mmmiss
 |
I tried traveler's checks when I went to Europe. The sucky thing is when you cash them you get hit with the exchange rate and the fee for cashing them. When I cashed a $100 traveler's check, I got 45 British pounds back. No good. I highly recommend Debit or Credit cards. If you have a debit card through a credit union, they usually don't charge ATM fees so all you have to worry about is the exchange rate-if you're leaving the country. Plus if it's through Visa, they are really good about catching fraudulent activity on your cards.
Just be sure to call your financial institution and give them the days you will be traveling or they might think your card was stolen and block it if they see out of country/state purchases. |
|
al
 |
I think debit card or credit card if you are careful. Cash is too bulky and many places do not take traveler's checks. |
|
katiat325
|
I would say credit cards or cash. Credit cards are easier to deal with (although interest sucks). If your card has been stolen, you can cancel it -- whereas if you cancel your debit card, you won't get any money for a while. Also, you can do chargebacks on credit cards for purchases done fraudulently. Just always check to make sure you have enough to put on your card for traveling, and always be aware of your surroundings. |
|
Sandy
|
Always have some cash too. Not too much, but ALWAYS have some. If overseas it should be in the local currency. |
|
nogoodloser
|
We always use travelers checks |
|
neiceywalker
 |
With almost all credit cards like visa, you have some kind of cover on the things you buy. Also I think with travelers checks, only the person named on them can cash them in. |
|
Gaspard
|
Also, check the fine print in ur credit card user agreement. Sometimes for overseas purchases they tack on an extra 2.5% surcharge. Of give em a call to confirm this. |
|
Bandit
 |
Credit cards give you the greatest protection. You may need to use them at a bank for cash withdrawals, but using one for purchases gives you additional protection against fraud or sales disputes. You can challenge a credit card purchase for 30 days. Cash is already spent.
I once used my credit card for nearly all my transactions abroad while on a vacation. When the bill arrived, the exchange rate had changed in my favor as the dollar had risen quite a bit. Since my purchases were in foreign currency, I save several hundred when the bill arrived. It can go the other way though. I got lucky. |
|
Maquis A
|
It depends where you're traveling to. Surprisingly in some countries traveler's checks aren't easy to exchange. Credit cards are universally accepted (ie, Mastercard, Visa, American Express) but make sure you know if the bank issuing the card charges a currency conversion fee and how much it is. Some charge 1%, others as much as 3% or more. Also find out all the fees charged when using debit cards overseas. All these fees can add up fairly quickly. If you do take some cash, make sure they are clean bills, no creases or writing or spots. In some Asian countries they will exchange only bills printed after 2004, and starting with series D, E, F, etc (not A, B, C). |
|
Dagger_SA
|
Overseas - use travelers's checks.
Anywhere else, use credit. Using a debit card on things like car rentals and hotel rooms causes large amounts of money in your account to be "frozen" since they don't know the final amount. |
|
jamal piper
 |
Cash or credit.
Travelers checks arn't always accepted, and there's really no security in them. It's essentially buying money from a bank, but you can't use it as effectively as real cash. |
|
| |
|
Homepage 
Financial
Forum 
Business & Finance 
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
