Where were you stationed in the U.K.?
I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath 1973-1976. I had a checking account that I could write checks in pounds to pay the rent and electric bill, etc. I had to guess at the exchange rate until I got my bank statement. I could also write checks on the same account in dollars at the commissary or BX.
I visited England and Europe in later years and always carried traveler’s checks and I’d cash $100 worth every few days, but I realized I was taking a beating with the exchange rates. Then, when I’d go to a different country, I’d take a 2nd beating on the same money to exchange to the new country’s currency. Cards weren’t nearly as prevalent as they are today. I think if I went again, I’d try to use a card directly whenever possible.
RAF Mildenhall ‘88-‘92, then RAF Lakenheath ‘08-‘11.
I didn’t use the Community Bank on base for money exchange, just for the pound checking account. I’d deposit the money I withdrew from the ATM on the economy to cover checks. That’s when I learned how to use a credit card to benefit me: no fees from the issuer, market rate money exchange, and no interest charges when the balance was paid every month. I withdrew the rough equivalent of half my monthly BAH every two weeks, with a two-week cushion in the checking account to cover the utilities.
I went to Paris while at RAFM. The travel was great: train to Dover, Hovercraft across the Channel to Calais, train to Paris. Nice city to visit (in the 80’s), but the city itself was FILTHY. If you were a dog in Paris, the city was your toilet. Ate out of bakeries and sandwich shops (smile, point to what I wanted, paid the total on the register, “Merci, beau coup.”