Funds Security

[notzac]

A few people have mentioned using overseas ATM's. How difficult are they to use if you are in a non-english speaking country?

Most ATMs will generally give you an option for English menus once it detects an "international" card.

 

[Prof Henry]

If you are visiting a country with reciprocal medical treatment agreements with australia (like the UK) (and don't have travel insurance) than make sure you bring your medicare card. If you need to go to the hospital, you'll be covered.

I always have my Medicare NUMBER, but not always the card itself. Does anyone know whether the card itself must be produced?

 

[ShaneN]

I carry a fairly small amount of cash in a wallet with me - about $100-200 (AUD). Also Visa, Amex and Visa Debit. I have a separate Mastercard account which is for emergencies only, and can access my bank account. I keep that card in my room safe together with any extra cash, passport etc.

Before I travel I place all my cards, passport, driving licence etc on a scanner or copier and make a copy. This is an easy way to record card numbers, expiry dates and the like. I take a few paper copies, in hand luggage, hidden in a pocket in luggage etc. I also keep an electronic copy on my laptop, USB drive and portable hard drive, an e-mail a few copies to trusted friends and family members.

These precautions were invaluable in 2010 when my wallet was stolen in London. I was able to cancel all cards within a short time, and still had access to cash and credit through the Mastercard left at my accommodation.

By the way, my wallet was stolen while boarding a bus in Regent St in London in 2010. It was very crowded at the stop. I got my Oyster Card (travel smart card) out of my wallet and held the wallet in one hand with my camera and bag. Someone bumped against me. I did not even know that the wallet was gone until I sat down and tried to return the Oyster Card to the wallet. My bank told me that someone had tried to use my cards in an ATM within about 5 minutes (unsuccessfully).

 

[Hvr]

A few people have mentioned using overseas ATM's. How difficult are they to use if you are in a non-english speaking country?

It depends. I have used ATMs in Japan, Thailand, China, and several other Asian countries. Most ATMs have a button to press for your desired language.

Also, know how much you want to withdraw before you begin the transaction. This means having a rough idea of the exchange fees and determining what denominations are in the machine. Work out where the money is actually going to be issued so you're not wondering when it happens. I have seen all sorts of different modes including a massively large drawer opening where you had to put your hand in what looked like a guillotine to take your bills.


Also ensure you take your card at the end of the transaction.

 

[Stargazer]

Hi Everyone,


these are really great suggestions and I appreciate your time in responding to my initial question. Just another query -- do people use travellers cheques these days? They seem safe or are they outdated, costly and not widely acceptedl

In relation to cards, given that there seem to be so many fees

(access, exchange rate, transaction) is there one option that stands out as the best in terms of keeping these fees to a minimum. Casanovawa mentioned in another thread a Citiibank debit card that doesn't charge an overseas transaction fee. Also I have come across the 28 degrees mastercard which doesn't charge a currency conversion fee or international transaction fee. This looks promising.

Oh yes ... one other question. Has anyone used the ANZ travel card which can be pre-loaded with up to six currencies. Are there any downsides?

 

[harvyk]

Just another query -- do people use travellers cheques these days? They seem safe or are they outdated, costly and not widely acceptedl

I don't think anyone still uses travellers cheques these days. Considering that most countries have ATM's and they are as easy to use as the ones here there is little need to take a physical slip of paper.

Oh yes ... one other question. Has anyone used the ANZ travel card which can be pre-loaded with up to six currencies. Are there any downsides?

Haven't used the ANZ one, but have a CommBank one. The only downside is some places don't accept it as a credit card, whilst other places do. Make sure that you have a real credit card (or visa debt card) on you as well incase you go to one of the places that won't accept it as a credit card.

 

[RB]

I don't think anyone still uses travellers cheques these days. Considering that most countries have ATM's and they are as easy to use as the ones here there is little need to take a physical slip of paper.

We used travellers cheques(along with access card) in Alaska in 2010 & they were quite widely used in the parts we went. We are going to Sri Lanka in 2012 & there is quite a bit of advice suggesting travellers chqs are well accepted by banks over there-so again a good backup

 

[Stargazer]

Haven't used the ANZ one, but have a CommBank one. The only downside is some places don't accept it as a credit card, whilst other places do. Make sure that you have a real credit card (or visa debt card) on you as well incase you go to one of the places that won't accept it as a credit card.

I thought the commonwealth bank card is a debit card not a credit card??? The card is loaded with maximum of six currencies up to $25,000. The web site states that card can be used wherever mastercard is accepted. Did the retailers tell you why the card wasn't accepted?

 

[harvyk]

The place that refused to accept it was a car rental place in the US.

You are correct it's a debit "credit" card which is pre-loaded with currency of choice. They stated they didn't accept travel money cards for deposits, although they where more than happy to accept my normal "credit card" (again it's a debit card which acts like a credit card, I'm not big on using credit as I get myself into trouble quite easily)

That said I left and went to the place down the road which was more than happy to accept my travel money card as both payment and as a deposit \ credit card numbers.

 

[ShaneN]

Oh yes ... one other question. Has anyone used the ANZ travel card which can be pre-loaded with up to six currencies. Are there any downsides?

I used the ANZ card in Europe in 2010. Only used as an ATM card for withdrawing cash with no problems. There is still a charge for each transaction. I cannot comment on use as a credit card - there seems to be an issue because your name does not appear on the card.

As noted in a previous post, my wallet, including the ANZ travel card, was stolen on this trip. The ANZ travel card provides a second backup card. I was able to ring ANZ and activate the backup card instantly to provide continued access to my money. The service was very good.

However I would not use the ANZ card again. The exchange rates are not good. I now think it is better to just use Australian dollar credit cards and ATM cards. While you run the risk of currency fluctuations, the exchange rates are much better.

 

[Stargazer]

when using a credit card overseas are you asked for identification?

If so what ID do you use. (I would prefer not to carry my passport with me everywhere).

 

[Cynicor]

Never been asked for ID overseas, just like I have never been asked in Aus.

Have you been asked for ID here? I can understand if my signature was a bit dodgy one day, but most people don't even seem to care what you write.

Don't worry TOO much about your cash/safety or you'll spend your whole trip at ATMs, taking out $10 at a time then putting $5 in your jocks and $2.5 for each of your two wallets.

 

[harvyk]

Although I usually have my passport on me, most places will accept my Australian drivers license as ID with no questions asked.

That said I've never been asked for ID when using a card to pay.

Don't worry TOO much about your cash/safety or you'll spend your whole trip at ATMs, taking out $10 at a time then putting $5 in your jocks and $2.5 for each of your two wallets.

Agreed,

Besides check your travel insurance policy, you might find that upto $300 AU equiv is covered if you are robbed.

 

[mr mink]

Stargazer, you have certainly raised a few general threads here. It may be useful to get a number of different views on this but personal and funds security ultimately must end up being something that suits you and your style of travel. This develops over time and you appear to be a relative noob. The viewpoint of someone who travels to Europe and the USA on business and stays in hotels with safes as standard equipment, which is likely most of the people on this forum, is one thing but it may not be what you will be doing. As you have at no stage given any clues as to where you are actually travelling to and the type of places where you will be staying you can only get general information on certain styles of travel. I recently retired and have been to both the USA and Europe twice on extended 6-7 week travel trips moving around a lot. However prior to that most of my previous travel on annual breaks has been to somewhat "wild" parts of the world such as four trips to Africa (N, S, E and W) and 2 to India etc etc- in fact until recently I had not been in Europe since 1995. Starting in hostels or cheap hotels in Africa/India is a completely different kettle of fish to 2-3 star hotels in Central Europe which is what I most recently did (where room safes were a relative rarity).

Maybe you need to start with the money belt thing in terms of the most secure fashion of keeping your most valuable things together. Personally I have long abandoned this, as much because of the practical aspects that it is simply too hot and uncomfortable in say Africa and India (or even in broiling southern Europe in July for me earlier this year). As I am a keen photographer, all of my valuables/camera gear tend to all travel in a backpack of some sort which for obvious reasons never leaves my side. This is the level of compromise I have reached from personal experience. Nevertheless it did not stop me losing my wallet with cards and everything (thankfully not my passport!) in Estonia a couple of years ago. Complete disaster as it was the end of week one of a seven week trip -- had to rely on a couple of Western Union drops from my brother in Australia. In that case I think my wallet dropped out of my camera bag. Earlier this year on the train going into Krakow in Poland I think I managed to leave my wallet on the train! Although this had three credit cards in it they were safely cancelled with no ill effects virtually immediately and I simply took up using a further credit card which was zipped into an internal compartment in my main travel pack (that's my secret travel tip!). Although I only had a further week to go in my seven weeks this made for a relatively pain-free transition to continuing as "normal".

If I leave my hotel room anything remotely valuable that I am not taking with me is left inside my padlocked travel bag, rather than lying around to tempt staff. If you are going to be staying in hostel dorms for instance this is a relative given. Being generally aware of your surroundings as to personal safety/security while out and about is also something that can really only be learned by experience. But as others have broadly said, a little cautious paranoia is a good thing but too much can rather spoil your holiday!

 

[Stargazer]

As you have at no stage given any clues as to where you are actually travelling to and the type of places where you will be staying you can only get general information on certain styles of travel.

The plan is to travel to Europe and stay in four star hotels (if the budget extends to this). Although the itinerary is far from finalised the idea is to visit smaller cities/towns rather than larger ones such as London, Paris or Vienna. Eg. Nice, Lugano, Lucarno, Lake Como is high on the list of priorites. I hope to stay in each location for around 5 days and plan to do a lot of day touring on my own (staying away from tourist day coach trips). I will be travelling on my own and perhaps that is why I am so concerned. I will also be using the rail system in Europe to get from one destination to the other.

 

[mr mink]

Stargazer, that much more usefully gives a perspective on the style of travel you will be enjoying. At that level you can likely enjoy the aforementioned hotel safes most of the time. It could be a matter of debate whether urban Europe is safer than the urban USA, or in fact than India or Africa! (depends what alley you are down -- but it does not sound like this will be your thing). Being a lone female does of course have a completely different perspective to a solo male traveller like myself so caution is probably the watchword (see your earlier thread in which posts about unguarded drinks appeared!).

 

[Blackadder]

I am not stupid enough to travel without insurance.

Is anyone that silly :?:

Yes I remeber being in the US at the time of the Chile Ash Cloud was causing havoc, and a couple of stupid Australians were on saying how they had been stranded without Travel Insurance, and were going to miss the US tennis Open..
As I say if you can't afford insurance, you can't afford to travel.

 

[fjc]

Be aware that money belts have to be taken off when you go through security (airport, shops etc). As a female, this can be embarrassing. I now ensure that I have the money belt in my backpack before I go through airport security.

My backpack has multiple compartments and all essential info goes into the section of the backpack that is against my back.

As a side issue, before I left for recent USA / Canada trip, I transferred what cards / ID I thought I would need out of my Oz wallet into a 2nd wallet and left the Oz wallet at home. Suddenly needed one of the cards and didn't have it. In future, I would take the Oz wallet with me and keep in a safe place. Also, would keep all backup cards in it.

One of friends I was travelling with wore a security vest (called a shoppers vest) that she made for herself (and hubby also). It's just a normal vest but with pockets inside (which we females so sadly lack in our clothing). Everything went into one of their hidden pockets. I was so impressed that I'm in the middle of making one for my next trip. Business women could have one made in black, navy etc (whatever is your main fabric colour). Can Do Books & Patterns - Advanced Search - Search Results www.candobooks.com.au

 

[Stargazer]

Firstly can I say a huge thank you for all your wonderful information. You will certainly save me a lot of drama when I travel overseas for the first time.

Just a couple more questions.

In reading this thread and other threads on AFF there seems to be a preference to using ATM's over credit cards (I could be wrong about this). But as members have noted there have been numerous instances of problems with ATM's (access is difficult, card is frozen or the ATM is down etc.). Given all the potential problems why not just use a credit card for all your purchases? The credit card provides access to immediate funds, no need to look for a bank linked ATM (particularly at night!!). So if there is a preference to using ATM's why:?:. Do you get a better exchange rate, are the fees lower than using a credit card:?: I really would like to understand your reasoning.

Secondly in other posts I have noted that some members have suggested topping up a credit card before going overseas to ensure adequate funds. Why:?:. I am assuming that your credit card has a sufficient credit limit and that the card is paid off each month using direct debit to a savings account? So if you could provide some information why topping up a credit card has been recommended.

Apologies for the basic nature of the questions But I need to get this right

 

[Cynicor]

In reading this thread and other threads on AFF there seems to be a preference to using ATM's over credit cards.
Do you get a better exchange rate, are the fees lower than using a credit card?
In other posts I have noted that some members have suggested topping up a credit card before going overseas to ensure adequate funds.

1. I don't think there is a preference towards ATMs or Credit. Part of the perception may be that you ask questions based on one or the other, so biasing the answers. In reality, most of the people on here will use a mixture of both, paying credit where simple and safe and using cash for the dodgier places or where it is impossible to pay another way. Cash always comes in handy. There are a few who will be entirely cash/credit but on the whole it helps to keep a balance and provides flexibility.

2. Exchange rates are set by the providers, usually mastercard or visa. These rates almost always match the current xe.com rate for the given day, and can be found on their websites (for mastercard at least). On top of this rate your card issuer may charge a commission, taking the final rate to (generally) about a 3% spread.
Fees are also charged on top of these, depending again on your card issuer. Fees are uncommon for credit card transactions (and CC surcharges don't seem to be very common outside of Aus) but very common for ATM usage overseas. Some fees you may encounter are the foreign withdrawal fee and the ATM owner fee. The first is charged by your bank as (generally) a flat fee of $X (2-5) and the second is charged by the ATM owner, and ATMs will warn you about the second fee prior to finalising the transaction.
To avoid these fees most of us have a 28 degrees credit card or a NAB Gold card. Both of these charge no commission on foreign exchange, and have no ATM withdrawal fees. There are multiple threads on both these cards, have a look.

3. We top up credit cards that are fee free for ATM withdrawals, as our debit (savings) cards charge commissions and fees for withdrawals at ATMs. We do not use the credit limit for cash advances as that would incur an immediate interest penalty (i.e. the advance accumulates interest from the moment you take it, rather than the interest free period). As the 28 degress is fee free and commission free, if you put it into credit you have access to your savings for no fee. The penalty of this is that you cannot use the same card for it's interest free periods, as any purchases also come off your topped up amount. I personally avoid this by having multiple accounts and using one for savings, one for credit.
Others may have the NAB and the 28 degrees.

Clear as mud?