Dear Cuz's, I have talked to Mayor Phillip, about several things over the past months, but one of them is about MONEY [did I get your attention?]. For the seasoned traveler I know most of this is going to be redundant to you, but I considered myself a seasoned traveler and was surprised with what I learned. After reading this e-mail, I would ask the Cuz's that have traveled in England and more specifically Wales to pipe up and tell us your experience in dealing with these things, if you would. a.. No Travelers Checks Usage in most of Wales. Mayor Phillip says: No Bank in Caerwys No one takes Travelers Checks as a general rule, until you get in major cities and or large tourist hubs like London, or at Banks. He doesn't recommend them for use in Wales. He doesn't believe that Ashgrove Apartments and or Plas Penucha will accept them. a.. Credit Cards Mayor Phillip says: Craft areas, lots do not take credit cards because of the fees charged back to them. Most small town pubs/restaurants have a hard time with them also. I have sent e-mails to Ashgrove Apartments and also Plas Penucha to confirm their acceptance of Credit cards. Should hear from them soon. a.. US Dollars Mayor Philip says: The US Dollar will NOT be accepted in Wales. They want their United Kingdom Pounds - GBP Suggestions by Mayor Phillip: a.. Use ATM's There is not an ATM in Caerwys, BUT there will be machines at the Manchester Airport. There will be ATM's in Mold and Mayor Phillip will scout out other ATM's that will be on our way. Mayor Phillip is going to make strategic stops at area's where there will be ATM's in case we need refills [after asking if we need to stop of course]. The ATM will be giving you United Kingdom Pounds - GBP, the institution that your ATM is from will take the United Kingdom Pounds - GBP amount and convert it into the US Dollar amount and take that from your account. You will not be charged a "fee" for using the Welsh ATM's, like you do in the US if your using an ATM out of your bank network. Your bank for converting the US Dollars - USD to United Kingdom Pounds - GBP will charge you a "conversion" fee. You should ask your bank what the "conversion rate" is that you will be charged and figure that into what you're spending. The current conversion rate today April 9, 2006 is: $1.00 US Dollars = .573955 United Kingdom Pounds - GBP. "Tip" when looking at a price in United Kingdom Pounds - GBP, double it to figure out what you're spending in US Dollars. It is a little more than that, more like 57 compared to 100, but a good general easy rule to use. What am I [Becky Thill] going to do? I am going to exchange a certain amount of money for United Kingdom Pounds - GBP, here in Texas. There is a Money Exchange at a major mall near me. How did I find the money exchange? I called my bank and asked if they could convert US Dollars for United Kingdom Pounds - GBP's. They said no. They gave me the number for a Money Exchange near me. I am going to carry with me a ATM card and regular credit cards, plus some US Dollars. Something to think about: a.. Carrying Cash/Pounds Be Careful where you place your money. Remember that there are "bad" people out there, who will pick your pocket in ways you can't imagine, there are purse thieves, robbers etc everywhere in the world so please place your money in a safe place and don't put all your money in one place. a.. Jewelry, Camera's, laptops, etc. Use common sense. Do not put your Jewelry, etc on open display tempting the fates. Keep your eyes on your things. Don't lay them down and leave them. I don't know if these places have safes or if there is a problem in Caerwys but use caution when in strange lands is always my motto. Example: My now sister-in-law went with us to Cancun. She took all her "Good" jewelry. She didn't wear it the day of departure from Mexico to the US. She put it in a very pretty jewelry box in her suitcase. Her suitcase was one they randomly searched. They guys looked in the jewelry box when they searched the suitcase. They didn't think anything of it because they thought, "well these are officials", well to say the least the jewelry did not make it to the US. She lost all her good stuff. I personally wear my good stuff when I travel and don't put it in my suitcase. I only leave costume jewelry in my suitcase, which is easier to replace. I have found this site could be very helpful. It is "Touring Wales in Britannia" http://www.britannia.com/tours/wales/index1.html On the left of the page are several helpful pages you might want to browse. Under "Travel Resources" are several links you may want to visit. ATM Locator, maybe one of them. Look for UNITED KINGDOM [ for our Wales/England trip] I used the POSTAL CODE OF: CH7 5UL Which is Mike and Fliss Owens, postal code for the Bron Fadoc!!!! It gives us this Link: http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html These are the ATM's in Mold, which is not that far from Caerwys, in fact the first one says it is .18 miles from the postal code I put in there. =) ttg-inc@comcast.net http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ttg13/ "Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance !"

The airport exchanges frequently have a charge per transaction, as opposed to a percentage fee. If this is the case, then when I am traveling, I normally buddy up with several others and pool our money and make 1 transaction incurring only 1 fee and dividing the money equally (presuming we each put in US$100 or whatever). Of course, the fee is not that much either. But I rarely choose to pay more than I need to if I don't have to! The only need I can think of for GBPounds in advance of Manchester arrival is if you need one of their carts to carry your luggage to customs and immigration -- about a pound. And definitely the best and easiest exchange rate is MC or VISA, so use it wherever allowed. The receipt you sign at the store/restaurant/hotel is in GBPounds, but the MC/Visa bill is in US$ with no fee. Cuz Mary Alice ----- Original Message ----- From: "The Thill Group, Inc." <ttg-inc@comcast.net> To: <WYNNE-GENEALOGY-SOCIETY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, April 09, 2006 11:05 AM Subject: [WGS] Wales - Money Issues, please read > Dear Cuz's, > > I have talked to Mayor Phillip, about several things over the past > months, but one of them is about MONEY [did I get your attention?]. > > For the seasoned traveler I know most of this is going to be redundant > to you, but I considered myself a seasoned traveler and was surprised with > what I learned. > > After reading this e-mail, I would ask the Cuz's that have traveled in > England and more specifically Wales to pipe up and tell us your experience > in dealing with these things, if you would. > > > > a.. No Travelers Checks Usage in most of Wales. > Mayor Phillip says: > > No Bank in Caerwys > > No one takes Travelers Checks as a general rule, until you get in major > cities and or large tourist hubs like London, or at Banks. > > He doesn't recommend them for use in Wales. > > He doesn't believe that Ashgrove Apartments and or Plas Penucha will > accept them. > > > > a.. Credit Cards > Mayor Phillip says: > > Craft areas, lots do not take credit cards because of the fees charged > back to them. > > Most small town pubs/restaurants have a hard time with them also. > > I have sent e-mails to Ashgrove Apartments and also Plas Penucha to > confirm their acceptance of Credit cards. Should hear from them soon. > > > > a.. US Dollars > Mayor Philip says: > > The US Dollar will NOT be accepted in Wales. They want their United > Kingdom Pounds - GBP > > > > Suggestions by Mayor Phillip: > > a.. Use ATM's > There is not an ATM in Caerwys, BUT there will be machines at the > Manchester Airport. There will be ATM's in Mold and Mayor Phillip will > scout out other ATM's that will be on our way. Mayor Phillip is going to > make strategic stops at area's where there will be ATM's in case we need > refills [after asking if we need to stop of course]. > > > > The ATM will be giving you United Kingdom Pounds - GBP, the institution > that your ATM is from will take the United Kingdom Pounds - GBP amount and > convert it into the US Dollar amount and take that from your account. > > > > You will not be charged a "fee" for using the Welsh ATM's, like you do in > the US if your using an ATM out of your bank network. Your bank for > converting the US Dollars - USD to United Kingdom Pounds - GBP will charge > you a "conversion" fee. > > You should ask your bank what the "conversion rate" is that you will be > charged and figure that into what you're spending. > > > > The current conversion rate today April 9, 2006 is: $1.00 US Dollars = > .573955 United Kingdom Pounds - GBP. > > "Tip" when looking at a price in United Kingdom Pounds - GBP, double it to > figure out what you're spending in US Dollars. It is a little more than > that, more like 57 compared to 100, but a good general easy rule to use. > > > > What am I [Becky Thill] going to do? > > I am going to exchange a certain amount of money for United Kingdom > Pounds - GBP, here in Texas. There is a Money Exchange at a major mall > near me. > > How did I find the money exchange? I called my bank and asked if they > could convert US Dollars for United Kingdom Pounds - GBP's. They said no. > They gave me the number for a Money Exchange near me. > > I am going to carry with me a ATM card and regular credit cards, plus > some US Dollars. > > > > Something to think about: > > > > a.. Carrying Cash/Pounds > Be Careful where you place your money. Remember that there are "bad" > people out there, who will pick your pocket in ways you can't imagine, > there are purse thieves, robbers etc everywhere in the world so please > place your money in a safe place and don't put all your money in one > place. > > a.. Jewelry, Camera's, laptops, etc. > Use common sense. Do not put your Jewelry, etc on open display tempting > the fates. Keep your eyes on your things. Don't lay them down and leave > them. I don't know if these places have safes or if there is a problem in > Caerwys but use caution when in strange lands is always my motto. > > Example: My now sister-in-law went with us to Cancun. She took all her > "Good" jewelry. She didn't wear it the day of departure from Mexico to the > US. She put it in a very pretty jewelry box in her suitcase. Her suitcase > was one they randomly searched. They guys looked in the jewelry box when > they searched the suitcase. They didn't think anything of it because they > thought, "well these are officials", well to say the least the jewelry did > not make it to the US. She lost all her good stuff. I personally wear my > good stuff when I travel and don't put it in my suitcase. I only leave > costume jewelry in my suitcase, which is easier to replace. > > > > I have found this site could be very helpful. > > It is "Touring Wales in Britannia" > > http://www.britannia.com/tours/wales/index1.html > > > > On the left of the page are several helpful pages you might want to > browse. > > Under "Travel Resources" are several links you may want to visit. > > > > ATM Locator, maybe one of them. > > Look for UNITED KINGDOM [ for our Wales/England trip] > > I used the POSTAL CODE OF: CH7 5UL > > Which is Mike and Fliss Owens, postal code for the Bron Fadoc!!!! > > It gives us this Link: > > http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html > > > > These are the ATM's in Mold, which is not that far from Caerwys, in fact > the first one says it is .18 miles from the postal code I put in there. =) > > > > > > > > ttg-inc@comcast.net > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ttg13/ > "Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might > as well dance !" > > ============================== > Search the US Census Collection. Over 140 million records added in the > last 12 months. Largest online collection in the world. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13965/rd.ashx > > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.0/305 - Release Date: 4/8/2006 > >