Just out of curiousity?

[Banshee]

I know this has already been asked.....but,how exactly do traveler's check's work?

 

[Dan Murphy]

Trying to make an analogy, I would say they are sort of like a prepaid calling card, you pay for checks up front to a company, very frequently American Express, sometimes pay a fee, they have your money and you use them like a check. Most every place will accpet them. I really think they have lost their usefulness and popularity with the use of ATM's and credit cards.

Oh, and BTW, Banshee, enjoy your trip, less than 4 days to go.

 

[Taylor]

Hi Banshee. We loaded up on Travelers checks yesterday. We usually carry cash only, but thought this was safer. We got checks for 2 people, which means either my wife or I can cash. Each check has the signature of each her and I, and the signature must match the signature on our drivers license. You fill out the date and the "Pay to the Order of" line when cashing. Plus you sign the check again. We will probably cash a certain amount each morning at the resort instead of writing checks every time we buy something. As always, we will spend wayyyyyyyy too much money on our trip, but isn't that part of being on vacation?

Have a great trip, see you there!

 

[Pooh67_68]

If you are an AAA member, you can get traveler's checks from them and they don't charge for them. Some banks charge a fee for their traveler's checks.

 

[ohanaMAMA]

VISA checkcard or one from another company (i think MC does one too)from your bank, travelers checks are pretty much redundant. Since WDW accepts debit cards pretty much everywhere,(the only exeception we found was the food carts in EPCOT and some of the smaller kiosks in MGM) travelers checks can be annoying since they usually come in denominations of 25 or 50 ( or mine did when I went to Europe in college) youll end up with a pocketfull of odd change. with a bank card you dont have that just a reciept that you can add to your checkbook just like at home...

OR even better. If you are staying OS then you can charge everything to your room. Before you panic... you can check each day with the front desk where a CM will give you a print out of what you spent and where.. then you can have them charge the days spending to your debit card or credit card (they will give you a daily limit).after you have approved of all the charges, wich came in handy for us when we were accidentally double charged at the Garden Grill... I was able to catch it immeadiatly and the CM happily called them and they removed the charge from our bill...

either way have a great time! and remember ! Its only money... you can make more

 

[jaysue]

Not that it is relevant in your situation since your "home" currency is US Dollars, but many credit card companies have started levying "foreign currency conversion surcharges" - about 2.5% here in Canada so when we go to WDW and use our credit card, we are hit with a 2.5% fee over and above the conversion rate that already has a margin for the companies.

This is enough for us to use traveller cheques as we can purchase them for no fees and save the 2.5%

Something you may want to watch out for if you are travelling outside of the US

Thanks
jaysue

 

[Sue & Co.]

As a UK traveller we are in the same position as the previous poster if we use CC's or ATM we are hit with a 2.5% surcharge in addition to having no control over the rate used so we are better off getting commission free $ t/chqs. We have used them before and have no trouble using them anywhere to pay for meals, purchases etc.

Sue

 

[Banshee]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I was just curious about the traveller's check's because we really want to try not to use our cc. Thanks again everyone!

 

[pampam]

I myself like travelers cheques. Yes, I travel with a bank card and credit cards, but I'm afraid of losing them. I did lose my travelers cheques once. No problem. I went to American Express office at Epcot the next day and they replaced them. It saved the vacation. Also, I like to know how much money I have left and be able to budget. I can do that much better with cash or travelers cheques.