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Travelers cheques
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
How do they work? Do all countries accept them? Is this the best thing to use when taking money abroad?
Post edited by JustV on
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The reason people like them is that if you get them stolen then normally you get your money back, unlike with cash.
To my mind they are now a bit useless because you can always just withdraw money from a cash point (in virtually every country in the world) for about the same cost.
if you withdraw money from a cash point, you get charged a conversion fee (usually about 2.5%), plus quite often a one off admin fee, so the more times you withdraw, the more you get charged. UK banks also tend to have quite shitty exchange rates.
travellers cheques are a good idea if you get them from a place which doesn't charge comission. the post office do them commision free on everything except sterling cheques (and usually has good rates!), so if you're going to europe, you can get euro cheques, and if you're going outside europe, US dollars are pretty much universally accepted, both avoiding commission, and getting a preferential exchange rate. US dollars are a good bet, really, as they are so weak at the moment.
Of course if you are forever taking £10 out then its not worth it, but I found it easier and comparably expencive to the travelers cheques I also took.
However, not all countries have reliable networks, especially in the developing world.
I'd use AMEX US dollar traveller's cheques. In fact I need to order some from the bank soon :chin:
It depends on where you are going.
Travellers cheques will typically cost you about £2 to convert into cash. It will typically cost you about £2 (that's what my bank charged me) to withdraw E50.
In developing nations travellers cheques would be slightly better, as ATM networks are fledgling at best, but in Europe or the US just use your debit card in the ATMs. It's about the same price, and travellers cheques are a lot of hassle for the miniscule savings you make.
if they get stolen, you can have them replaced in about 24 hours.
if your debit card gets stolen = pretty much fucked. in theory you can go to the police, contact your bank, etc, but my cousin got mugged and his cards stolen and the police/bank were about as useful as a wet fart.
yes, i might be paranoid, but it's kept me safe thus far.
Otherwise if I wasn't going to do that I would take a mastercard or visa credit card, not a debit card. In an emergency you can get an emergency card replacement for a mastercard or visa in 24hrs, whereas if you had a bank card you'd be shafted.
Don't however get an AMEX card - they are really unpopular and nowhere takes them even in the US.
It is when banks refuse to cash AMEX cheques, which the big banks in France all do (or did).
There are pros and cons. Taking some t-cheques would be a good idea, as would keeping one card in the room/hotel safe, but don't take too many because the exchange rates and the banks' commisions are quite steep.