Foreign currency traveler's checks
 

Is it a good idea to get traveler's checks in the currency of the country you're visiting?
I did this many years ago when I went to England, and wonder if it really makes sense to scrounge around and try to buy checks in lira.

Cynthia, I have never tried it but a few people I have talked with don't recommend getting foreign currency travelers checks. The reason - what do you do with the checks you have left over? You will still get charged a fee for cashing them in Italy and depending on how the rate of exchange has changed since you bought them you may have "gained" or "lost". Also, when you come back to the U.S., the banks here will charge you a fee for cashing them.

I'd recommend getting about $100 in lire in the U.S. so that when you get to Italy you have a little cash to start you off. I highly recommend you CHARGE EVERY THING YOU CAN when in Italy. The reason - the plastic card companies will give you the exact exchange rate for the day of your purchase with NO ADDED FEES.

Yes, take some travelers checks, it would be unwise not to, but Europe (including its banks) will rip you off when you cash them. Soooo-- use that plastic card whenever you can. (Don't max it.)

Dick

Well, we have tried it and have found them most convenient. While it is highly recommended that you use your credit card for most purchases, there are times when you need cash (public transportation, admission to sights, restaraunts and shops where they are not accepted, small purchases such as just a beverage or bottle of water from a street vendor). It would be a shame not to be able to pick up a small item because you're low on cash. We have used Swiss Franc TC's in Switzerland and French Franc TC's in France and have never been charged a fee to cash them. We've always been able to simply cash what we think we'll need for the day at the front desk of the hotel for the face value. We buy our TC's at AAA where we receive a rate of exchange at approximately 99%25 of the published rate. I supposed you could call this a "fee" of 1%25. But, there is no charge to members for the checks. We prefer TC's to cash advances on the credit cards, which does result in substantial charges and fees. On our last trip to France, our newly reissued ATM cards did not work (something about the international system not having been "updated"). If you plan ahead, you can estimate fairly accurately how much cash you'll need for your trip. Any "left over" foreign currency can be put to good use at the duty free shops in the airport. Last time we went to Canada, I simply kept enough to tip the garage attendant and the porter, and used all my remaining Canadian dollars toward the hotel bill to have none left over.

To me, it doesn't make any sense and in my experience
offers no advantage whatsoever, but a lot of
disadvantages as others have mentioned (i.e., what
do you do with leftovers). I can't think of any
reason to do this--as someone else said, you'll
still have to get them exchanged at a bank/change
bureau to get good rates so no time is saved in
that sense and you don't get better rates
buying the foreign dollar TC in the US (in fact,
probably slightly worse rates). When I was
offered this choice by AAA, I noticed their
US exchange rate for FF was not bad, but slightly
worse than what you'll get in France when you cash
$US TC for FF. The only possible reason I could see
for this was if some country or cities had the
custom of refusing US$ TC or giving very bad
exchange rates in comparison to the place you would
buy them in the US--I've never heard of this situation myself,
however, so I don't know what country this would be.
I've traveled in all of Great Britain, Ireland,
Western Europe (not Italy/Austria/Ger) and the mid-
East and can't recall a country where this was the case.

true.

We have found that having a couple of hundred $ in foreign currency travelers checks is convenient when you're in a small town, low on the coin of the realm, and are really hungry. We've gone to restaurants (hang the cost, they take plastic) and blown our budget. We travel cheap, on our bikes, and so don't always know where we'll be for the night. We like to search out local (read small) places to eat and they are really not used to an exchange rate. As for what to do with left-overs, use them at the duty-free shop when you return. We buy our's at AMEX but they are not available in all currencies, pretty sure in Sterling, DM, FF, SF and a few others, but at last purchase not Lira.

While I have great respect for the advice of some of the preceding responders, I really can see no benefit to going through the hassle of obtaining foreign currency travelers checks. As advised, charge absolutely everything possible on your Visa and get all your cash with your ATM card. I don't doubt the experience of the person who had trouble in France, but that had to be a most unusual, short-lived situation. We have used our ATM card all over France, and the rest of Europe, without any problems ever. You obviously are going to Italy. We were there last year and used our ATM card from one end to the other, big cities and hamlets, with utmost ease and success. We did run into one machine that did not take Cirrus, but there were many others within a very short walking distance that did. We take our Visa, ATM card and no more than $200 USD, and I have never figured out why we take that, other than to cover any expenses at beginning or ending of trip. I do recommend that you take two different Visa cards, meaning different institutions of issue, and each of you carry only one of them. Reasoning being that if one of you should have the misfortune to run into a pickpocket, which is more likely in Italy than anywhere else, you will still be able to charge all major expenditures.

As a retired banker, let me put you on to a dirty, little secret of my former and nefarious trade. Every dollar (or pound or mark or franc) that you lock up in a travelers' check is a loan to the issuing company or bank -- which you pay for up front and then gather no interest while you hold the check. Then, to twist the knife even more, the bank or FX dealer who does the exchange at the other end, often charges a whopping fee. Convenient? Yes. Needed? Not in today's credit-card environment. And the more remote the place where you wish to do the TC for cash deal, the more of a hassle it becomes. On the other hand, if you use plastic, YOU gain the advantage of the float if you pay your credit-card monthly bill quickly. In many parts of this world, currencies are declining against the hard currencies ($, pounds, DM, etc.), and you then get the best available rates applied against your credit-card balance. You get wholesale rates, in other words -- and the savings can mount up. So, if you feel "safer" with TC, go ahead. But with your eyes open; it's an expensive world out there.