Can anyone tell me if travellers checks in American dollars are easily accepted in Turkey for such things as restaurants and shopping?

You will be able to change them at banks, but most merchants, hotels, restaurants won't accept them. Not worth the trouble, in my opinion, except as emergency back-up, if you feel the need for that.

Those travellers checks will be the biggest pain in your butt.
Take some for emergency back up if you feel you must, but don't count on any little cafe or shop taking them, really, not just in Turkey, but anywhere in Europe. They are old fashioned and most small businesses will not bother with them anymore.

No. Use your ATM card when you land to get local currency. I was there last August and only one large hotel in Antalya (Sheraton) allowed us to pay in US$. Everything else was in local Lira.

If they did take US$, I would be worried about what the exchange rate would be.

Heavens, no! Would you take traveler's checks in Turkish lire in payment for something?

There are two issues here:

1. Payment in local currency. It's always the intelligent, and respectful, thing to do. And as mentioned, even if someone would accept dollars, you'd likely be robbed by the exchange rate.

2. Traveler's checks. They're dinosaurs. You can't use them for payment much of anywhere, whether they're in dollars or the local currency. Banks will exchange them, but you'll waste valuable time in bank lines and pay a hefty commission.

Use your ATM card for daily cash purchases and your credit card for the big stuff.

I guess the idea that travelers checks are a good way to carry money is well ingrained. It has been years since they were convenient.

I have some in my passport case that have been there since 1998.

The first year I went to Switzerland, I had the same old fashioned idea.
I cashed the first one of two at the Zürich airport train station because the ATM was out of order and I wanted to buy a few items before boarding the train. I did not have enough time to find another ATM.

The second one was exchanged in a little village in Switzerland when the local bank ATM was Cirrus and I was Plus.

Both times 6% of the value disappeared in the form of a commission.

I cashed the remainder save for four of them which serve as a doomsday reserve.

Only on one other occasion have the checks been produced as payment.

I was at a restaurant in Paris. To pay the bill, I handed the waiter a credit card. He came back making noises like a tea kettle that was about to boil. I got the idea -- my credit card was BAD. I started fumbling for my backup card and my wife said that she would walk to the corner and get some cash from the aTM. When she stood up, the tea kettle was about to bubble over, although I was still seated.

I grabbed the American Express checks were visible in my billfold, so I quickly laid them on the table.
That quieted the waiter while I found my other card, which worked.

Never did understand why my primary card failed, but the principal is clear: Have backup.

Thanks for posting simao. My fiance and I are going to Turkey in July, so if you don't mind, I'm going to piggyback on your posting and ask a related question... how do you all recommend paying? Are ATMs readily available in Turkey? I'd prefer not to use my credit cards if I can do so (got slammed with international charges in Cancun recently). Thanks!

I was there for 2 weeks and had no problem finding ATMs (we were in Istanbul, Capadoccia, and along Med). I withdrew ~500 Lira at a time. Used cash and Visa for gas. Hotels used cash.

TCs are still very convenient in most places of the world. Just not in Turkey or in Europe.

Hi

I took a tour of Turkey in 2006. One of the guests stated they had experienced alot of trouble exchanging TCs even at banks. You won't have any problems finding ATMs there. My cards have the Cirrus/Maestro symbols and I used ATMs displaying these. Use the local currency there. Some posters like to bring some TCs for emergencies. I don't but to each their own. TIP: Don't forget to notify your bank that you'll be using the cards overseas

Brookwood, my DH and I had the same problem with a credit card in Paris in January. Never had a problem before and this was a little scary and forced us to use our "backup" card (which doesn't give miles and we don't use).

I believe the problem came from the fact that the two restaurants used the new strip verifiers that we were warned we should have on our cards before we left. I'm probably not explaining the problem right, but be assured we will have two things set up before we return in October: We'll get a pin number and we'll make sure we have the appropriate magnetic strip "thingy" for Europe.

You don't need a magnetic strip
"thingie" on your credit card. In fact, I'm quite sure it's impossible for you to get one. It's just a fact that every so often for one reason or another a cc will be rejected - for example, if you failed to notify the card company you were going to be traveling. It likely has nothing to do with magnetic strips.

It isn't your choice to get the "thingy" or not. For the most part, that technology is not available on US-issued credit cards.

A cc can be rejected because the card reader doesn't work, or the waiter doesn't know how to run a non-strip cc, or the card was demagnetized/damaged, or the bank blocked it.

BTW - it is fairly easy for a card to be demagnetized. I have some bracelets w/ magnetic clasps and I have to remember to keep them far from any credit card.

Did you all find that using your credit cards and ATM cards caused you to get charged a lot of international fees? Just curious. Thanks.

I wonder how many people responding have ever even been to Turkey, yet alone tried to use TC's there?

While I am NOT a TC fan, I took some to Turkey specifically because two hotels suggested them -- giving me a 10% discount for paying in US cash including US dollar TC's. (And yes, I did check the exchange rate given -- fantastic!) And at more than one place when I pulled out a credit card, they asked me if I had US dollars cash (or TC's) instead! I didn't, but could have saved some money if I did. That has been a few years ago, so it may have changed, but the blanket statements here claiming the idea is absurd -- are absurd statements themselves. Turkey is NOT France or Italy, and the rules for those countries should not be applied to Turkey!

I wondered the same thing, Patrick, but I've only been to Turkey one day a long time ago, so had no current info. But one's opinions of TCs in general really are not relevant to Turkey or any country where one hasn't been and doesn't know.

There are countries in the world where TCs are very easy to use and, as you found out, some places where they consider them equivalent to cash. They are very easy to use in Mexico, for example, and you do not get terrible exchange rates on them.

heatherandmike: &quot;<i>Did you all find that using your credit cards and ATM cards caused you to get charged a lot of international fees? Just curious.</i>&quot;

Yoe - you usually get charged fees. But those fees are a lot less than the fees you'd pay using travelers checks or exchanging currency.

While I agree 99% of the time with what janis says regarding money and exchanges, I'd point out that her last statement really may NOT apply to Turkey.

Before going to the airport in Istanbul last month to head home to the US, we carefully calculated how much lira we might need and spent down the rest. We were down to coins, and--at the airport--I realized that I forgot to save some lira for a bottle of water for the plane.

I asked the woman at the kiosk if she would take dollars, and she said yes, and it would be $2.30. I gave her $2.30, and she said, &quot;No coins.&quot; Well, we were at an impasse. I wasn't going to pay $3.00 for a bottle of water ($2.30 was high enough!) and she understandably wouldn't accept $2.00. I finally dug up about one-half a lira, and she accepted that along with the $2.00.

I think that your &quot;travellers cheques&quot; will be your biggest problem in Turkey. I advise you use credit cards or if you are afraid of your creidt card privacy, use normal bank cards.

You can pay and receive everywhere money with your normal card.

Have a nice trip.