I'm not a frequent traveler..but traveling this summer to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas. Opinions please on getting/using travelers checks.Thanks

I don't use travlers checks anymore. Using a ATM card is much more convenient. When I was in Spain, I was able to use it all over. I think this is the same all over europe and of course the US.

I almost never use travelers checks anywhere anymore--ATM's are so convenient. Why are you thinking about using travelers checks?

I, too, have all but given up on traveler's checks. The protection they provide can be achieved by using credit cards, and in the rare case that I need cash, I use an ATM to get just enough to cover my needs. If you do not have a credit card or an ATM card, then I recommend getting traveler's checks.

I like travelers checks for a longer trip (and I have more than one ATM card and several credit cards too).

For one thing, it helps me budget my trip - if I plan to spend $1000 on dinners and entertainment, then I spend $1000 and don't come home with credit card debt and don't worry about losing the cash - it DOES happen you know. Sure I use credit cards for the big things (a week's hotel stay) and plan to pay for it upon my return. If you don't have a credit card, you better get one before you go if you plan to rent a car, you'll need it. A warning on ATM's - recently, for some reason my bank chose to put a freeze on my checking account and none of my cash was available to me for a few days - I'm glad I wasn't out of town at the time. They explained that it happens (the freeze) when you use your debit card to guarantee a hotel room, or a car rental. A mistake by the bank, but I would have been "cashless".

I get my travelers checks free of charge at my credit union. I don't use them all the time, but on some trips I do.

I am going to Vegas next month and probably will get travelers checks. As a AAA member, they're free, so why not? ATM machines? - too many service charges for using "out-of-network" terminals.

We are traveling around Arizona in June and Im getting travelers check. Atm machines are not always easy to find and why pay a service fee and I can get travelers checks for free.

I always take traveler's checks with me on vacation for the reason Joy explained. I'm terrified that I'll get some where and the atm/debit card won't work for some reason. I like to do a mix of cash, credit, atm, and traveler's checks. May seem too confusing, but I like having options.

Travelers Checks are the only way to go for us. Don't have to worry about finding and ATM, then added ATM fees, plus it helps us budget our vacation better. Just about everyone takes them and if we need extra cash, the hotel is always happy to cash them for us. We've tried the credit card route, but we prefer to only put the hotel on the CC and pay as we go on the rest. Much easier when you get home.

I had never thought about using them in US as I usually don't take very long trips within US, so get by with only credit cards and cash--but it makes a lot of sense to me for longer trips in the US, assuming you get them free from AAA or somewhere else like a credit union. I like travelers checks although I know one popular position seems to say they are troublesome and expensive, but I don't find them so (even in Europe where I go often), as you do avoid ATM fees and don't worry about losing your card or not getting money (all of which have happened to me abroad). If you are a savvy consumer, you can usually find a good exchange rate almost similar to ATM/CC rates abroad, I always have. In any case, in US you wouldn't lose anything in an exchange rate, at least I've never seen anyone charge to cash US dollar TCs in US (bank or anywhere else), so it does make a lot of sense to use them for spending cash. I tend to be a careful traveler and don't like getting wads of cash out in front of people at ATMs in public, it attracts muggers; I will not even use them in US except within a store, never on the street (I live in a large city so am used to taking precautions about this kind of stuff). ATMs have problems and fees. You cannot go on a vacation and expect to only use a credit card, you have to have either TCs or use an ATM as you will need cash for smaller purchases. Just be sure to be careful with the TCs as you would cash as if they are lost/stolen, companies won't reimburse you if you have not been careful with them.

We use a debit card, not a credit card. We move money to our checking account before we leave and then debit hotels, meals, anything we can. We take some cash and if we need more, either get it at an ATM or ask for cash back at a grocery or drug store. Most will give you up to 100 with a purchase. By the time we need money, we usually need more sunscreen.