Comments on: How To Keep Your Money Safe While Traveling

By: agentcikay

agentcikay — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:55:12 +0000

yea, i never use my credit card on the ATM the compounded interest is phenomenal. I opt for travelers cheques and cash like USD, or Euros. Also, I never carry a money belt – makes me look like a sitting duck! LOL. But I do go for flat water proof pouches that can be carried under the t-shirt. That’s a really cool first shot. is it yours?

By: What We’re Reading: September 18, 2009 | Two Go Round-The-World

What We’re Reading: September 18, 2009 | Two Go Round-The-World — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:56:15 +0000

[...] Brilliant Tips has some umm… brilliant tips on how to keep your money safe while travelling! [...]

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 08:41:43 +0000

Good article, very useful info. In South Africa the credit card is king. Locals don’t use cash at all. They will pay for a chocolate bar using a credit card rather than handle money. Apparently it’s because money (notes / coins) is the currency of the poor and there is a fear of contracting a life-threatening disease through contact. Not sure if there’s any scientific evidence to back up this theory but there you go.

I would also be wary of ATM machines. There has been a recent spate of violent attacks on them in malls. Some have now been fitted with pepper sprays to deter robbers. But in true South African fashion these have misfunctioned leaving a few poor grannies writhing on the floor in agony. Advice would be, stick to plastic and pay for everything at the point of sale.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:39:12 +0000

While planning for our year long journey we were concerned about how we would handle our money and decided on ATM’s. After a month I’m glad we chose this route and each couple of days pull out our needed money in the local currency. We don’t need to wear a money belt full of cash, which is a hassle, and while transferring countries usually use up our local currency easily. In Canada we found Citizens Bank which offers no fee international withdrawls, and look for ATM’s locally that do not charge.

By: 151 Travel Tips

151 Travel Tips — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:35:19 +0000

Nice discussion. We did a post recently on ATM safety. It covered similar subject matter, but readers might want to take a look at what we learned about the dangers of cards becoming demagnetized while traveling.

http://151traveltips.com/2009/06/18/9-important-atm-card-travel-tips/

Thanks!

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:18:18 +0000

Ren~

That is really good to know. I have had two occasions, one in Ireland and another in Guatemala where I had a mad rush to exchange U.S. hundreds. The first time, in the City of Cork, I went to five banks before I managed to beg a teller to changing them for me, and she would only take two of them. The next time in Guatamala, I got a big, fat NO everywhere I went. I guess these things change, from time to time and place to place.

I didn’t know about the markings part, Rich, that’s a good tip too.

By: Rich

Rich — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:27:22 +0000

While in South Africa a few months ago I was unable to exchange currency that was marked in any way. For example, I had a few $20s with pen marks that I was unable to exchange.

Make sure that any cash you plan to exchange is new and free of any markings.

By: Ren

Ren — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:56:22 +0000

Great article! I just wanted to comment on this: “Stay away from American one hundred Dollar notes; there have been problems worldwide with counterfeits of these bills.” There have been some money changers (both here in the Philippines and outside the country) that accept ONLY hundred dollar notes, or charge you a surcharge if you use smaller notes (the explanation a bank teller gave is that it was harder to give the smaller notes to those exchanging from the local currency to dollars). Of course, it’s not a problem if you have the time (and opportunity) to shop around and look for another money changer. However, in some areas where money changers are few and far between, or if you’re really in a pinch and need the local currency immediately, that’s not going to be an option. My suggestion is to follow the first tip: “Diversify, Diversify, Diversify.” I kept a good mix of smaller bills and the hundred dollar bills on my trip, exchanging whatever I needed to change as I required at that moment.

By: Craig Spivek

Craig Spivek — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:53:01 +0000

right on!

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:04:34 +0000

One thing I forgot to say, I rarely actually pay with a credit card. I usually pay cash and depend on safe ATM’s to get it and a money belt of some kind to contain most of the cash. I generally do maximum withdrawals to save on service fees. I usually only pay hotels, tour companies, car rental companies and the like with an actual plastic payment. Even so, I’ve been known to just secure with a card and still pay with cash.