Travelling overseas and access to money

[LearningMan]

Hiya all, looking for some tips.

My parents are travelling to Sth America in Sept. They are trying to see what the best option is for paying for accommodation and various tours while over there.

Seems the more off the beat you go the less likely people are to accept Visa. So cash is king. Problem is carrying cash can be fairly risky.

Anyone have any credit card suggestions/ tips I may be able to share ? They are quite anxious about this trip.

 

[RightValue]

You haven't heard of travellers cheques??

I always carry some as a back up in case places don't accept credit cards and the ATM is non existent or not working.

Otherwise they can just get cash out of an ATM either from their normal handycard or on their visa card if it is set up with a pin.

Alternative cash advances on visa card every couple of days from banks.


cheers

RightValue

 

[travelbug]

Some outback places won't take travellers cheques. In Italy most of the hotels I stayed out wanted cash (Euros) when I arrived).

If there are no change facilities a restaurant won't just change them.
I get cash at bigger towns and carry it under my chothes. I don't like the big money belts so I just made a soft material pocket that pins in my clothes. I carry cash and credit card in it. Only having enough money in my pruse for the day.

That way if my bag gets stolen, slashed etc I am not stranded.

 

[wylie]

I know when we went overseas we got a Wizard Clear Advantage credit card which apparently is a much cheaper card than most with no or very low fees and free or very cheap conversion costs. Worth checking out.

 

[Wiseguy]

i added extra funds to my Wizard CC and then withdrew those funds from ATMs. zero withdrawal fees and no interest on funds withdrawn

 

[wylie]

Yes. I forgot to add that we did this too. Put money on the card and it was only the last few days that we went into credit, but either way, the costs were really low compared to most other cards (so I am told).

 

[Token Funder]

I tend to use a Cash Passport which is a preloaded ATM/VISA that you can load up with the major currencies. Works well in my experience

 

[investor888]

We just use Credit Card, or just the normal Commonwealth Bank keycard overseas. Take cash out from any ATM whenever we need it. If your keycard has the Maestro/Cirrus symbol on it, then you can take cash out from any ATM's or from any retailer on these networks. There is a slight charge(2% or thereabouts), and you need to be aware of the daily withdraw limit (eg. $800 AUD ~ 500 euro/day).

Over 900,000 cash machines, seven million retailers worldwide** and 93 countries accept Maestro

Unless your going to woop woop, just use your keycard. Travelers Cheque??, must be 1980's dinosaur stuff.

 

[Perp]

Unless your going to woop woop, just use your keycard. Travelers Cheque??, must be 1980's dinosaur stuff.

I thought the same thing! I thought they'd stop issuing travellers' cheques years ago... not as safe or convenient as a credit card linked to one of those networks.

 

[LearningMan]

Thanks Everyone. Yes - travellers cheques can be a pain in remote places.

Can I ask if the Wizard CC is this one ? http://www.aussie.com.au/credit-card/index.htm

 

[wylie]

That doesn't look like it. I googled it, and came up with this page of frequently asked questions -

http://www.wizardclearadvantage.com.au/frequently_asked_questions.html

 

[pawprints]

Cash Passports, available at travel agents, allow you to load cash onto the card and use it as ATM's. You will be laughed at if you manage to get and try and present travellers cheques, NO ONE takes these any more.

 

[Edmond Dantes]

Hiya all, looking for some tips.

My parents are travelling to Sth America in Sept. They are trying to see what the best option is for paying for accommodation and various tours while over there.

Seems the more off the beat you go the less likely people are to accept Visa. So cash is king. Problem is carrying cash can be fairly risky.

Anyone have any credit card suggestions/ tips I may be able to share ? They are quite anxious about this trip.

Where abouts in Sth Am.?
no cash. Use cash passports as suggested by pawprints.

cheers

 

[Pushka]

We were in Bali a couple of weeks ago and the ATM's didnt like Cash Passports. Wouldnt spit out any money. Their fees are pretty bad too.

We have a NAB Gold Visa Debit Card that has no ATM charges for ANY ATM overseas. But, in Australia, because Banking agreed to back in March this year, we get slugged $2.50 for using a non ATM.