Hey, i'm gonna be going to stay with my girlfriend in the USA for 3 weeks. She has said i can stay with her the whole time. I'm just wondering is there a minimum amount of cash i need? I'm thinking of taking £600 with me. I'm just worried border force might say i don't have enough to support myself. Like if things didn't work out and i couldn't stay with her (that won't happen, it's just what i imagine they will say). Am i overthinking it? or is this something to consider?
It's a possibility certainly although not a high one.
I would be more concerned about whether your 600 pounds is going to be enough spending money for your time there. At the current exchange and thanks to Brexit, you're looking at $800 for your 3 weeks. Depending on what you are going to do with your time, that may or may not be enough.
For example, is your GF going to cook all your meals? Pay for anything you go out to do? I don't expect you are planning to sit in her home for 3 weeks. While $800 is probably plenty of money for 3 weeks ordinary living expenses, a tourist doesn't tend to just do ordinary things when on vacation. They do things that tend to cost money, like visiting attractions and eating out, etc.
Also, you write, 'taking with me'. I hope you aren't actually intending to take cash with you. The best way to handle your money when travelling is always to use credit and debit cards which get you the best exchange rate on your money.
Hey, thanks for your input
We're very serious and just want to get this first visit as soon as possible. We plan on me visiting a lot over this next year so we have plenty of time to eat out on seperate visits. Thanks for the tip about traveling with debit card. I wasn't aware my card would even work there :/ So let's say $800 is what i'm taking and we're just going to be doing day to day things most my time there, is there no minimal requirment for this? whats the worst case scenorio? Thanks
I'd say ignore the -snip- advice on using cards all the time. Sure, be cautious about carrying too much cash, but equally if you rely on cards what happens if
a) your card gets eaten
b) your card isn't accepted where you are
c) your card gets blocked
Every time you use your card while travelling you're increasing the risk of it being skimmed and used fraudulently.
Additionally, using credit cards for cash withdrawals normally starts interest charges racking up immediately.
My advice is to pay cash, withdraw cash at atms using a debit card in large amounts like a few hundred quid at a time to minimise per-transaction charges (and minimise the number of times you make yourself a target for thieves), split your money (both cash and cards) across a few places in your luggage, and only carry what you need each day.
For £600 personally I'd take it as cash, with a couple of cards as backup. Being able to show a couple of cards to an immigration official would normally establish that you've the means to support yourself for a few weeks. Enjoy your trip. :-)
[ 30-Jul-2016, at 02:53 by Andyf ]
over here we let the bank know the details of our trip, probably the same over there so you can avoid a blocked card.
Keep it nice people. We can have this discussion without it turning into personal attacks.
Your bigger issue is potentially with US Customs & Border Protection.
Do you have a full-time job with a solid work history in the UK? Have you travelled to developed countries before? Can you demonstrate ties to the UK like property, etc?
US CBP is becoming more and more strict with single guys (or ladies) entering the country on their own with the stated reason for the visit, "to visit a girlfriend/boyfriend."
Good luck.
Cheers,
Terry
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