Travel abroad is
exciting, fun and scary. There are so many new things to worry about: language,
traffic patterns and signs, delicious food, strange food, and colorful money.
Virtually every currency in the world, except the U.S. currency, is bright and colorful.
Figuring out a way to use the beautiful, colorful money without overpaying in
the country or being charged high fees along the way takes planning.
The following are currency related issues that you should plan for
when traveling abroad:
1.
Exchange rates: Exchange rates,
the price of foreign currencies in terms of U.S. Dollars will vary from one day
to the next. In fact, they are different from one moment to the next, though in
most retail exchange locations you won’t see changes happen throughout the day.
On the Internet, you can watch exchange rates fluctuate moment to moment. The
rates you’ll see on the internet will still be better than the rates you can
get when you are exchanging currency. There is no trivial way for consumers to
hedge or protect themselves against painful swings in currencies while planning
for or going on an international vacation.
2.
Exchanging Money: As a general
rule, you want to exchange money as seldom as possible. Do a little research
and careful budgeting for your cash use on the trip and exchange once at the
beginning of the trip all the cash you plan to spend so you won’t have to
frequent money exchange services, banks or ATMs with frequency. Generally, the
best rate you can get is exercised by an ATM in the airport when you arrive.
Daily or per transaction withdrawal limits set by the ATM operator may force
you to pull out cash more often than you’d like. There will be fees, but the
exchange rate should be superior to the rate you’ll get at the bank (either at
home or in the foreign country) or your hotel. Skillful business travelers
should note that leisure travel generally requires more cash than business
travel as numerous tourist spots deal strictly in cash. Just want to get too
much cash; exchanging it again when you get home is expensive.
3.
Credit Cards: Before you leave,
call your credit card companies to find out what fees they charge for using the
card abroad (while you’ve got them on the line, tell them where you’re going so
your card isn’t deactivated the first time you use it). Use of one with the
lowest fees. Some cards charge no fee for overseas transactions.
4.
Avoiding Theft: using credit
cards abroad is generally safer than cash. If a card is taken, most major card
issuers can replace the cards in the country within a few days. No one can
replace stolen cash. When traveling as a family, split up the credit cards
between spouses so that neither spouse is carrying all the cards. If one spouse
loses the Visa card, the other, supposedly, will have a MasterCard. One call to
the Visa issuer to alert them to the theft will quickly end the worry and the
fun continues on the MasterCard.
5.
Debit Cards: Debit cards lack
some of the theft protection rules that apply to credit cards; guard them
carefully and use them only for withdrawing cash from the ATM.
With these simple issues covered, you can travel abroad and get a
ball!
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