BootsnAll Travel Community

So here's something that I hadn't really thought of until now.
Let's say you have about 12,000 dollars for you RTW trip. What amount do you keep in plastic, cash, or traveller's check? And do you tend to spread your money out or keep it in your wallet/moneybelt?
I've travelled for 2 months in SE Asia but I kept it in travellers checks, a bit on my visa debt card and carried about 30 dollars cash and I kept it all in my moneybelt.
But with much larger amounts (12,000 dollars) where do you store most of it?

Not sure how I'd set it up... for sure enough to get home from anywhere would be set aside. Cream off the top!

I am not a very seasoned traveler but I think that I would keep the larger portion in an account that can only be accessed by a pin #. Like a debit card. I would get a joint account with someone I trusted back home so if need be they can transfer funds for me. That way I would only have to have a Credit card worth about 1000 and maybe 500 or 1000? In traveler’s checks. This way if some one steels every thing you have the only thing you have to worry about is canceling your credit card right away. I do not think they could use your traveler’s checks. And in any case you could always have your special someone from home wire you money from your debit account to a Thomas cook or something like that until you get back on your feet. just a thought I have never really done a round the world trip but I had my money belt stolen in Europe and was left with out a penny to my name in Venice. I cannot stress enough the importance of having some other persons name on your accounts from home that you trust so they can make transfers cancellations ect . When you are flat broke it is hard to stay on the phone for three hours trying to get a hold of some one from the credit card company to cancel your cardsI am not a very seasoned traveler but I think that I would keep the larger portion in an account that can only be accessed by a pin #. Like a debit card. I would get a joint account with someone I trusted back home so if need be they can transfer funds for me. That way I would only have to have a Credit card worth about 1000 and maybe 500 or 1000? In traveler’s checks. This way if some one steels every thing you have the only thing you have to worry about is canceling your credit card right away. I do not think they could use your traveler’s checks. And in any case you could always have your special someone from home wire you money from your debit account to a Thomas cook or something like that until you get back on your feet. just a thought I have never really done a round the world trip but I had my money belt stolen in Europe and was left with out a penny to my name in Venice. I cannot stress enough the importance of having some other persons name on your accounts from home that you trust so they can make transfers cancellations ect . When you are flat broke it is hard to stay on the phone for three hours trying to get a hold of some one from the credit card company to cancel your cards

That’s strange my post doubled up

That’s strange my post doubled up

i haven't used this but it looks interesting

http://www.ekit.com/ekit/home/amex_travelfunds

-Brandon

I have a large amount into a fairly high interest rate savings account (2.5%) and keep about 2000 in my checking account, 300 in Travelers checks hidden on me, and another 200 USD in my money belt.

I use ATMs everywhere and when my checking gets below 1000, I just do an online transfer between the savings and checking.

Works great so far. Good luck.

The thing is though with a debit card ( I never take a credit card on my travels) if its lost or stolen, its very hard to replace while on your travels, because most banks will only send a new card to your home address. So basically you'd have no direct access to your account I myself at least from now on go with mostly traveler's checks and three diffrent stashes of american cash mostly in crisp twenty dollar bills.

The traveler's checks are easy enough to replace or at the very least recieve a cash refund for.

Good point Hillbilly - I took cards from two accounts, plus a Visa card, so when I lost one of the cashcards it was no biggie (apart from paying more for withdrawals!). ATMs really are your best friend - I can't think of many places travellers' cheques would be accepted where there wouldn't be a cash machine outside!

Obviously a stash of US$ for emergencies is pretty much a given, but there's no need to dig into that unless you get a serious tits-up situation!

I found:

1) Travellers Cheques are too easy to spend. WAY too easy to spend.
2) DONT bring a pin number with your credit card
3) DO pay for an account with reduced rate on international exchange. I paid £16 per quarter for a "zero" commission charge on all foreign ATM transactions. Saved me a bucketload. Of course, I think some banks offer this as standard but I was with Natwest.
4) Debit Card is the only way to go - even better if its a VISA debit. Very handy for those motel/carhire/boathire/canoehire downpayments.
5) No matter what you think, you never have "just enough" money.
6) Spending it all on beer seems like a better idea at the time

Dan

to me its a lot easier to just put the card in the atm and get cash out, then it is to cash a travelers check. It helps me stay on budget better. But of coarse the more diffrent options you have, the less likely you'll run into trouble. But the number one rule is DON"T TOUCH THE EMERGENCY CASH!!!! UNLESS YOU HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS (IE AN EMERGENCY)

what I've found is that I'm not fantastic at budgeting. I'm just not. But I (will) have 12,000 dollars put away for an extended trip by the end of June next year.
What concerns me is this:
I have a Visa Debt card which has proved very handy for hotel payments and airfare...however when I tried to use it in the bank atms in Vancouver (I'm from Seattle) I don't think it recognized the bank (the card is from a credit union) so it didn't go through. Is there a bank that is almost worldwide recognized so that I don't have to worry about getting money out of atms in say...Lebanon or Morocco?

Also is it worth it to take a credit card? I've heard the exchange rates on credit cards are better, and while I'd have a 'bit' of debt when comming back to the states it's nothing I couldn't pay off. I wouldn't spend a lot, mostly just emergency stuff. And with a credit card if I HAD to get home right away I could book a ticket regardless of how much liquid money I had on me.

Anyway, thanks for all the helpfull responses.

quote:

I have a Visa Debt card which has proved very handy for hotel payments and airfare...however when I tried to use it in the bank atms in Vancouver (I'm from Seattle) I don't think it recognized the bank (the card is from a credit union) so it didn't go through.

That sounds really unusual. I'm not suggesting it didn't happen, just maybe why it happened. Any atm/debit card, even from a credit union, should be on one (or many) of the big systems (Plus, Cirrus, yadda-yadda) that would allow you to use it in a foreign atm. At any rate, if for some reason the debit card you have with the credit union is less accepted, you could just open an account at a bank, dump your cash into it pre-trip, and use that debit card.

I would carry $6000 in Golden Sacagawea Dollar Coins in a bag with a dollar sign ($) on it. And the other half I would carry in Silver Dollar Coins...also in a dollar sign bag.

"I would carry $6000 in Golden Sacagawea Dollar Coins in a bag with a dollar sign ($) on it. And the other half I would carry in Silver Dollar Coins...also in a dollar sign bag."

Now thats the first logical idea anyone has posted so far.

quote:

Originally posted by Alex Conway:
I would carry $6000 in Golden Sacagawea Dollar Coins in a bag with a dollar sign ($) on it. And the other half I would carry in Silver Dollar Coins...also in a dollar sign bag.

This is also a great way to make a lot of travel buddies really quickly. Particularly if your the kind of person thats inclined to leave your bags with your friends when you go to the bathroom.

Prisa- Was you credit union Washington State Emply. C.U. ?

When I was traveling in Europe, that was the best choice I had made, The Visa/Debt Card worked great and they had no international fees. Twin County and Boeing C.U. are the same, if you had a problem with yours call the bank and make sure nothing is wrong with your card, maybe get a new card. just my $.02

Okay, I no longer travel with traveller's cheques because the exchange rate and service fee to cash them in make ANY other method cheaper. Plus, you have to find someone who will do it on a Sunday when the banks are closed. Personally, I have used atms or credit cards. The credit cards I use to book accomodation or travel, but DO NOT use except in emergency.

But, because I tend to spend a long time in one country, I tend to set up a bank account, use a currency broker to move the money over at the best exchange rate and then bank locally. I'm a big fan of banking locally - it saves a lot of dramas....

That said, I once carried 1,700 GBP cash with me to Australia, in a neck pouch that didn't leave me. Mind you, on my first day of my first year in Australia, I deposited it into a local bank account.

Keep in mind that, if you open a bank account, you don't necessarily have to keep funds in it. But, sometimes, you find that keeping funds offshore has some benefits (I'm currently making 5% interest on money in another country).

Of course, you could have your own ideas, but this has what has worked for me in the past.

I'm not going to repeat what I heard here. A lot of it is good advice, and the rest is personal preference.

Personally, I have enough for a return trip and medical emergencies in Travellers cheques, the rest in a visa/debit card. Next time I travel I will have an ING account and another checking savings account as well, to spread the risk. If I was in Europe or Asia, I'd spring for an HSBC account because they actually have branches there.

Hint for people in cancelling or getting new cards, even Visa debit cards.

There is an international Visa number available. I have used it and was offered:

3 day delivery on a new card

emergency cash from a local provider

automatic cancellation of any card I mentioned.

I got my card in 5 days. I was cancelled in 15 minutes, 40 minutes after my pocket was picked.

All for the same phone call. I recommend you find that number(Not sure what it is) and use it. many cards come with a whole list of them on a tiny pamphlet.

I agree, I have been traveling for a bit, and I have never had a single travelers check. Most people I travel with take them and always have problems cashing them at a good rate. A VISA Debt card is all you need and maybe a little US cash in your pocket.

damn, every time I see the title for this thread I think he's got "a monkey question".....am I the only one picking up on the new optical illusions in use at BnA????????