A Note on the Banknote

Here's a few helpful tips on money.
First off, each pound costs us Americans $1.71 as of July, 2014.  The figures that you see in the stores and restaurants are roughly the same as they are in the US ( £1.50 for a bottle of water, £7 for a sandwich with chips, £3 for large Americano, etc).  Therefore, most everything costs anywhere from one and a half, to twice as much as it does at home.  Prepare for this.  Your £10 lunch is $17.  
Don't use Bureau de Change or other currency converters once in London.  Just pull money from the ATM which converts dollars to pounds automatically.  The ATMs in London don't charge you, but your bank at home does.  I bank with Chase, who charges $5 for each international ATM withdrawal, and an additional 3% of the amount your withdrawing on top of that.  This is pretty standard.  To avoid paying the $5 over and over, take out fewer, but larger sums.  With these fees, you will still pay substantially less than you will at a walk-up currency converter.  According to Chase, Wells Fargo is the primary international bank in the US.  So if you bank with them, you might find that your fees are lower.  If you already bank with Wells Fargo at home, it might be a good idea to order a couple hundred £s from home.  This takes a couple days, but is free to you as a Wells Fargo customer.  In the long run, you're only saving $10-$20, perhaps, BUT you've got some money in your pocket when you get into the city and it's one less thing you have to worry about.  I don't recommend pulling out thousands of pounds in the US and carrying them over, because losing that money will ruin your whole trip.


Notify your bank that you're leaving the country by calling the number on the back of the card or going in.  You run the risk of getting your checking account locked up by not letting them know.  An overseas withdrawal for a large some of money is very much a "red flag" with regard to fraudulent activity.  The call will ensure that they don't freeze your account.  


Lastly, does your debit/credit card have a chip in it?  They're usually visible on the front of the card.  I didn't let my bank know that I was leaving until the day before, making it too late to order a free replacement card with a chip.  I didn't really think that this would be a big deal, but it's been troublesome not having it.  The London Underground ticket machines have difficulty processing cards without chips.  It usually takes me... like 10 swipes to get it to read & accept the transaction.  Also, the city rental bikes are by credit card only.  Because I don't have that chip, the machines do not accept my payment at all.  Thus, I can't rent a bike in all of London.  Bummer.  But, now YOU know.