BootsnAll Travel Community

My 2 cents worth. With 25 sometimes harrowing years of travel under mu belt, this is what my last trip to remote areas of the Pacific looked like:

* $1500 US in cash, stategically located and never all in the same place and with the same person;
* Around $6000 in traveller's checks. Yeah I know, the cash out fees can be absurd, but if you shop around you'll do OK (or open a bank account in the country and they'll usually do it gratis). I have been ripped off twice in my travels and they proved a lifesaver on quick replacement (and MANY cool places do not take cc's);
* Finally, I NEVER, EVER travel without two credit cards with high limits. CC companies have a way of freezing your account if too many bizarre places turn up (I had mine frozen on Vava'u even though I had told the bastards I would be out for three months)-try straightening that out from a telephone station in remote Tonga, where 800 numbers do not work) and you'll know why I travel with 2 cards. Finally, it gives you recourse on challenging charges, which is ALWAYS useful in the third or developing world.
RM

That VISA card sounds wonderful.

I used to take travelers cheques, but reduced the practice after Costa Rica--I tend to have somewhat of an erratic signature (not to mention that the signature on my passport was from when I was 15), and if it didn't match EXACTLY they refused to cash them. It was terrible.

I've taken to using the debit card, and bringing some cash for arrival/departure, tiny bit in travelers cheques, as well as a credit card. I try to store most of them in different places.

I have a MasterCard debit from my local bank, and I've never had any problems. I am, however, looking to get one of the debit cards with my picture on it, since (at least with mine) you can also use the debit as a sort of credit card at stores, with just a signature required. In Europe (and especially Barcelona), they seemed to be good about matching the signature with the back of your card or an ID, but in parts of Costa Rica and especially here in the States, they rarely even turn the card over. It's very nerve-wracking for me, since if my debit got stolen, someone could easily blow a considerable amount of money and it would be harder to get back than with a credit card.

Some of this thread applies to this question

instead of traveler's checks...american express has this new service where they issue an american express card....instead of carrying actual paper checks...it can be used at the atm machines and it has a pin# you set up...and it is used wherever american express is accepted....i think the maximum amount is like 2700....so you can give some one you trust back home access to your info to replenish the card or you can do it yourself via internet yourself...from your debit/visa account....and if you ever lost it...just call american express and they would send one out to you asap...or contact them online....and it's very cheap...plus you can have more than one card...that's what i plan to do when i go to spain...

When I went to the Czech Republic, my debit card wouldn't work in the ATMs, even though I'd verified with the bank ahead of time that it would. Turns out the morons froze my account when I called them to verify that it would work, thinking for some reason I was requesting that I NOT be able to use the card from outside of country. They wouldn't unfreeze it over the phone, despite all my pleas.

I did not have any traveler's checks, but I did have my Visa card and about $200 in cash. I used the Visa everywhere possible and reserved the cash for when I couldn't use plastic. At the time, a lot of places there did not take cards, so I was really watching the cash big time. I think I came home with like $2 left.

I could have gotten a cash advance on the credit card if I'd needed it, but they charged huge fees and I never got that desperate. I got by ok, but it made the trip more stressful than it needed to be. Next time I go abroad, I will be setting up several different sources of funding in case one or more goes haywire. Having a trusted person at home on the bank accounts is also a great suggestion and would have been a lifesaver for me.

I will try and store only $1000 in my ATM account, just in case I get frog marched to a cash point. The rest is in my savings account which I can easily access online.

My parents will also have access to this should I need a transfer somewhere remote.

As for travellers cheques, they seem to much like hard work with fluctuating rates, sparse locations and dodgy cashiers. (from what I've read)

I will carry $100 on me at all times, be it in my shoe, sewed into my trousers or hidden in a money belt / wallet. Then if the worst comes to the worst I will be able to organise retrieving my cards.

I think one thing to keep in mind is that while debit cards are great, the ones that are linked to visa/mastercard (for use as credit cards, as well as at ATM) tend to have less fraud protection than straight credit cards (at least from US banks).

And remember, it's not the lost/stolen card that really screws you (you tend to notice that) but when someone takes your card at a store and then double-swipes it so that they can reuse it later. Those you don't tend to notice until you balance your checkbook or get turned down at the ATM.

What I do is have a debit card with a linked savings account (both accessible via web). Then I "fund" my debit card with period transfers from savings, but never have more than about $1000 in it.

In the event that someone does make off with my card and starts to make charges, the most I'm out is $1000 or so (worst case scenario). Also, I'd much rather be in the position of arguing with a credit card company over taking a fraudulent charge off my bill, than arguing with bank asking to put cash back into my account when it disappears due to a fraudulent charge.