using eftpos for 3 weeks?

in article , Frank Slootweg at
lid wrote on 3/12/04 12:20 PM:

craighannay wrote:
going to melbourne in may for 3 weeks and unsure the best way to take money
and to manage our finances for such a small period of time?

should i get a travellers cheque and open a tempory bank account with the
option of eftpos with limited transactions,or take my visa card along and
use the hole in the wall ATM machines?

any advise please??

Standard advice: Credit-card *and* another CC (in case there is a
problem with the first) *and* some cash (drawn from an ATM) to get you
through the next few days (in case there is no ATM, or it is not open,
or it is broken, etc.; mainly a concern in remote areas, small towns,
etc.).


Most major banks will also be able to get you AUD cash within a couple of
business days. You will likely pay a service fee and get a terrible
exchange rate, but it's worth having a couple hun on hand on arrival for
exactly the reasons Frank mentions. I've landed at least once at a time
when the cambios at the airport were shut down and the ATMs didn't work.
Since I never hire a car at the airport (too cheap to pay the concession
recovery fee) it would have been fun getting downtown!

RAB (who always keeps a few bills from his last Australian trip for the next
one)

On Thu, 11 Mar 2004 19:39:51 +1100, Alan wrote:

Good luck finding someone in a major Oz city that would take pounds
sterling (or even local) traveller's cheques. Your chances in Bourke or
Oodnadatta would be remote; they might offer 1:1 on the exchange rate if
you're desperate.

Travellers cheques in Aussie dollars aren't a problem. I've had them
accepted in plenty of places in the past including the pub in Coral Bay,
which is fairly out of the way. And last time I went there, there still
wasn't an ATM in the township, only EFTPOS which doesn't usually work on
foreign cards.

Jason

--
http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for trip reports including diving
the wreck of the President Coolidge in Santo, Vanuatu

Jason wrote:
[deleted]
Travellers cheques in Aussie dollars aren't a problem. I've had them
accepted in plenty of places in the past including the pub in Coral Bay,
which is fairly out of the way. And last time I went there, there still
wasn't an ATM in the township, only EFTPOS which doesn't usually work on
foreign cards.

In my experience, EFTPOS is no problem for a 'foreign' *credit* card
(like MasterCard). It *is* a problem for foreign *debit* cards. For
example they don't take our Dutch "Europas" (Maestro) (which *can* be
used to draw money from ATMs).

in article , Frank Slootweg at
lid wrote on 3/14/04 4:12 AM:

Jason wrote:
[deleted]
Travellers cheques in Aussie dollars aren't a problem. I've had them
accepted in plenty of places in the past including the pub in Coral Bay,
which is fairly out of the way. And last time I went there, there still
wasn't an ATM in the township, only EFTPOS which doesn't usually work on
foreign cards.

In my experience, EFTPOS is no problem for a 'foreign' *credit* card
(like MasterCard). It *is* a problem for foreign *debit* cards. For
example they don't take our Dutch "Europas" (Maestro) (which *can* be
used to draw money from ATMs).

I've had the same experience, although my bank card also worked with some
machines. Check your bank at home to see if it's on one of the major
networks (plus, cirrus, etc.) and then check the Aussie bank. If there's a
match, it SHOULD work.

Hint: if you have trouble first time around with the machine and it spits
your card back out, go away or use another one. Some machines (even in your
home country) are programmed to keep and eat your card if it doesn't process
the transaction the second or third time around. Can be a bit of a *******
if you're leaving town or it's after hours or whatnot.....

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 08:12:44 +0000, Frank Slootweg wrote:

In my experience, EFTPOS is no problem for a 'foreign' *credit* card
(like MasterCard). It *is* a problem for foreign *debit* cards. For
example they don't take our Dutch "Europas" (Maestro) (which *can* be
used to draw money from ATMs).

But of course you can't get cash out on a credit card via EFTPOS. I spent
something like 5 days in Coral Bay and had to make sure I had enough cash
with me before I got there. I wasn't that comfortable about having that
amount on me when staying in a shared hostel accommodation, but I didn't
think it was worth it getting travellers cheques just for that period, so
I took the risk.

Both my debit cards are Visa Debit, so they have the advantage of always
working, but I think they're just treated the same as credit cards outside
of the UK, so probably don't work in EFTPOS.

Jason

--
http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for trip reports including diving
the wreck of the President Coolidge in Santo, Vanuatu

in article , Jason at
wrote on 3/14/04 10:05 AM:


http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for trip reports including diving
the wreck of the President Coolidge in Santo, Vanuatu



Is that anything like the wreck of the President Clinton? Both ended after
going down....

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 14:54:03 GMT, Raffi Balmanoukian
a wrote:

in article , Jason at
wrote on 3/14/04 10:05 AM:


http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for trip reports including diving
the wreck of the President Coolidge in Santo, Vanuatu



Is that anything like the wreck of the President Clinton? Both ended after
going down....
Bill Clinton went down? Ahem. OTOH, it wouldn't surprise me.

Is that anything like the wreck of the President Clinton? Both ended after
going down....
Bill Clinton went down? Ahem. OTOH, it wouldn't surprise me.

Yeah, don'tcha remember the cigar? If it was a Cuban, he DEFINITELY would
have been impeached.