blonde poker forum

I've got a trip to Las Vegas planned for October, and I'd like to make use of part of my online bankroll for my live play.

I keep my cash in a $ account on Neteller, so if i go down the traditional route, I'd get hit twice for currency exchange fees...

First when I withdraw the $ to my bank account, and convert it to pounds.

Then when I convert the pounds back to dollars for 'investing' over there.

Do any of the LV casinos accept Neteller transfers? It seems to me it would be handy to avoid the currency fees by just wiring the money straight to their merchant account, then picking up the chips at the cage.

Alternatively, does anyone know of other options for keeping the expenses down in this sort of transfer?

I think Neteller ditched their card, so can't go down that route?

If it is over 10K you may open a US bank account and do it that way. I used to own stocks in US companies and used that route with Citibank, but they insisted I open with 10K.

Given Neteller's recent experience with the US, I am pretty certain that there that Neteller wants nothing whatsoever to do with US business of any sort.  

If you knew someone in the US who played poker, you could possibly transfer to them on Stars or Full Tilt - but there are all sorts of risks.

 

Yeah I did consider the 'transfer to a friendly player' option, but was more worried about Stars or Tilt confiscating my money than I was about any double crossing by the player!

Have you spoke to your own UK bank about getting a US account?  They can create one for you but I have no idea on charges etc.

Good idea!

Did a bit of Googling and it seems this could be the best option...

http://www.citibank.co.uk/personal/banking/international/eurocurrent.htm

From what I can see, it needs a balance of about $4000 to be fee free. No mention of the interest rate they charge, but you do seem to get a US ATM card as standard. I'll do a bit more reading before committing to anything.

How about changing your Neteller account to GB£ ?

I have always had mine in GB£ and could never understand the perceived advantage in having it in US$.

When I opened the Neteller account, most of the sites were $ only. If you had a GBP account what happened was...

1. Put some cash in Neteller (OK)
2. Move it to $ poker site A (get hit with foreign currency fee)
3. Move it back to Neteller (get hit with foreign currency fee)
4. Move it to $ poker site B (get hit with foreign currency fee)
etc...

Worse than the rake!

When depositing/withdrawing via Neteller using Pokerstars they ask you what currency your account is in so as not to overcharge you.

Ladbrokes gives you the opportunity to withdraw from either your poker account(US$) or your sports account(GB£) with a fixed exchange rate in place.

Those are the two sites that I mostly use so it suits me to have a GB£ account.

Also, you can't convert a dollar account to a pound account, you have to set up a new account and then cancel your old one.  I did it recently from pounds to dollars - pain in the arse.

Why not get a Nationwide Current Account or Credit Card.. They dont charge any fees and I always get a top exchange rate, then get a refund onto your card once you have finished (if its possible), then not so much to change back then.