.  We have a Capital One US card so we are not charged transaction fees abroad.  This has been helpful to keep open because sometimes it is less to buy plane tickets or hotel reservations in US dollars instead of UK pounds (we always search for both before a trip).  It is also helpful when you want to send a gift in the US and you can just go to Amazon or Target and purchase and send to that person.   To put money into the account we have been able to just bring pounds back to the US when we are traveling and our US bank tends to give us a better rate than paypal or XE but that is an option we have because my husband travels back to the US ever few months for conferences.