Lori

We'll be leaving for Italy in a week and I'm trying to figure out how much I should take along in traveler's cheques. I'm pretty sure our ATM card will work, although I got the same response from my bank (BB&T) that it sounds like a lot of people have gotten, "it should work". So to be cautious I will take along traveler's cheques, my only question is, do I take enough along to pay for our whole trip (hotel, food, misc. expenses...), if I run out can you purchase traveler's cheques there, possibly with a credit card or U.S. dollars. I'm a bit confused on how to handle this situation since this is my first trip out of the country. I thank you for any advice you can give me. <BR> <BR>Lori

Elizabeth

Hi, I have been wondering about the same thing. I will take some travelers checks with me and also will go to an American Express office to buy more checks if nec. Also, can't you pay your hotel or restuarant bills with a credit card?. I've been told that most places accept them. Have a great trip! Elizabeth.

Bob

We go to Europe frequently. I bought travelers checks in 1991 and never used them. Finally cashed them in this month after returning from Italy. Credit cards are the best best. Best rate of exchange. Better than buying cash. ATMs are best to get cash. They are easy to use and have instructions in English. Be sure your card is set to a 4 digit pin as that is the most common in Europe. If it is not, your bank can change it for you. Bottom line: Use credit cards and ATM machines. Carry travelers checks if you must to feel comfortable, but they are really not necessary. <BR>

Lori

Two of our hotels do not accept credit cards. And I'm wondering if all the restaurants accept C.C. especially if we don't sit down to eat, but grab select items to eat while we're walking around. And what about museums do they accept C.C.'s? When we shop will most merchants accept a credit card, even the small family owned shops? I guess we could always go to an American Express office to get more traveler's cheques if worst comes to worst, right? These are just some of the questions I have going on in my head about this, because I have no clue what to anticipate. Thanks! <BR>Lori

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Be prepared - bring some of everything. We always do: more than one kind of cc, plus travelers checks, US cash, (but we don't use ATM's). We use the cc's mostly. If you have hotels that don't accept cc's, make sure you bring more than enough tc's. <BR>Also, a place may take Visa but not MC, and vice versa. I've also been surprised at how many places including smaller ones, accept Diners. We invariably end up bringing most of our tc's home.

Joann

I would repeat most of the above. I think tc's are a waste of time. I use American Express card wherever I can - take a MC or Visa as a backup. Also leave the US with plenty of US cash in small denominations (in multiple pockets on my person) and a couple of hundred dollars converted into the currency of the country in which I'll arrive. I've never used an ATM overseas but have been prepared to do so - I already have a 4 digit pin and the bank SAYS it will work!

Sue

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Anna

I'm leaving for Switzerland in 2 weeks and plan on taking my ATM card, credit cards (2), and cash ($500-1000)in my money belt. Last year in Italy we had problems cashing traveller's checks at a SanPaolo bank in Florence - said the signature didn't match the passport but it did match the signature on the checks. My husband signed his name both ways for them, but they still refused to cash them. We ended up having $500 in signed traveler's checks. Luckily we were able to take them to the American Express office in Florence who cashed them for us, needless to say the inconvenience has sworn us off of traveller's checks, at least for this trip. We were able to use our ATM with no problem in Italy last year.

Christina

Good question about whether you can buy <BR>TCs in Europe; it's never come up for me; I assume you can because, after all, Europeans buy them. Of course you're right that you can't use CCs for take-out food and cheap restaurants, etc. Since you've never tried your ATM card before in Europe, I'd recommend you take enough TCs to just about cover what you'll need outside what you know you can charge on CC, but being a little conservative. I belong to AAA, so I get TCs free, anyway, so it costs me nothing and is no risk to buy as many as you want. It is foolish, of course, to keep them for 7 years without using them as someone else did--you're just giving interest-free money to someone. I always have several hundred dollars of TCs left after traveling as I make sure I don't run short of $. I get all my TCs in $50-$100 amounts, and just use leftovers at the grocery store when I get back within a month or so. It's no big deal, I don't know why people act like TCs are such a horror. Of course, if you have to pay a fee to get them, you might consider just depending on your CC to get cash if you can't use an ATM card--this is expensive, and I think is usu. a 2 pct transaction fee, so if that's what you pay to buy TCs, it might be a tradeoff. Of course, there's interest charges, also, on CC withdrawals of cash; I think (but am not positive) you can get around that by overpaying your CC so you have a balance on it before your go. You will still pay the transaction fee, though. I would never take wads of American cash stuffed in my pockets as some other poster recommended--that just goes to show you how different people are, it always surprises me what some people think is a great idea, others would never do. By the way, if you plan on using your CC in Italy, you should find out if it has a PIN--I've been told some places in Italy make you type in a PIN when paying by credit card, even though we don't do this in the US. They may be ill-informed (a restaurant in France told me they didn't know what they're doing; that Europeans commonly have a PIN they use with their CC, but they know that Americans don't and shouldn't require it) but I've been told by someone who went to Italy that some restaurants did this and wouldn't let them use a CC w/o a PIN--better to be safe than sorry, so might as well find out if you have one for your CC. <BR> <BR> <BR>