GABIT attendees thread

[Celandine]

i just called and yes i can get pounds. the rate is HORRIBLE however. but oh well. It's gonna pretty much be my last con and i didn't go anywhere last year

Well I'm glad that I'll at least get to meet you this time. I'm just a newbie to cons so I know I'll be infatuated with it all for many, many years. If I can afford it, I'm there.

Oh and your not kidding about the rate. I'm gonna have to bring like double the money just to account for the exchange. Sheesh! Dang dollar.

not here. you have to live in a city that has federal banks, the closest is Kansas City to me. Wichita might have some federal banks, but in small towns they simply dont' stock foreign currency because there is really no need

in fact, my bank was 'you can use credit cards', and yeah, i can, but then i get hit by the massive exchange fee so it literally costs too much to use them.

I had another run to the bank today (the main branch this time) and I asked about getting pounds again figuring the woman I talked to at the smaller branch didnt have an inkling (I was hoping at least ). Turns out they can order the pounds but with them having to get them from Chicago it would take a couple weeks. Darn. Tis gonna be too late.

I did find out for anyone using their debit card that if you go to a restaurant, make sure you pay your bill as credit. That way you'll have to sign your bill rather than swiping your card and punching in your pin number. Less likelihood of theft possible.

Oh and on a strictly ot note...I just got my first check from work today. *basks in the glow actually having a regular income again*

[Tittamiire]

You have to wait a week to get them I just will go to the bank and get it immediatly I guess that is the nice thing about living in a city

But I really should do that soonish too though cause it is kind of important.

Although I still have some so that is something lol

Heh...I usually bought my dollars from Marks and Sparks when I was off out to the US (before I had my very own US bank account)....or have a trip to the post office. It never occurred to me that a foreign currency would be hard to get hold of. Every trip abroad I've had it's just been a walk down to the post office at the end of the road to get what I needed.

The trickiest time I ever had was rubles, but that was just because you could only buy them in Russia itself. It was solved by buying dollars in the UK and using them to buy Rubles in Moscow, which I didn't have to do too much because a lot of shops and stalls preferred dollars anyway as they were a more stable currency.

Good luck anyone needing to get hold of pounds!

[SEREN LWCH (MAL)]

20 DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let the party begin!! I hope you guys have fun I'm off to bed soon

[SamJackShipLover]

Creditcard question.

My husband and I have a creditcard, but we hardly ever use it. Only to pay for fuel or something when we are on holiday. And I used it a couple of times to buy something on the internet.

The thing is, it has my husbands name and signature on it. Would that be a problem?

[PengYn]

Creditcard question.

My husband and I have a creditcard, but we hardly ever use it. Only to pay for fuel or something when we are on holiday. And I used it a couple of times to buy something on the internet.

The thing is, it has my husbands name and signature on it. Would that be a problem?

Is it chip and pin or does it need swiping and then a signature?

[JuliaR]

Yay! After long loooong nights sitting at my desk and pouring over it, I've finally beaten the AT3 schedule into complete submission. It tried struggling and hitting back, and sticking its tongue out at me and it actually sulked several times, but I finally won. Tis done!

This is just a heads up to let everyone know that I'm happy enough with it to upload the schedule this weekend to the website. As always it *is* provisional but it gives you all an idea of how things will go and will help you all plan your social activities better.

I'll post the link once it's loaded up.

Julia
G4


Oh gosh I just saw the countdown counter.......eek...so little time...so much to do...lists to make...finish packing...gotta go

[Tracy Jane]

I did find out for anyone using their debit card that if you go to a restaurant, make sure you pay your bill as credit. That way you'll have to sign your bill rather than swiping your card and punching in your pin number. Less likelihood of theft possible.

Ummmm.... I'm not sure whether you can technically do this or not.... Since Feb 2006, shops and restaurants in the UK have been legally bound to use chip and pin. Apparently. Somehow, places are still getting round it (I managed to sign for something last week) but as a rule, if the card is chip and pin, you have to enter the pin.

[suse]

not from fandom, but cons....well there's not much that i haven't seen or done and it just seems silly to fly hundreds of miles to see an actor to collect a photo and autograph that will just hang on a wall.

Avalon was gonna be my last con cause, dude, how can you top rick and amanda????

but then AT3 came along and i decided to go.

i may go to a con now and then, but not a yearly thing. I tend to more enjoy getting together with my friends and simply having a group vacation than spending the money to see an actor.

yeah, Shore Leave 2006 (with Amanda) was going to be my last con. I'm just not into them anymore.

But the chance to go to London and meet/hang with so many of you... and see Amanda again... and see London (though I wish I could stay a month and travel throughout England, Scotland and Wales)...


I'm getting more nauseous by the day, I don't think excitement wil hit til scifithinker and I are on the plane.

ssue

[suse]

Ummmm.... I'm not sure whether you can technically do this or not.... Since Feb 2006, shops and restaurants in the UK have been legally bound to use chip and pin. Apparently. Somehow, places are still getting round it (I managed to sign for something last week) but as a rule, if the card is chip and pin, you have to enter the pin.

The US doesn't have the chip....

suse

[Tracy Jane]

The US doesn't have the chip....

suse

I forgot - your cards come with fries instead!

[JuliaR]

The US doesn't have the chip....

suse

My friend came from Chicago two weeks ago to stay here in London with me. She paid by card in a restaurant and they immediately saw it had no "chip" so swiped it and she signed. Same in a shop we went into.

Julia
G4

[suse]

Speaking as your royal tube correspondent:

* For the weekend of the con assuming you're not going to be bothered going anywhere else DON'T by a travel card. You can always by a bus pass for those times when you need to pop to the shops or if we're all wandering off somewhere. Reason being that Heathrow is in Zone 6 versus central London (tourist hangout) which is in Zone 1. The cost of a travel card encompassing all of those zones is quite high.

*If you're still staying at the Ren beyond the con and planning to hit the city then invest in a zone1-6 travel card and you can go on any mode of transport in London.

*If you change hotels to a more central location after the con then all you would need is a Zone 1 travel card bought at any tube station or ticket stop for around £4. You can then go anywhere and keep that card for 24 hours.

*The Picadilly Line is your best option if you choose to opt out from taking the express train (that's the expensive one). Bussing it in would very likely kill you. For one thing no bus (barr the night bus) travels directly from Hounslow to central London so you'd be chopping an changing the whole way. And it would very likely take 3 hours to get there. The Picadilly Line will indeed take 45 minutes.

*As to ease - the airport is well sign posted. The buses (hoppa or otherwise) drop you off directly at the terminals. Every terminal will have signs and access to the Underground. You don't have to walk miles, usually it's a case a going down an escalator as you enter the terminal. Follow the signs, and there are plenty of staff there to help wayward tourists.
Let's!!

Wouldn't an Oyster card be a good choice? Or is changing zones really high that way also?

suse

[suse]

My friend came from Chicago two weeks ago to stay here in London with me. She paid by card in a restaurant and they immediately saw it had no "chip" so swiped it and she signed. Same in a shop we went into.

Julia
G4

Thanks.

suse

[Tracy Jane]

At the moment, I think the requirement is that if the card HAS a chip, it has to be used. As in you can't choose to swipe the card because you can't remember the pin (although I got away with this on my credit card the other week, because my debit card wasn't working). I must have misunderstood, because I thought the suggestion was that people could choose between pin and signing. Anyway, yeah, my bad.

really out to get my backside into gear and drive down to Southampton.

[PengYn]

Wouldn't an Oyster card be a good choice? Or is changing zones really high that way also?

suse

Ahh the Oyster. It is designed to make travelling within London (especially for those living here) easier because it eliminates the need to purchase a paper ticket and you can essentially "top up" at any station or news agents.

You do have to pay a one off flat fee of £3 to purchase an oyster card. Essentially it does give you cheaper bus travel (90p per journey versus the normal £2 that you would have to pay if you bought a seperate ticket). Buying one does not necessarily make travel cheaper. For instance I travel between zone 1 and 3 daily. Buying a paper ticket for a days unlimited travel will cost me £5.70. Using my Oyster would still cost me £5.70 if I chose unlimited travel for that day.

The benefit to Oyster within Zone one is that a single journey costs around £1.50. If you travel a lot, in and out of tubes or on buses then your card will "cap" at the rate of a daily travel card within zone 1. Meaning that you can still continue to travel but your card will stop charging you for any other journey's you make for that day.

I will also add that if you're leaving Heathrow (Z6) to come to the city travelling by Oyster will be cheaper than a price of a single ticket to get you there.