Last week, when I was going through Heathrow, I needed to get some hard cash out – for the taxi ride home later on.
However, be careful. The machines operated by Travelex have an unwelcome thing for unwary visitors- a service charge for debit card withdrawals.
Cash machines operated by TravelEx will charge £2.50 for a withdrawal on a UK Debit Card (and probably visitors’ cards too).
Credit Card withdrawals will get their usual charge as well.
How can you avoid this charge?
It means hunting, I’m afraid. Heathrow Airport has a map of its facilities at https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/terminal-facilities/cash-machines and at Heathrow Maps. You will have to hunt machines down that are operated by UK Banks, rather than Travelex.
And that could be the real challenge.
For visitors who need fast cash (as it’s always a good idea to have some “hard” currency when you visit a country), it might be worth converting a small amount of cash before you travel or using an ATM that isn’t operated by Travelex (say at a train station, or at a bank).
Or consider a provider who will refund cash withdrawals.
Meanwhile, for those who live in the UK, you might want to consider taking out cash from an ATM closer to home that won’t rip you off. before you travel.
£2.50 on top of a minimum withdrawal of £10 is excessive.
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Check with your local bank. I bank with BofA and you can order currency online. Takes about a week and the rates are very competitive. I get enough for spending money before going on a trip to avoid the currency exchange hassles.
I wouldn’t be surprised if all the ATMs at Heathrow and other major airports now charge a service fee, probably because the airport operator auctions the space for the ATMs to the highest bidder, and the high street banks won’t want to pay over the odds to operate a free service.
Also be aware of ATMs offering to dispense EUR and other currencies at poor exchange rates.