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American-London bank account?
LB
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm moving to London for a year and I'm trying to figure out what to do about money. I will be a student there and I will not be authorized to work, so I'll need to be able to transfer money from the US to London. I am not planning to use my US credit card, as they will charge me 3% on all overseas purchases and I find that pretty outrageous. Of course, in an emergency it's unavoidable, but I'd like to avoid that if possible.
Does anyone have any advice as to using a bank and getting a British credit card? I'd like a minimum of difficulty and expense in transferring funds from my American bank to the British one, and from a preliminary search, it appears difficult for a foreigner to get a credit card or open a bank account since we are considered to have no credit rating.
Does anyone have any advice as to using a bank and getting a British credit card? I'd like a minimum of difficulty and expense in transferring funds from my American bank to the British one, and from a preliminary search, it appears difficult for a foreigner to get a credit card or open a bank account since we are considered to have no credit rating.
LB on
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According to their website you can apply online before leaving and they'll set you up with a debit card. A Credit card is probably going to be more difficult, is there a particular reason you need one rather than a debit card?
I tried turning up to the UK without doing this and it was a real hassle.
Even if they charge a fee - I recommend getting something organised before you go.
I set up an HSBC account from New Zealand - I did it through some sort of cuurency exchange shop from memory. Once I got there they told me I was preapproved for a Credit Card. I just had to get the card and pin sent the bank branch in Nottingham (where I live).
EDIT: Debit cards are accepted pretty much everywhere in the UK, and you get one by default with almost every bank account you would open in the UK, so you can possibly avoid a Credit Card altogether if you want.
If not, most UK banks will give you an account if you go in with proof of ID and the letter saying that you are a student of whatever university for that period of time.
If you're really stuck, e-mail the International Students Office and the institution you are going to; they will have dealt with this kind of situation a lot and will have lots of advice for you.
Since you're only staying a year, it doesn't really matter which one you pick. Just make sure the account is funded to avoid any potential troubles.