Hi guys,

I am visiting Atlanta next week, and I was wondering, can I use my solo debit card from HSBC in the US.

I spoke to a member of staff at the bank, and I must have got the dozy one or somthing, cause she didnt know a thing!

Anyone know??

Regards
Col

Cokey, are you from Barrow?

Yes you can if it has a cirus or maestro logo on the back of the card, but you'll be charged so much its not wirth it. Get some travelers cheques or cash before you come, its cheaper.
I like Atlanta a lot!

Kendonakasaki:

I am from Cambridge, UK.

The reason i want to withdraw cash whilst out there, is I get paid midway through my trip! So i want to be able to get at my cash.
I can transfer it to my credit card but that takes 3-5 days!

Does anyone know how much they charge you to take cash out via the solo card?

Regards
Col

Probably upto 5 quid a transaction if memory serves me right.

Funny story about cash withdrawls from when the Memsahib was in the UK back in 2002. She was taking money out of an atm in Liverpool & happened to notice she only had 9000 left as available funds. Panic time ensues, I have lost over $ 4000 she cried....till I pointed out that at that time 9000 quid was $ 13 500.... And she works as the financial genius at her office too. :rolls:

Greetings from Cambridge!!

You can use your meastro card but I don't find at very many places. I use my Visa and get a much better rate than if I took cash. In the summer I got £1=$1.75 and when got home with Visa I was getting it at £1=£1.82 and 25 days credit.

I always take a little cash for coffee at Starbucks but use Visa if I buy anything else.

Minty

I have just spent 6 weeks in California over the summer and took about $100 cash with me. The rest of the time, I just withdrew cash using my HSBC card in cash machines. My bank statement tells me I got an exchange rate of $1.77 to the £ and paid £1.75 each time I used the machine. I found it much preferable to taking travellers cheques because of the lousy exchange rates you get on them. Obviously, you would be much better off withdrawing cash in larger amounts because you have to pay the fee of £1.75 each time you use the machine.

Hope this helps

Hey,

Thanks guys for all of your help, this forum is always a reliable source of information.

I reckon I will take around a hundred bucks with me and then use the cash machines, there must be a few of them around Atlanta.

Thanks again people.

Kind regards
Col

Yes, I'd recommend using your credit card for almost everything, and Mickey D's and I thnik even Starbucks, take credit cards now. When you use a credit card the exchange to your billing currency is made at the wholesale rate, which is few hundreths of a cent from the mid rate (the difference between buy and sell rates). You'll then be charged a fee, typically 1½ to 2%, but you'll still be substantially better off than if you took cash, or drew cash from an AMT and paid the transaction fee.