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Following a successful six-month trial, ATM organisation Link has announced that they are to increase the number of UK ATMs that dispense foreign currency. As well as giving out UK Sterling, cash points throughout the country will be adapted to allow dollars and euros to be withdrawn by holders of UK debit and credit cards.
In the initial trial, travellers were enthusiastic about the ability to withdraw foreign currency without the need to make a special trip to the bank, travel agent or bureau de change. The convenience factor, rather than favourable exchange rates or commission fees seemed to be most important to travellers who took advantage of the trial machines.
Link’s Head of Planning and Development, Graham Mott, believes that the move will be welcomed by many travellers. He said: "The theory at the moment is rather than waiting until they get to the airport to get their foreign currency - as many people do, travellers will withdraw their holiday money at an ATM in the weeks leading up to their break."
Superstore giant Tesco’s finance arm have been trialling the foreign money dispensing cash points at four locations and are keen to increase that number to 20. Mott believes that upon seeing the success of the current ATMs, airports would be eager to install multi-currency machines in the future, perhaps with even more currencies than pounds, euros and dollars on offer.
However, he may have already been beaten to the punch by Raphaels Bank, who has announced that they are to operate ATMs at London airports. Their ATMs are to offer 24-hour access to euros and US dollars without commission fees and at the same exchange rate as the bureau de change, giving travellers the opportunity to avoid the high charges applied to cash withdrawals by debit or credit cards from ATMs abroad.
If in any doubt about the charges that will be paid when withdrawing cash abroad, travellers are advised to check with their bank or credit card company before leaving for their holiday.
The option of being able to withdraw foreign currency from UK cash machines gives credit card companies another opportunity to differentiate their products by the way that they charge the withdrawals from ATMs. Aware that many potential customers now compare credit cards based on a number of factors, not just the headline APR, this gives a unique sales opportunity for one enterprising credit card company to set themselves apart from the rest of the market.
The size of charges for withdrawing currency with UK credit cards abroad has long been a sticking point with many consumers and it will be interesting to see how the credit card companies treat foreign currency withdrawals in the UK.
| ©2007 Adam Singleton. All rights reserved. |
Vacation! It provides memories, relaxation, and exhilaration – a time to gather experiences and stories to share with others. When planning your vacation, the Internet offers you the opportunity to explore your options – and there are literally thousands of them available. The Internet places you in the unique position of being your own travel agent. As such, you can customize a vacation that suits your needs – whether it’s basking on the beach, sightseeing in an exotic place, or a family adventure to remember.
With your keyboard as a control panel, you begin your planning by
zooming in on
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In the United States alone, over 60 million households have one or more pets. Pet owners in 15 million of those households travel with their pets, and the majority stay in pet-friendly lodging. Fortunately, pet friendly hotels, condos and vacation home rentals do exist. If you will be traveling with your pet, here are some pet friendly tips to remember for safe and trouble-free travel.
After you have decided that you are going on a family vacation, the next step is to decide where to go. The tourist industry offers many destinations that will welcome you, but certainly there are better and there are worse choices. Since you have decided to go on vacation with your children, it is clear that this must be the primary consideration in choosing the destination.
The most common travel mistake with children is Las Vegas or Reno
in Nevada. While the tourism industries of both cities have
been trying to make the towns into family vacation destinations
(Las Vegas a
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I hope that by sharing my personal experiences, you will avoid learning similar lessons the hard way. And it goes to show that those little details in the planning of a vacation can make a huge difference in the outcome. You can make your next vacation relaxing and enjoyable by following these simple vacation planning tips.
The European Environment Information and Observation Network (EIONET) defines traveling off-peak as "traveling outside rush-hours to avoid overcrowding in public means of transport." This sounds all too simple and as we might expect - easier said than done.
For both air and car travel, avoid the crowds by traveling during the week, especially from Tuesday through Thursday. An added bonus is that airfares for travel Tuesday through Thursday are usually cheaper.
Mid-morning and late afternoon flights tend to be less crowded, plus you can really avoid commute traffic during this time. This site also offers the load on late-night flights
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