Not worth the bother. But I do take two cards, in case I lose one.

Ben Haines, London

NO

Hi,

Living in the UK when I travel to the US or Canada, I take a few hundred dollars as an emergency back up. I do not take any when I travel to Europe as it is generally just for a weekend.
I take both Amex and Mastercard/Visa as MC/Visa tends to be acceptable in more places. I put some cash,t/cs and a credit card in the hotel safe so that should the worst happens I do not lose everything ( and i have insurance via my Amex Platinum card.)

I carry a few hundred US $ in traveler's checks with me, just in case. They are easily redeposited at no cost in my checking account when I get home if I don't use them, and acquiring them involves no extra charge.

In 4 trips since ATMs became common I have used 2 checks. Once, the ATM near the train station at the Zürich Airport was not working and I did not have time to go in search of another one. Another time in a small Swiss village the one branch bank was Master Card only. I needed Swiss currency, so I had to convert a traveler's check. I no longer carry my trip money in traveler's check form.
Instead, I rely on ATM's and my credit cards.

They are increasingly a relic of yesteryear. I have used them as backup "problem solver money" when traveling with kids or others dependent on me to be able to make emergency decisions. Barely worth the effort to go obtain them, most people would say - - and I would never spend any actual money to get them, nor obtain them in any currency other than your own.

Best wishes,

Rex

tc... they were certainly hard to exchange in Amsterdam banks, but I'm glad that they were exchangable in Scotland Banks as our Guesthouse only took cash, local cheques with a check card or we wouln't have been able to pay for 3 nights fare with our debit card's restrictions.