<p>I will be spending a week in London soon. In the past, when traveling in Europe, I’ve always used credit and debit cards. My husband wants me to take traveler’s cheques this trip to avoid all the extra fees. My impression is that using traveler’s cheques is getting harder and harder-difficulty in finding institutions who take them, finding a place to cash them, etc.</p>
<p>I called the credit card co’s and my husband is correct: Amex: 2.7% fee per transaction, Master Card: 3% fee per transaction, and debit card:3% fee, $3.00 additional fee per transaction, and additional possible fee by bank which owns the atm.</p>
<p>Any advice from the seasoned travelers on which is the most practical and cost effective option?</p>
<p>Better credit card? Ours (USAA) only shows a 1% fee and I have read of some banks which do not charge a fee at all.</p>
<p>My kids do ATM WDs and CCs. They were aware that the banks charge a $3-5 fee for the foreign WD, so did large enough withdrawals to minimize the fees</p>
<p>I called my bank and asked if they would waive the 3% fee and they said no. I don’t have time to get another credit card with a better rate since I’m leaving in a few days. If I traveled internationally frequently, I definitely would look into finding a better deal.</p>
<p>Simple. You lose the cc or dc and you are s.o.l. For this sort of advice, look at tripadvisor.com. Lots of tales of machine fraud, etc- probably too alarmist, but that’s where you’ll get the buzz.</p>
<p>If I were only spending a week, I’d get Euros (cash) to take with me in the amount I thought I’d spend. I’d use the credit card for a back-up and for larger purchases.</p>
<p>While Debit and Credit cards charge a fee, they use a much better exchange rate than the rate you will get for a travellers check. I’ve done the math more than once and it isn’t even close. </p>
<p>When traveling to London, I generally make a larger ATM withdrawal upon arrival and then spend cash for most small transactions. CC or Debit card for dinners, hotels etc.</p>
<p>Be careful the fees they charge to cash a traveler’s check in London, especially on the weekends, when the banks are not open. The banks are not the most accessable venue for cashing the traveler’s checks anyway and there are many places do not accept traveler’s checks, it is NOT the same as cash.</p>
In London? They use British Pounds - not Euros.</p>
<p>No one really uses travelers checks anymore and if they did, I think they have fees associated with them as well (but it’s been a very long time since I’ve used any). Nowadays people use CCs/DCs. I just use the ATMs at banks over there (as opposed to random ones you might see standalone) and have never had an issue. I suppose there may be some fees but hey - it’s the cost of traveling internationally.</p>
<p>^^^I tend to agree with all of you. The hassle of trying to find a place to cash the traveler’s checks just doesn’t seem worth it, especially if the fees come close to that of using the cc and debit card. I don’t know why DH is suddenly making such an issue of this. But I wanted to have some sound information before I made a big stand on it.</p>
<p>I appreciate all of the feedback.</p>
<p>EDIT: I just noticed that there is an American Express Foreign Exchange office less than .5 miles from my hotel. It may be just as well to go ahead and use the traveler’s checks and by doing so avoid the appearance that I’m being cavalier about money in this depressed economy (DH’s industry is in the tank right now). And if the exchange rate is not ideal, he can’t blame me for that.</p>
<p>We were in London in May. We relied on our credit card to charge everything and debit to get cash. We had a lot of trouble with several things. First, when my husband attempted to get cash two cash machines were broken. I told my husband to save all receipts, which fortunately he did. In the two cash machines he received a slip saying the machine wasn’t able to disburse cash…good thing because it was deducted from our account. </p>
<p>The latter happened more than once, to the tune of a swing of over 1,000 pounds.</p>
<p>In addition, we had a challenge with restaurants charging meals. In London they have a machine to process charges that is brought to the table. This is to avoid our losing sight of our card. Several times the machine indicated a failure to process. It did. My husband is still trying to get money back. HBSC is still arguing one lunch. Why would we pay forr 3 exactly the same lunch within a minute of each other?</p>
<p>And why would we pay for 3 trips for four on the London Eye, within a minute? It was hard enough getting me on there once.</p>
<p>I don’t have an answer as to other options. I just know that if we hadn’t kept records and my husband wasn’t a lawyer (yes, the last lunch and one dinner is still in contention) we would have paid more than $2,000 extra for our trip.</p>
<p>^^^^Wow, that sucks, ellebud. Chasing down businesses to get them to make things right for you after the fact is not my forte. So sorry that happened to you!</p>
<p>Yes, sorry, pounds, not euros. But cash in any case. There is a fee for foreign currency, but there really is no way to avoid some kind of fee. The bank where you normally do business may be the best place to order your currency, which you would probably need to do in advance.
If you do bring cash, be sure to keep it in several different places–some in your wallet, some in a money belt or pouch, and maybe leave some in the room in a locked suitcase. It’s really nice not to have to keep worrying about having enough money with you, and whether or not you’ll be able to cash a check.</p>
<p>To clarify, yes, we do use cc. But, because of some tales like those above, we restrict use to a few times, larger purchases, so we can more easily monitor the accuracy later. Have never had a problem finding or using an ATM. Nor have we ever had an issue finding a place to convert TC. (Just keep an eye out on your daily route.) We take only one card. Once, DHs pocket was picked (ok, Rome) and it was a hassle to get the number to call in the US and get it reported. Plus, I believe we needed a police report. Why complicate things? Rely mostly on TC. The exchange rate is what it is and you’re going for the pleasure.</p>
<p>^^ I’d never leave cash or other valuables but especially cash, in a hotel room, locked in the suitcase or not.</p>
<p>Really, just use a CC/DC and just get enough foreign cash for a few days or so. If you get too much you just lose money again when you attempt to exchange it back when you leave. No matter what way you do it the banks (or especially and money exchange location) will likely figure out a way to make some commission on it. I’ve usually found the local banks over there to be the best with exchange rates. If you want to be nuts about it you could walk to a few and compare their rates but it’s not really worth it unless you plan to spend thousands and thousands in cash.</p>
<p>Look for the ATMs at major banks (Barclays, etc.) and use those. If they fail and don’t displense the cas you can go inside and talk to them about it. For more assurance, stand behind someone else getting cash and only use it when you see that transaction was successful. </p>
<p>Finally, if your H is stuck on travelers checks (I assume because he doesn’t actually travel much or recently?) then you can compare some actual rates and see what it really comes down to. I doubt it’ll be significant.</p>
<p>Problem with cash is if you overestimate how much you’ll use, you’ll get burned on fees/poor exchange rates twice—once to convert dollars to pounds, then again to reconvert excess pounds back to dollars. I generally use credit cards wherever possible, and withdraw a modest amount of cash by ATM when I’m there; any leftover petty cash can be spent at airport shops buying last-minute gifts. I find travelers check incredibly inconvenient these days. Few businesses accept them anymore, and the lines can be long and the hours inconvenient at banks that will convert them to local currency.</p>
<p>Many are uncomfortable with that idea, but I’ve not had a problem with it (I’m coming up on 60) and I’ve been all over. I would never leave valuables in a car in a foreign country, however. I’ve left cash, well hidden, in good hotels and had no problem many times. But honestly, my clothes hanging in the closet and my actual luggage is worth much more than any cash I would leave behind.</p>
<p>I think what you do depends on how much you value your time and convenience and enjoyment of the trip relative to the amount of fees you will have to pay (no matter how you do it.) Do what feels comfortable.</p>
<p>My own bias- I don’t trust using my credit card at small shops overseas. I’ve been burned on that one. So there you go.</p>
<p>^^ Haha - that might be a difference - my clothes are never worth that much. </p>
<p>There was only one time I’ve ever had anything stolen from a hotel room and that was cash my W left in a suitcase - but this was actually in Del Mar California of all places. However, I’ve never left cash in the room (and my W hasn’t since that incident) and even the hotels say not to do it. Hotel staff people with access to the room are not usually the highest paid people around so it only makes sense not to tempt fate too much. Reports on TripAdvisor indicate that various people have had trouble with cash stolen from the suitcases in the room as well.</p>