Travel Money
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Mar 25th, 2002, 04:35 PM
#4
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Chris<BR><BR>I have on my last trip to Europe and found it a far better proposition to Travellers Cheques.<BR><BR>The advantage that I found was that it was your money you were using so the charges to get to it were very small (really it is simply a security thing that you are paying for) as opposed to withdrawing money from a Credit Card and their exhorbitant charges. Also 99.99% of ATM's accepted the card. Another advantage is that you were also able to get an account balance so you always knew how much was left. This way when you returned from your trip you only had to worry about the items that you had charged on your credit card and not the entire trip. You also can get extra cards for others that are travelling with you.<BR><BR>The normal replacement card policy of Visa etc applies to this card as well.<BR><BR>David
Mar 26th, 2002, 10:27 AM
#6
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Perhaps it varies by vendor, but the terms I've seen on those VISA Travel Money cards make them a scam. so be sure to check fees. The main purpose I thought was for people who don't have ATM cards, otherwise it doesn't make sense. It can be good for parents to buy for college-age kids without an ATM card traveling without them, for example. However, the ones I've seen charge a sales commission on the amount of the card when you buy it (like 1 pct) and then charge ATM fees higher than many banks (ie, $3 per usage). You would also have to check the exchange rate they use as it may not be the wholesale bank rate, either. There is an obvious advantage over a cash advance on a credit card, as you pay interest charges as well as transaction fees for those. I can see no advantage whatsoever over a regular ATM card. I'm not familiar with VISA debit cards, but if that is just a bank ATM card and not a credit card so you won't pay interest on withdrawals, then I'd say you should use that.
Mar 26th, 2002, 10:32 AM
#7
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<BR>One disadvantage of a debit card is that there is no third party to intervene in the case of a dispute. If a purchase turns out to be damaged, etc., there is no credit card company to settle the issue. The seller already has your money directly from your bank account.
