You have your trip to London prepared but you still need to change Euros to Pounds without having to pay commissions and making sure that you get the best exchange rate possible. Don’t worry, we have a list of options to exchange Euros for Pounds in the best way.
The official currency of the United Kingdom is the British Pound (GBP – Pound Sterling). Since the Brexit rumors began, its rate against the Euro has been going up and down non-stop. If you see that the value of the Pound goes down, then it means that you will get more Pounds for your Euros when you go to change them.
During the second half of 2019, the average change from Euros to Pounds was 1 Euro = 0.89 Pounds. ( Source: Oanda.com ).
What will you find in this article?
Where to change Euros to Pounds
Below we have prepared a summary with information on the most recommended options and the most profitable when making your currency exchange Euros to Pounds to travel to London.
The first thing you should be clear about is that there is a big difference between making the change before or after arriving in London, since you can save a lot of euros or waste money depending on the option you choose.
Remember that when you are going to change currency you must take into account two key factors:
- The type or exchange rate: The amount of pounds that they will give you for each euro. We must bear in mind that every day and even every hour the change between currencies fluctuates. If you come to London, it is convenient for you that the Pound is low so that they give you more for your Euros. To check the current exchange rate you can see http://www.xe.com/
- The commission: Practically all banks will charge you a commission, either a fixed or percentage for exchanging money. Regardless of whether you are a customer or not. Some banks will even charge you for a click on the computer.
Exchange Euros to Pounds in London
In our opinion, making the currency exchange from Euros to Pounds once in London is the best option. At least the most profitable from the economic point of view. If you come to London, I advise you to visit an exchange house to exchange money, and for this I recommend the following.
From personal experience, the exchange house with the best exchange rate when I have needed to change both pounds and other currencies to travel, has always been Thomas Exchange .
But to get the best exchange rate, there is a little trick, and that is that if you book it in advance online, through its official website, the same day you go to collect the money, you will see that they will give you many more pounds. for your euros than if you went directly to the establishment. This is a good trick, right?
For this, you simply have to complete the form in Branch Orders (Buy Back) and take a copy to the exchange office: Best Exchange .
Another trick to exchange money profitably is to go to areas of London where there are a large number of exchange houses, where they compete with each other, such as Oxford Street (area between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road) and around the stations. major trains (Paddington, Victoria, Liverpool Street…).
There are also exchange house comparators that give you information on which exchange houses are the most profitable in a given geographical area. You can see which exchange houses offer the best exchange for example in Travelmoney .
Recommended exchange houses in London
| Name | Direction | Schedule |
| Covent Garden FX | 30A, Jubilee Market Hall, Henrietta St, London WC2E 8BE, UK | Monday to Friday 09:30 – 18:00; Saturdays 10:30 – 16:00 |
| Thomas Exchange Global | 402 Strand, London WC2R 0NE, UK | Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:45; Saturdays 09:00 – 17:45; Sundays 10:00 – 15:45 |
| ChangeGroup | 35 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0AT, UK | Monday to Wednesday 09:00 – 20:30; Thursday to Sunday 09:00 – 22:00 |
| moneycorp | 78 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 6NE, UK | Monday to Saturday 08:00 – 23:00; Sunday 09:00 – 22:30 |
Change Euros to Pounds in Spain
I imagine that normally you will think of going to your usual bank thinking that they will give you the best conditions. Well, from my own experience I can tell you that it is not. I recommend that you do not change your Euros to Pounds in Spain.
Every time a family member has wanted to come to visit us in London and has wanted to change some Euros, they have gone to their bank of a lifetime. The result? the average cost for making the transaction would have been about 30 or even 40 Euros more expensive than doing it in London.
Also, what does the bank usually do? Either they charge you a commission (either a fixed amount or a percentage) or they charge you the exchange rate that suits them. This means that they can harm you (in their favor) by two parts. Either by applying a “management fee” that they include in the calculation of the change to Pounds, then you don’t find out. Or, they give you an outdated exchange rate from when the Pound was higher, so you can buy fewer Pounds with your same Euros. Remember, the “banker” always wins.
Change Euros to Pounds at the Airport
Nothing recommended. The commissions they charge are very high and the exchange rates are possibly the worst when you compare them with the rest of the options. I would only recommend exchanging currency at the Airports in case of an emergency.
Have you noticed that even if the airport is crowded with people there is never anyone at the counter of the exchange houses of the Airports? Rare, right?
Change Euros if you are going to live in London
If your plan is to come and live in London, then the process to make the change from Euros to Pounds as profitable as possible changes. This is our recommendation based on our own experience when we moved to London a few years ago.
First of all: Do not change a lot of euros to pounds to bring it in cash. Many ask us if it can be done but it is not safe, it is not profitable and you will not want to arrive at the airport as if you had just taken the “big hit”.
The best option is to bring some cash for the expenses of the first days and once here in London, open a Transferwise or Revolut account (or any other similar online banking service) and use their wallet cards for the expenses. from day to day until you can open an account in an English bank.- Once you have your account in a London bank, then you make a transfer with Transferwise , since it has no commissions, and voila, you will have your savings in London and in Pounds at the best price.
Pay with a Spanish credit card in London
Before coming, talk to your bank and confirm the cost that you will be charged for using your card abroad. In my case, when I came to live in London I still had a BBVA credit card and there were no services like the one we mentioned above. They charged me 1 euro for each card payment and about 5 Euros each time I withdraw money from an ATM.
I know that today some banks do not charge you until you have reached a minimum amount, but in general it will be expensive to use the card to pay for coffee or to use the contactless card on the metro, etc.
Revolut: Use a wallet card to travel to London
Surely many of you already use cards like Revolut in your day to day but if not, I’ll tell you the details and how they work here.
The Revolut card is a prepaid debit card with which you can make payments in almost every country in the world, including the United Kingdom, with the peace of mind that it does not charge commissions and always gives you the best exchange rate. Here we explain how it works and what advantages it has: Using the revolut card in London .
You must request it several weeks before traveling to London to ensure that it reaches you on time. Once you have it, you can transfer Euros from your Spanish bank account (or from another country) through the Revolut mobile App . Once confirmed, you will have your money ready to use in Libras with your Revolut contactless card.
In our case, since we now live in London, we use it the other way around, that is, to spend our Pounds in Spain, and the truth is that it has always worked very well for us. There was only one time on a British Airways flight where it didn’t work and I used my English card, but otherwise everything was perfect.