Do you get dollars or travellers cheques

[Vixster]

What's the most popular thing to get when going to USA dollars and travellers cheques or one of those money cards I got both at the moment but they tried to get me to have a money card anyone used one

 

[kathie859]

What's the most popular thing to get when going to USA dollars and travellers cheques or one of those money cards I got both at the moment but they tried to get me to have a money card anyone used one

Hi Vixster---I'm in the States but in regards to travellers checks--some retailers have stopped accepting them due to the high incidence of conterfitting/fraud. I'd go with a prepaid VISA or MasterCard. Both are readily accepted. FWIW, when I travel overseas, I merely call my credit card customer service line and advise them of my dates of travel and where I'll be.
There's a small fee with my credit card for purchases abroad--but it's minimal.
I wonder if there's something similar for you?

 

[stoneyloon]

I've got $500 cash for the odd treat, everything else will be charged to the room (in Disney) or straight on the credit card.
Travellers cheques just seem outdated to me.

 

[orangetiggs]

I will take some cash and rest will be on my fair fx card, we dont have credit cards so not an option for us

 

[Vixster]

Thanks I don't have a credit card so may get a card the travel agent sells if I got travellers cheques can I change them at my Disney hotel?

 

[wayneg]

Check what rate they are offering, just looked at Thomas Cook cash passport and they are only offering $1.567, sometimes offers instore but also check their T&C's, any fees involved, I have never studied them as I prefer credit card.

Do you not want a credit card? Post Office offer full interbank rate with no fees, todays rate is $1,613 and you get £18 Quidco for getting one.

Travellers checks are still widely accepted around the Disney area, as far as I know only Golden Corral will not accept them.

Don't take all cash, your insurance will not cover you, usual cover is £100-300pp.

 

[madmumof2]

Travel cards. I have $500 for tips/tolls though.

 

[queendisney]

we have just come back and we took the majority of our money in T/chqs and had absolutely no hassle whats so ever in using them. Believe me we went in many many shops at various malls and not one said no. We don't like using the pre paid cards, tried but not for us.

 

[Laurafoster]

We always use credit cards, have done for the last few years. We got a post office card that we use purely for holidays

My Grandparents came with us on the last trip and they preferred to use T/Cheques. They had no problems cashing them at any of the places we went to (disney, universal, supermarkets etc). Your hotel will always cash a certain amount per day at the front desk for you. (Think disney is $200 a day).

Another thing to bear in mind If you plan on doing a lot of shopping is that refunds can take a while to go back on to a card. I read about someone who advised it took nearly a week for a refund to be put back on to their fair fx card, which caused a few problems when they needed the money.

Different methods suit different people, go with whatever you feel most comfortable with.

 

[Kath2003]

Credit card for us too. So much easier.

 

[chmurf]

$600 cash to cover for offsite expenses (where we don't want to use our credit (I mean debit) card and for amounts smaller than $35.

DW and I both have a gold mastercard. We're with ING Direct (Orange) and they charge a 2% fee for foreign currency purchases (outside of euro zone) with a minimum of 0.50 euro per transaction. That's why we use cash for small amounts rather than the debit card, if we used the debit card for amounts smaller than $35, the fee would be 0.5 as per the limit instead of the 2% over the euro value. So we use cash.

We do not feel the need for a money card, since everything purchased at Disney's is charged off the KTTW and then off the mastercard once we reach the $500 limit ($1000 or $1500 depending on hotel category) it just feels like a money card

 

[oceanscape]

Check what rate they are offering, just looked at Thomas Cook cash passport and they are only offering $1.567, sometimes offers instore but also check their T&C's, any fees involved, I have never studied them as I prefer credit card.

Do you not want a credit card? Post Office offer full interbank rate with no fees, todays rate is $1,613 and you get £18 Quidco for getting one.

Travellers checks are still widely accepted around the Disney area, as far as I know only Golden Corral will not accept them.

Don't take all cash, your insurance will not cover you, usual cover is £100-300pp.

Wayne, I've got a Post Office Credit Card. Where do you find out the daily rate? Thanks!!

 

[wayneg]

Wayne, I've got a Post Office Credit Card. Where do you find out the daily rate? Thanks!!

Any site that shows the interbank rate(Not tourist rates) is near enough. You won't know the exact figure until you get your statement as it fluctuates constantly but its as near as you can get.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/currency/11/12/default.stm

Drop the currency box to GBP Sterling
https://www.mastercard.com/global/currencyconversion/index.html

 

[OldKeyWelsh]

We used TC's for the last time this year when we went to LA & Las Vegas. We had so much trouble using them in shops and restaurants that that I wouldn't bother next time. We stayed at the Venetian in Vegas and, when we found out that the casino cashiers were happy to cash TC's, we changed all our remaining cheques just to avoid any more hassle. Having said that, we have never had a problem using them at WDW.

 

[queendisney]

We used TC's for the last time this year when we went to LA & Las Vegas. We had so much trouble using them in shops and restaurants that that I wouldn't bother next time. We stayed at the Venetian in Vegas and, when we found out that the casino cashiers were happy to cash TC's, we changed all our remaining cheques just to avoid any more hassle. Having said that, we have never had a problem using them at WDW.

we went to Vegas last year (and stayed in the Venetian) and didn't have any trouble with T/chqs. We paid for shows with them and also went shopping. They must be cracking down on them there now. I should think it's a place where a huge amt of fraud goes on.

 

[Tinkerpeas hubby]

Well I just got the last of my $$$ yesterday not the best rate at 1.56 but oh well, so we now have ........
$2900 in CASH lol. We split it into daily amounts and what we don't spend each day then goes into the souvenir pile we always end up with around $500 at the end which we buy our frames/ gifts etc with since we have no food to buy!

Cindy

 

[Kath2003]

Well I just got the last of my $$$ yesterday not the best rate at 1.56 but oh well, so we now have ........
$2900 in CASH lol. We split it into daily amounts and what we don't spend each day then goes into the souvenir pile we always end up with around $500 at the end which we buy our frames/ gifts etc with since we have no food to buy!

Cindy

that's not a bad rate for cash.
Check your travel insurance though - ours doesn't cover us for anywhere near that much cash...

 

[MichelinMan]

I use a credit card abroad now, and take some cash with me for smaller purchases - I'll probably take $1000, but I reckon I won't spend it all.

I have a Capital One credit card. It charges 2.75% conversion charge for foreign transactions. But my card also gives me cash back (1.25% for the amount I spend - or should I say the wife spends!), so that effectively works out at a 1.5% conversion charge - beats any purchase of money, pre-paid cards or travellers cheques, and so much easier.

I would really recommend this card - you can get 5% on all purchases for the first 3 months (up to £100 max). I can't understand why people wouldn't have a credit card if they can get cash back just for spending (as long as you clear the balance each month). The card does need a minimum income of £20k and an excellent credit rating though.

If you do take a lot of cash, yes the travel insurance probably won't cover it all. But if you split the money up (I give the wife some, I have some, and leave some in the safe) then the chances of you losing the lot of it at once are pretty remote.

 

[wayneg]

I can't understand why people wouldn't have a credit card if they can get cash back just for spending (as long as you clear the balance each month).

There are many reasons people don't use credit cards.
Some can't get them.
Some have had them before and built up too many debts, cash is the only way they can stick to their budget.

I don't see the point in a credit card where you pay 2.75% fee then get back 1.25% giving a 1.5% fee. Why not just a card with no fees?

 

[MichelinMan]

Wayne, if you were just going to have one credit card which you use all the time, then a cashback credit card like the Capital One card would save you more money over time because you would also use it for all your everyday shopping at home.

My recommendation of the Capital One card was for if you were going to use one card for everyday use as well as abroad - I wouldn't recommend it just to use abroad. I agree, if you are going to have multiple cards, then getting a card with zero transaction charges would be best to use abroad. But I personally don't like having multiple cards - its bad enough having a credit card, debit card and my corporate card to keep track of!

But getting a new Capital One card may well make sense to get even just for one trip abroad - because you get 5% cashback in your first 3 months, up to £100 total, you could actually make money on your foreign transactions for that trip.