Heathrow ATMs - GBP or Euro choice?

[Globaliser]

That's not how I remember them - I could have sworn there were some of the high street bank brands.

... it does seem that the high street bank branded ATMs at LHR have largely been sold to either Travelex or Raphaels over the last year or so. Looking more closely at the Barclays ATM finder, it says 'Thomas Cook, T5' and I don't think Thomas Cook are even on the airport....

I also seem to recall some other brands at some stage - in particular ISTR an HSBC machine near Boots just by the airside exit from South Security - although being a UK card holder I don't really pay much attention to whose cash machine I'm using when I'm in the UK, so long as it's a machine that isn't going to charge me itself.

 

There certainly used to be a Thomas Cook at T5, as I found a Sun story from October 2010 about a member of staff there who may have nicked £120K. But Thomas Cook is no longer listed as having any outlets at Heathrow, and of course we know generally that the company has had a number of issues recently.

[knot knormal]

Thanks so much for your follow up. We did book a shuttle service from Heathrow to our hotel. My husband is a appalled that I will not have money for a tip, but I don't want to take a beating on the conversion and fees. Are Euros or US $ acceptable as a tip?

[MATHA531]

Thanks so much for your follow up. We did book a shuttle service from Heathrow to our hotel. My husband is a appalled that I will not have money for a tip, but I don't want to take a beating on the conversion and fees. Are Euros or US $ acceptable as a tip?

 

Probably and probably car service drivers are used to getting euro or US dollars as tips but the recipient will have to pay a fee to convert the tip into money he or she can use at home unless they have a trip planned to either euroland or the USA.

 

I can't bbelieve it is that difficult to find ATM's at Heathrow Terminal 5 (hopefully you're not using a bank ATM or debit card that charges you a fee for withdrawals from foreign ATM's. Oodles of them are available that don't charge this fee and the British ATM is not supposed to charge a fee if it is owned by a bank.)

[Globaliser]

My husband is a appalled that I will not have money for a tip ...

Welcome to Planet Earth, where tips are optional and voluntary and you will not burn in Hell simply because you have not tipped. You're "not in Kansas any more". It really won't matter, particularly if the reason is that you have no cash and if you remember properly to thank the driver and anyone else who's helped you. Stuffing filthy lucre into their hands is not the only way of saying thanks.

I can't believe it is that difficult to find ATM's at Heathrow Terminal 5 ...

There are plenty of ATMs immediately after exiting Customs at all four of the Heathrow terminals. savannahrose is flying on DL, so will arrive at T4. Here is the terminal map, which shows ATMs at 13 and 21 on page 4.

 

I think the issue for savannahrose seems to be that a Barclays ATM will result in fewer charges than any other ATM. This is because of Barclays' membership of the Global Alliance, from which I also benefit. Personally, other than in the US I wouldn't have any problem with waiting until I could get to a Global Alliance ATM even if it meant not tipping people in between. But if I were in the US, I wouldn't want to get shouted at, insulted, sworn at or physically assaulted for committing such a murderous and mortal sin.

[newport dave]

welcome to planet earth, where tips are optional and voluntary and you will not burn in hell simply because you have not tipped. You're "not in kansas any more". It really won't matter, particularly if the reason is that you have no cash and if you remember properly to thank the driver and anyone else who's helped you. Stuffing filthy lucre into their hands is not the only way of saying thanks.there are plenty of atms immediately after exiting customs at all four of the heathrow terminals. savannahrose is flying on dl, so will arrive at t4. Here is the terminal map, which shows atms at 13 and 21 on page 4.

 

I think the issue for savannahrose seems to be that a barclays atm will result in fewer charges than any other atm. This is because of barclays' membership of the global alliance, from which i also benefit. Personally, other than in the us i wouldn't have any problem with waiting until i could get to a global alliance atm even if it meant not tipping people in between. But if i were in the us, i wouldn't want to get shouted at, insulted, sworn at or physically assaulted for committing such a murderous and mortal sin.

 

:d:d:d:d

[skisteamboat]

Rather than stress out and panic on arrival, just take the Heathrow Connect (much cheaper than the Heatrow Express into Paddington and then find a bank ATM nearby.

 

BTW, there is a £/€ cash point at the exit to platform 12 where the connect arrives. I would not use it though since I did not see a "brand" which usually means poor exchange rates although was a line there when I left today.

 

Most of the Black Cabs I used this past week took credit cards. They seemed to have the Visa/MC/etc logos on the door right below the window. No getting into the chip and pin rigamaroll. ;)

 

BTW, another excellent visit this week even if Saturday was a bit of a mess with the TUC hoorah in Central London.

 

Cheers

[cruisingmimi]

How are you getting to Southhampton? Oyster cards do work well for pay per ride and are far cheaper than the cash fares for individual rides and will cap at the same price as a one day travelcard but require a £5 deposit. Of course, on the last night if yur hotel is near a tube station, you can get the excess as well as the deposit refunded or depending on how you get to your transport to the port (tub to a train staton?).

 

Thanks everyone for your responses. We are going to book the cruise bus (International Friends) which will pick us up at a hotel near ours as they don't stop at ours. I emailed the cruise bus company for the info. We will do a stop at Stonehenge for about an hour to sightsee, then onto the cruise port where the bus will take us directly to our terminal and unload our luggage for us. Porters will take our luggage so all we have to do is check in. Lots easier this way.

 

Thanks so much for the info on T5, I'll print it out.

Cotwwold Eagle, thanks for taking the time to check out the ATMs, much appreciated.

[cdngb]

For those who are first time visitors to Europe you may want to consider advising your bank of your travel arrangements before you leave as their security programs may lock your credit card at the first purchase. I have often seen many people trying to call their credit card companies from european stores to get their cards unlocked after a denial.

 

Make sure that your credit card is the type that has a Chip in it vs the regular swipe type that is used in North America. They are far ahead of us with their technology and most stores do not accept the old type of card for security reasons.

 

Your Pin Number for the ATM should have only four digits as most of the ones that I have used in Europe will not accept longer ones. Change your PIN prior to the trip and then change it back to your regular number once you return home.

 

By the way, for the person who posted that there are no real ATM's in Canada I would like to say that if your definition is one that only dispenses US currency you are correct. My question is why would we want to withdraw greenbacks in Canada? Also most stores do offer reasonable exchange for the US funds that you use in Canada. To get better rates consider exchanging your US funds to CDN before your trip or go to a canadian bank. Remember that our dollar has been worth more the american one for many months. As a canadian who often travels in the US I would never expect that an american store would accept canadian currency. I have never seen it outside of casinos and I do not think I ever will. I find the post amusing that he expected all canadian stores to accept american funds and give bank exchange rates. Most stores in tourist or border areas do as a courtesy and for business reasons.

 

All the best in your travels.

[MATHA531]

Resurrecting an old thread and a whole bunch of misinformation in the last post.

 

Yes, the old archaic chipless credit cards issued in the USA are being phased out. The eu is on the verge of passing legilsation that might make it more difficult to use the US credit cards. But for the most part, American credit cards are accepted in the UK at almost all stores. I know Canada ha adopted chip and pin and I don't know the status of the acceptance of non chip cards in Canada but in most European countries, at least as of now, it is not an issue. As a matter of fact, few US banks issue credit cards with the emv chip and in most cases in the USA the ones that are issued are chip and signature and again with the change in liability laws might cause a problem in the future.

 

Finally the 4 digit PIN for ATM withdrawals was true at one time. That is no longer the case.