avidmusician asked:
I'm a U.S. citizen and am looking to put away money to save for a 2-5 month trip to Europe. With the sinking value of the dollar, I feel the best way to do this is to transfer a set amount each month to a UK savings acct, thus helping to hedge the crappiness of my hard earned cash. How can I transfer my useless American dollars to a savings account of British pounds?
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I'm a U.S. citizen and am looking to put away money to save for a 2-5 month trip to Europe. With the sinking value of the dollar, I feel the best way to do this is to transfer a set amount each month to a UK savings acct, thus helping to hedge the crappiness of my hard earned cash. How can I transfer my useless American dollars to a savings account of British pounds?
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I looked into that, too, for different reasons.
Problem is, the British bank wants to know that it's YOU opening the account.
Go to a local branch of a British-based bank (like Barclays) and see if they can help set it up.
Or email the British bank's customer service and see what they suggest.
You can also buy Pounds Sterling from a US bank and hold it - that might be the easier option.
The best company I have found for this is HSBC. They have a specific product tailored to exactly your situation. I opened an account with them several months ago for a similar reason. (I am US citizen also.) It was easy and has been quite profitable so far... not only have I earned on the currency exchange rate in dollar terms, but I have also earned interest on my Euros (they also do Pounds) along the way.