Best Way To Carry Vacation Money?

[momof1princess]

DH, DD and i are going to hilton head/savannah/charleston in a couple of weeks, and have $600 cash to spend for 4 days. what is the best way to carry it? usually, DH carries the cash in a money clip in his front pocket, but for some unknown reason, i hesitate for him to do that this time. do banks still issue traveler's checks? is there an easier way to carry the money? i really don't want to charge up our credit card or use my debit card. would a prepaid credit card be a good option-are there fees involved for this? i'm sorry, i'm so clueless.

 

[momxx5]

Since you are not going for a couple of weeks you still have time to open a smaller second account (free bank acct) and get debit cards for that account. That way you'd only have to carry $100 cash at a time.

 

[Marionnette]

DH, DD and i are going to hilton head/savannah/charleston in a couple of weeks, and have $600 cash to spend for 4 days. what is the best way to carry it? usually, DH carries the cash in a money clip in his front pocket, but for some unknown reason, i hesitate for him to do that this time. do banks still issue traveler's checks? is there an easier way to carry the money? i really don't want to charge up our credit card or use my debit card. would a prepaid credit card be a good option-are there fees involved for this? i'm sorry, i'm so clueless.

Prepaid cards usually have a fee to just load them. Then there can be problems spending the last few dollars on them if your purchase is more than what remains and the cashier doesnt know how to handle it. We usually split the cash between us if we are carrying more than a couple hundred dollars. That way we are less likely to lose it all. You might want to take enough cash to last a few days and then hit an atm machine for another cash withdrawal to last you until then end of the trip. Atm fees are alot less than the cost of loading a prepaid card up.

 

[Gigi22]

Call me old-fashioned, DH and I still purchase traveller's cheques. Most places charge a fee on the cheques, so we shop around for the best price. It helps that travelling to WDW is a trip outside of our country, so we just keep any unused cheques in a secure place for use on our next trip! We never have a problem cashing them at WDW, or hotels.

 

[DeniseinNS]

When I'm going on a trip and don't want to have too much on my credit card or carry the cash I keep a bit of cash and put the rest on my Visa so I have a credit on it and won't owe any money when we get home.

 

[ceecee]

Use your credit card and pay it off when you get home with the cash.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I agree on the credit card being the safest. It can be a pain to use Traveler's checks as many people do not how to ring them in in the register and it can take a while to get checked out. My only comment is make sure you bring more than one if possible. Last trip DH lost his wallet on the first night of the trip. Good thing we only had $50 cash in there. I had a different card than he had so we were fine for the week.

 

[andycat]

If you're really wanting to carry cash, look at purchasing a money belt. They are available for less that $10 in the luggage area of Target, Kmart, and Walmart, or in airport sundry stores, or REI.

The money belt is a very thin fabric pouch with an elastic band that's worn under one's clothing. Most often it's worn in the front, under one's pants or skirt. When you need some of that "deep" cash, just pull the waistband out a bit, pull the pouch up and pull out what cash you need, then slip the moneybelt back into the pants/skirt. I generally keep what I expect to spend for the day in my regular wallet, keeping everything else in the money belt. I move things around as needed in the morning / evening at the hotel.

The moneybelt is intended to prevent pickpocketing, which it does very effectively. However, if someone sees you flashing large amounts of cash, you still run the risk of being mugged.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We bring the cash but split it up. I carry some, DH has some and we keep some hidden in a suitcase until we get to the hotel.

Once at the hotel, we move the suitcase money to the room safe.

We use our credit cards mostly but still always need some cash too.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Traveler's checks are very infrequently used these days and it can be a real hassle to get them cashed in a lot of places. Many cashiers have never seen them!

Carrying that much cash is unwise.

Why can't you just use a credit card or debit card? I don't understand your reluctance to do so.

 

[momof1princess]

well, my debit card is drawn on an internet bank in which i have my pay directly deposited, so i really have no option to add the vacation money to the debit card. as for the credit card, being totally unfamiliar with the area (never been there before), i don't really feel safe using my credit card, i guess because of all the stories i've read recently about card numbers being stolen. i know, that's paranoid, and i shouldn't feel that way. the credit card and splitting up the cash would definitely be the easiest options.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

There's a much greater risk that you will lose the money than your cc numbers will be stolen.

You can take your $600 to the post office and buy money orders, then send them to your bank before your trip so the money will be available before you leave.

However, you need to do what you are comfortable with.

 

[neatokimmo]

well, my debit card is drawn on an internet bank in which i have my pay directly deposited, so i really have no option to add the vacation money to the debit card. as for the credit card, being totally unfamiliar with the area (never been there before), i don't really feel safe using my credit card, i guess because of all the stories i've read recently about card numbers being stolen. i know, that's paranoid, and i shouldn't feel that way. the credit card and splitting up the cash would definitely be the easiest options.

If your card number is stolen, it's on the bank's penny not yours. Bring two of them in case someone happens to one.

 

[momof1princess]

you're all right. credit cards would be simplest. we could take a small amount of cash and charge everything else. we always charge our gas anyway, but normally, that is done locally, usually at the same 3-4 stations.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

We had a recent reported incident at TL about 1.25 hours after closing. A Guest had put on his trousers outside their car in the parking lot and apparently his wallet fell out. They realized this when they got to their (off-property) hotel and came back.

They found the wallet but said that $1,500 in cash was missing, but all ID and other items remained. And this was the first day of a one week trip.

We had just completely closed the park and were ready to leave Guest Relations. I did call Security and they were going to send over someone, as well as contact Orange County Sheriff's Office to take a report.

I have no idea what the results were, as we locked up Guest Relations and left as we could not do any more for them.

So, for the OP at the very least I would suggest splitting the cash up among several people. And the other suggestions about traveler's cheques or pre-paid cards or a bank account with a debit card are excellent alternatives.

 

[rewok]

I guess you're not used to carry that much money around? Because really, 600$ split between 2 adults is not that much. I routinely have 200$ in my purse. When we leave for trips in the USA, I get about that in US money, and split it 3 ways between my DH and I, and an extra location. If we stay at a hotel, I leave the extra bunch in the safe, and if we're camping, somewhere in the trunk of the car. That way, should a wallet/purse get stolen, we have something to fall back on. We still use our credit cards for most things (hotel, most restaurants, gas), but we have the cash for little snacks, those places that don't take cards, and emergencies.

 

[Fierce Fairy]

There is always AAA's prepaid debit card. You can add as many cards as you need to one stash of cash. Your purchases are protected just like a credit card. And you have a 24/7 customer service number if you lose it or have problems. You can load money by phone or internet. We loved it. There is a $4 processing fee when you first get the card.

 

[JB2K]

DH, DD and i...have $600 cash to spend for 4 days. what is the best way to carry it?

In a way that would be difficult for anyone else to use if the money were lost/stolen.

usually, DH carries the cash in a money clip in his front pocket, but for some unknown reason, i hesitate for him to do that this time.

Not very smart on hubby's part - esp. when you are traveling to a big tourist town. Would-be thieves love this sort of thing...

do banks still issue traveler's checks?

Absolutely.

is there an easier way to carry the money? i really don't want to charge up our credit card or use my debit card. would a prepaid credit card be a good option-are there fees involved for this? i'm sorry, i'm so clueless.

I have a seperate checking account with one of the nation's "top 4" banks (for ease of free ATM access and card replacment, if lost/stolen). I don't like to tie-up my everyday banking business with my vacation money.

As for prepaid cards, they have their own pitfalls - you can't use them at gas pumps, and anything requiring security deposits/tips could also be problematic.

 

[scrapquitler]

Use your credit card and pay it off when you get home with the cash.

this sounds like a great plan!

 

[eandt]

We normally use a credit card (one, Disney of course) for most purchases at home and when we travel and pay it off every month. Haven't carried a balance since about our second year together and we just celebrated our 21st Anniversary! When you do carry significant cash it is smart to carry it in several separate places, different pockets, different bags etc so that if the unthinkable happens and you are robbed/pick pocketed etc you most likely would not be out the entire amount. Make sure you button/snap/zipper all pockets, bags, purses etc. Don't make it easy for these sleazes to ruin your vacation! Keep your eyes open when you are in large crowds if you see something not right report it, be the eyes and ears for eachother.