lauramsgarden

I know that in general people don't use travelers checks any more. has anyone had trouble with using credit cards or atm cards and needed travelers checks as back up? I am thinking especially in small towns and villages.

cordherenthere

Hey,

On another forum I read that the travelers checks are pretty much not accepted anywhere. That even the American Express office won't cash them for you. We used our ATM cards to get cash. A lot of small towns have ATMs but maybe it's best to get enough cash to get you through.

qwovadis

Go a lot TCs do not work except in big expensive hotels and big banks have pretty much gone the way of the Dodo. I do best with my trusty no foreign fee capitalone.com Venture Visa double miles on everything ATM local money at big banks only. Back up
small USD in my money belt new no tears $10 20s no $50 or $100 too much counterfeiting. Personally NEVER travel with debit card linked to another account a good "skimming" thief can clean you out.0% liability with CC up to 100% liability with DC.

Good luck!

lauramsgarden

thanks so much, great advice - he (my son) tried for a capitol one but they would only give him the student one you had to pay a deposit on so he decided it wasn't worth it - I'm sending him with two of my cards that he has access to and a debit card - will keep in mind the advice about small bills

hayestrip

I just got back from South America. There were atm's almost everywhere except small towns and no problems getting them to work. If you take a credit card make sure you have a pin for it. I couldn't get it accepted anywhere without it. Our friend used travellers checks and there were some places to change them but they all wanted a %10 fee.

Bolivia is difficult. If you plan to go there bring a decent amount of cash. Atm scams are rampant and they don't have cash in them half the time. And like Qwovadis said, only bring crisp new US bills. Any mark or wrinkle and they wont be accepted.

cordherenthere

No, in Ecuador the U.S. dollar is the currency, and you will see a lot of very uncrisp bills. The crisp bill thing is if you are going to Peru and want to use dollars there.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

Agree that traveler's checks are useful in Ecuador only if you want to go to the bank and exchange them for dollars. Almost no business will accept them as payment. ATMs are a better bet.

Absolutely no $50 or $100 bills. No one will accept them as payment for anything. Too many counterfeits in circulation.

One novelty about money in Ecuador: You'll rarely see $1 bills. You will see $1 coins bearing the portrait of Sacagawea, which never caught on in the U.S. It seems like they were all shipped to Ecuador and are used widely there.

Leslie_S

Question about needing a PIN for credit card mentioned above -- is that only when using it in an ATM or also for making purchases?

I've read something about PINs needed in Europe for purchases but thought in SA that was not the case. BTW, we'll be in Ecuador only.