credit card, bank card or traveller's cheques?

Hello all,

Will be travelling to India and then Italy in the next month. I was
wondering what gives you the best exchange rates - credit cards, bank
cards or TC's?

Both my visa and master cards charge a 1% and 2% surcharge on foreign
transactions and my bank doesn't carge anything for taking money from
a foreign ATM though the other bank might. TC's I am not sure about
where they stand.

Will anyone please put forward and kind
advice/suggestion/input/thoughts?


Thanks a lot in advance.

Regards.

Anirban.

(Anirban) wrote in
om:

Hello all,

Will be travelling to India and then Italy in the next month. I was
wondering what gives you the best exchange rates - credit cards, bank
cards or TC's?

Both my visa and master cards charge a 1% and 2% surcharge on foreign
transactions and my bank doesn't carge anything for taking money from
a foreign ATM though the other bank might. TC's I am not sure about
where they stand.

I have not seen charges from banks in Europe on my cards ATMs are
definitely the way to go in Europe and I would suspect in India as well.

Will be travelling to India and then Italy in the next month. I was
wondering what gives you the best exchange rates - credit cards, bank
cards or TC's?

Both my visa and master cards charge a 1% and 2% surcharge on foreign
transactions and my bank doesn't carge anything for taking money from
a foreign ATM though the other bank might. TC's I am not sure about
where they stand.

I have not seen charges from banks in Europe on my cards ATMs are
definitely the way to go in Europe and I would suspect in India as well.

I always like to carry around a few hundred quids worth of Amex travellers
checks. I have never yet had to cash them, but they act as a good insurance
policy should all your valubles be stolen.

But on the whole I just use my Visa Debit Card and carry my Credit card for
back up.

On 22/11/03 6:37 pm, in article
, "freeda" wrote:


Will be travelling to India and then Italy in the next month. I was
wondering what gives you the best exchange rates - credit cards, bank
cards or TC's?

Both my visa and master cards charge a 1% and 2% surcharge on foreign
transactions and my bank doesn't carge anything for taking money from
a foreign ATM though the other bank might. TC's I am not sure about
where they stand.

I have not seen charges from banks in Europe on my cards ATMs are
definitely the way to go in Europe and I would suspect in India as well.

I always like to carry around a few hundred quids worth of Amex travellers
checks. I have never yet had to cash them, but they act as a good insurance
policy should all your valubles be stolen.

But on the whole I just use my Visa Debit Card and carry my Credit card for
back up.

My brother-in-law brought a bunch of Euro travellers cheques here to France
last month, and spent a jolly morning walking from bank to bank trying - and
failing - to find a bank that would cash them.

J.

I've always found that traveller's cheques worked very well, although
it's nice to have credit and/or debit cards handy, especially the
latter. You can usually find places that exchange traveller's cheques
with no surcharge or a comparatively smaller one, and they often have
excellent conversion rates. There's still nothing nicer than the surcharge-
less debit, though!


--
Posted via http://britishexpats.com

HI
This is my experience:
I was in France and Spain in September and I experienced the best rates with
my ATM card[which always charges a conversion fee on $3 US. I did carry
travelers checks in case I lost my VISA and ATM card. When I cash a $100US
travelers check I ended with $79 EU.

My VISA charge was 3 percent of the total. Be sure to call the credit card
company and ATM card company before leaving to tell them the dates of your
trip so they know your card wasn't stolen. Plus, be sure you have a four
digit PIN in France and Spain . . .luckily someone on this newsgroup
mentioned that before I left so I could change mine before I left!

My friends who travel in France all the time decided that on their next trip
they will take cash out with the ATM card instead of using their VISA
whenever possible.

Enjoy
Bev




in article , freeda at
wrote on 11/22/03 9:37 AM:


Will be travelling to India and then Italy in the next month. I was
wondering what gives you the best exchange rates - credit cards, bank
cards or TC's?

Both my visa and master cards charge a 1% and 2% surcharge on foreign
transactions and my bank doesn't carge anything for taking money from
a foreign ATM though the other bank might. TC's I am not sure about
where they stand.

I have not seen charges from banks in Europe on my cards ATMs are
definitely the way to go in Europe and I would suspect in India as well.

I always like to carry around a few hundred quids worth of Amex travellers
checks. I have never yet had to cash them, but they act as a good insurance
policy should all your valubles be stolen.

But on the whole I just use my Visa Debit Card and carry my Credit card for
back up.

"Liliana" wrote in message
...

I've always found that traveller's cheques worked very well, although
it's nice to have credit and/or debit cards handy, especially the
latter. You can usually find places that exchange traveller's cheques
with no surcharge or a comparatively smaller one, and they often have
excellent conversion rates. There's still nothing nicer than the
surcharge-
less debit, though!

In 1986 while in Liverpool pretty late after banking hours, I found it
strangely laborous to sell a piece or two. Finally in a pizzeria I asked
while entering their establishment whether my TCs of pound sterling will do.
He gave positive answer and I just went after my dinner. When it came time
for a bill the same chap appeard a bit embarassed and told that actually he
had lived in wrong impression and cheques are not valid in their house and
further asked if I have some cash instead, well I hadn't. I don't know
whether it is still as primitive in Britain. In Germany on the other hand it
has been a norm that TCs of Bundesmark are cashed for their face value in
small and large hotels. I have done this a couple of times in hotels in
which I haven't been a customer. In decent currency conversions rates are
essentially the same for the plastic and TCs.

"Markku Grönroos" wrote in
:


In Germany on the other hand it has been a norm
that TCs of Bundesmark are cashed for their face value in small and
large hotels. I have done this a couple of times in hotels in which I
haven't been a customer. In decent currency conversions rates are
essentially the same for the plastic and TCs.

TC's in marks, oh my! recently? Perhaps you pull our leg.

"freeda" wrote in message ...
I always like to carry around a few hundred quids worth of Amex travellers
checks. I have never yet had to cash them, but they act as a good insurance
policy should all your valubles be stolen.


I also get a few hundred dollars in Amex travellers checques since my
credit union waives the 1% fee. My thinking is that, in case of a
real problem, they establish me as an Amex customer, so I can take
advantage of their emergency services. Amex offices will cash their
own travellers checques. So far, I have always deposited them back
into my credit union account. The cost of this insurance is the lost
interest, or about 0.03% per month.

We stopped using travelers checks abroad some years back. Getting cash for
the checks got more and more onerous, what with lengthy lines, photocopying
passport information, etc. ATMs are our preferred money source.
Practically every street corner has an ATM in Italy, our credit union
charges 75 cents per transaction, and I resent the 2% fee VISA imposes on
credit charges.
Carol L
"Anirban" wrote in message
om...
Hello all,

Will be travelling to India and then Italy in the next month. I was
wondering what gives you the best exchange rates - credit cards, bank
cards or TC's?

Both my visa and master cards charge a 1% and 2% surcharge on foreign
transactions and my bank doesn't carge anything for taking money from
a foreign ATM though the other bank might. TC's I am not sure about
where they stand.

Will anyone please put forward and kind
advice/suggestion/input/thoughts?


Thanks a lot in advance.

Regards.

Anirban.