Money Abroad

god9

Going travelling for a year - S.E Asia/Oz/Sth America . Was wondering the best way to take out money abroad - i.e Credit Card/Debit Card - i have both which are chip and pin and was planning on bringing both with me - don't plan bringing any cash (arriving in Hong Kong first). Anyone have any advice on this....? Thanks

kraggy

god9 wrote: »

Going travelling for a year - S.E Asia/Oz/Sth America . Was wondering the best way to take out money abroad - i.e Credit Card/Debit Card - i have both which are chip and pin and was planning on bringing both with me - don't plan bringing any cash (arriving in Hong Kong first). Anyone have any advice on this....? Thanks

Doesn't matter that they are chip and pin. They still use signatures in most of South America so you snooze, you lose.

I personally don't like credit cards so brought two atm cards, one of which was a Maestro debit card.

It was the one bank account, but 2 cards. Kept them separate so if one was lost I had still had ready access to money.

Also, if it was the normal ATM card that i lost, I didn't even have to worry about cancelling it.

I did lose the Debit card however and so had to cancel this ASAP as, like I say, they still use signatures for transactions in shops in South America and so fraud is a real danger.

Meathlass

Cards are definately the way to go, I brought 2 credit cards (used only for cash advances as most companies in s.america charge up to 10% for paying by cc) and my laser card which was for my current account. I managed to lose one of the credit cards and cancelled it immediately. I also kept $100 in cash as an emergency back up just in case. You can always use Western Union if you're really stuck.

How Strange

I've used an atm card in SA and SEA; no problems at all. I know that in Argentina they charge extra if you are paying by credit card as they want cash not credit.

Always bring an emergency stash of cash just incase the worst happens and you lose all your cards. You don't want to be in a foreign country with no money. €200 would be plenty and get some $ for when you arrive so you have some cash to change until you find an atm.

god9

Thanks for all responses - but in relation to what is the cheapest way to access my irish money - would it be cheaper to load up my credit card and use that at an atm or would it be cheaper to use my atm/debit card for transactions ? I understand that banks/cards may differ but in general ? I am correct in saying that if my credit card is in credit that i will not get charged for ATM withdrawels or are those days over with ?

Neamhshuntasach

I think Visa charge 1% for handling the request and i always find the exchange rates quite good on visa. I think once your visa card is in credit you are not charged anything by your bank. This is an area that is kinda in the gray because i've heard convincing arguments from both sides. Call up your bank and whoever issues your credit card and ask them. They might even have a partnership with certain foreign banks so you don't get charged anything extra if you use their atm

god9

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

I think Visa charge 1% for handling the request and i always find the exchange rates quite good on visa. I think once your visa card is in credit you are not charged anything by your bank. This is an area that is kinda in the gray because i've heard convincing arguments from both sides. Call up your bank and whoever issues your credit card and ask them. They might even have a partnership with certain foreign banks so you don't get charged anything extra if you use their atm

yep called the bank - the free for being in credit thing no longer applies so i'm gonna use my maestro mostly i'd say. cheers for all the responses