travellers checks
 

Off to Oz in a few days. Do we need travellers checks or just use check/credit cards?

Best to use ATM cards for everyday local cash. Remember you need a 4-digit PIN number for foreign ATM machines. And have 2 different cards, just incase once gets rejected (for some reason, this does happen occasionally) or if one card gets "eaten".

Use credit cards for larger purchases such as meals or gifts.

I usually have travellers checks with me in case of an emergency, but have never used them - they get redeposited right back into the bank on my return home.

I listened to the advice here and did not bring travelers check just my ATM card. I was very very very nervous about doing this(what if my card did not work) But My wife had one and I had two from two different accounts and they all worked. SO save yourself the hassle and dont' bring travelers checks. Also the exchange rate is better when putting things on your credit card.

Listend to advice here as well about not to bring travellers checks and the advice was totally correct. In Cairns area and Sdyney, ATM machines were abundant and we usually paid for souviners/tickets/activies via Credit card. LIke others said, make sure you call your credit card company to obtain a pin number a few weeks before you leave.

Hope this helps.

Hi DRB -

My normal sequence for money when I'm travelling internationally (I'm heading to NZ in the fall so am looking at the options) -
- my ABM card (I use ScotiaBank here in Canada & WestPac is their 'partner' in OZ/NZ, so that means no ABM fees if I use their machines)
- a seperate 'classic' VISA card from my bank (re: free) that I only use when I travel, it has a much lower credit limit so less of a credit exposure if it gets 'compromised'
- the 'classic' VISA is setup for ABM use (as a backup to my ABM card) for cash advances only, 'not' linked to my accounts (my bank indicated that if my ABM card was reported lost-stolen-etc then all cards accessing my accounts wouldn't work for security purposes)
- I also prepay that VISA with what I used to get in travelers cheques (last time I took travelers cheques was ~3 years ago & they were hard to get a vendor to use, they prefer a credit card or cash) but by prepaying my VISA with what I used to buy in travelers cheques - a) if I need to use the VISA for a cash advance due to a problem with my ABM card then I don't get hit with outragous daily interest on the cash advances until I exceed what I prepaid (since I used to take travelers cheques no extra expense as had to pay for them upfront as well) AND b) if I don't have to use my VISA for a backup ABM card the 'sticker shock' of my next statement is somewhat lessened when I see how much I spent on the trip
- I also have my normal credit cards as further backup & generally have $100usd in cash (which I refer to as 'international food stamps')

Have had lots of practice travelling internationally with work the last 5 years & have heard a lot of 'horror' stories with money, so this is my low risk/low cost aproach.

Hope its of value to someone.

Z