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[qrypt]

I finally worked out the cheapest way to move money from Europe to the US is by directly withdrawing cash from the European bank accounts and depositing them in the US account - I don't pay any transfer fees or any currency conversion fees.  Yes, I literally stand at the ATM, withdraw $500 - the max you can on any day - and deposit it straight back into my US account at the ATM, must drive the people who fill the machines mad, but it's free. 

I'm not sure I understand - the OP, living in the UK, wanted to turn pounds into dollars, to pay student loans in the US.  What you propose would work if you're in the US, but I doubt you can withdraw dollars from a British ATM machine. 

On the other hand, if you have a relative or friend in the US whom you can give a cash card from your British account, and he or she is willing to do this sort of transaction, then perhaps this is the cheapest way. 

[expatinuk]

I finally worked out the cheapest way to move money from Europe to the US is by directly withdrawing cash from the European bank accounts and depositing them in the US account

I do that when I'm in the US and in the state where my US bank account is located. Otherwise it's still a question of moving money.

[the_walrus]

I finally worked out the cheapest way to move money from Europe to the US is by directly withdrawing cash from the European bank accounts and depositing them in the US account - I don't pay any transfer fees or any currency conversion fees.  Yes, I literally stand at the ATM, withdraw $500 - the max you can on any day - and deposit it straight back into my US account at the ATM, must drive the people who fill the machines mad, but it's free. 

I'm not quite sure how this will work with US accounts that tend to charge for using ATMs that aren't associated with their banks, though my guess is that cost will be fairly minimal. Check it out with the various banks that are involved but unless you are moving huge amounts of money, or are really far from an ATM, this might be the most convenient way of dealing with it.

This is a brilliant idea, but as others point out, have you ever tried it in europe?  E.g., withdrawing local money in europe and then doing a deposit there to the US bank account?  I wonder if it'd work...

In other news, I actually went to a citibank branch here in the US, and they called up citibank, UK and asked some questions.  Apparently, citibank UK allows free wire transfers from a citibank, UK account to a citibank, US account, so if all else fails, I may do that.

BUT, looking at the citibank UK website, I happenned upon something else---they offer a $US denominated bank account in the UK which they claim routes checks through New York.  I wonder if this means that the checks are actually useable in the US, and more importantly, if the account has a US routing number from which direct withdraws could be made.  I'll investigate more once I'm at my place in the UK, but this also looks like an option.  Can read about it here, for what it's worth:

http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/bankingproducts/currentaccounts/usdollar/index.htm

[the_walrus]

[quote author=expat_to_be link=topic=30133.msg408426#msg408426
In other news, I actually went to a citibank branch here in the US, and they called up citibank, UK and asked some questions.  Apparently, citibank UK allows free wire transfers from a citibank, UK account to a citibank, US account, so if all else fails, I may do that.
[/quote]

Forgot to mention that US side you get hit with fees, as expatinuk warned, to receive the wire transfer.  But at least on the sending end, there's no fee so long as it's to a citibank account.  Part of the problem with this, though, is that citibank us has some funny requirements for having a checking account in terms of how much activity, minimum balance, etc.  Not like my beloved credit unions that I've been using since I was a teenager...

[stickball]

I use Bank of America, and I'm heading to the UK next week.  Just for giggles, I searched BOA and came up with a partnership they have with Barclays, whereby one could use BOA debit card or other ATM card at Barclays and not suffer a fee.  Anyone know if this can be used to transfer funds?

[expatinuk]

Using an ATM card in the UK is generally fine... when I'm out of the UK I use my ATM card all over the place. I do get hit with fees though. Not horrible fees like the fees for wire transfer. But the standard 'not really very good exchange rate' and my bank does an additional £1 per overseas transaction.

[still_searching]

One option, which we used when we relocated here this summer, is to find a bank that has both physical and internet presence in both countries (such as HSBC, which is all over London).  We opened a joint checking account with HSBC US, and also with HSBC UK, and it's pretty easy to move money back and forth (and HSBC's internet banking has excellent interest rates).  I really don't recommend using your US bank ATM and credit cards, as the exchange rates and (new as of last year) cc transaction fees do add up.

I strongly suggest that no matter what you decide, you keep a US$-denominated bank account and at least one credit card with a US bank and a US address (so that you can purchase plane tickets in dollars from sites like BA, Virgin, Zuji, etc and save a fair amount of money).

[the_walrus]

A much belated reply to my own original question, but I believe I've (only just) found a good solution that's worth sharing, especially in light of the other more recent thread dealing with a similar topic. 

You get a citibank UK account.  They will give you separate (sub)accounts denominated in GBP and dollars (and other currencies, if you wish), which you can freely transfer between at no charge (though at (very) slightly lower exchange rate than market.  E.g., today I transfered money from my UK gbp account into my UK dollar account at $1.963/£1.  Not bad at all, IMHO).  You can do these transfers instantly online.

At the same time, have a citibank US account, denominated in dollars.

Citibank UK has a feature that allows you to transfer between citibank accounts in other countries at no charge.  So, you can transfer between your citibank UK dollar account and your citibank US account.  This can also be done online, and instantly.  I just tried it, and it worked flawlessly.  In less than five minutes and at no charge, I went from my UK gbp account into my UK dollar account into my US (dollar) account.  And, there's no charge for any of the accounts. 

So, at the moment, I'm quite pleased with this solution---exactly what I wanted.  Of course, it probably won't be long before some big wig decides I should be paying big money for this service, it becomes prohibitively expensive, and I'm back to forking over £20+ pounds every time I need to do a wire transfer (which, by contrast with the solution I've found, takes days upon days to actually come to completion)... 

[observer3]

It's good to have 2 accounts, one in each place. I do as well. But the banks rip you off on the rate. After a few months this should start to annoy you if you are paying in the long term. And you don't know the rate in advance, usually. I would recommend transferring between your accounts at xetrade (go to xe.com). Totally free, easy once it has been set up (they have to verify you aren't a money-launderer), and takes me less than 5 minutes each month from the web.

[august_leo]

Thanks everyone for talking about this. I have 2 accounts (will arrive in UK later this month) and was very interested in read about this all.