Mexico - best way to pay

Jellybaby1

Thinking of booking to go to Mexico, Cuba, South America, sort of areas. What's the best way to bring moneyor pay for stuff? Can you still get travellers cheques? Haven't a clue, need advice please.

edeldonlon

In Cuba cash is king! Just bring euros and they will exchange them in the bank. Make sure that your credit card isnt linked to a US bank as they wont accept it. I travel a lot and tend to just bring cash and my credit card. I haven't used a travellers cheque in years. I think they are more hassle than going to the ATM in the given country.

Enjoy!

Jellybaby1

Thank you. Bit nervous of carrying too much cash. What about those temporary credit cards, would you recommend them?

edeldonlon

You will be able to use your ATM card in any of these countries. There will be a small bank charge (Im in the UK at the moment and its usually £3) I usually just take enough for the first few days and then take from that.

I have not used one of those cards but I guess that would be ok just make sure that you can use it in shops etc and not just online

Jellybaby1

Much appreciated!

uponthegad

The cheapest (free) way to take money out abroad is to add money to your credit card in advance (thus creating a minus (-) balance) and then withdrawn the cash at ATM's using the "cash advance" option. There is no charge by your credit card company if your do it this way, but you must be withdrawing from a minus balance and not go past zero. There may be a local charge from the bank but this is usually very small.

One major warning though is that if your card gets stolen/cloned and used you will probably not be reimbursed for any extra money you had put on your card. I am not 100% sure that this applies to all cards as its a small print issue.

Best way to limit that risk is to use online banking to transfer small amounts every few days. The internet is almost everywhere these days and I tend to move say 200 euro to my credit card every so often and then just take out what I need for a few days, obviously how much to take out depends on the country and place but usually carrying €100 in your wallet is more than enough as ATM's are so wide spread these days. (possibly not in Cuba but I've never been).

For me it's the safest way to manage your money while traveling as if your card gets stolen, you only loose what you had added (so keep it small) and you never need to carry large amounts of cash on your person or risk leaving it in a hotel room etc...

Laser/debit cards are usually the most expensive way to withdraw money and are less accepted than credit cards. (Exception: In the Euro zone cirus and maestro are charged the same as in your home country, which for me is free)

Another tip, apply for a MasterCard AND a VISA as occasionally you will find yourself somewhere where they don't accept one and you will be glad you had the other. MasterCard used not be widely accepted in Brazil and it was handy to have the VISA.

Personally I never understood traveler cheques, they are a pain in the ass to change, you get a terrible exchange rate, they are in large denominations and take ages to get replaced if stolen.

If going to Cuba, don't bring Dollars there is some extortionate commission of 20% or something, bring Euros. If you are bringing cash to other central and south american countries, dollars are better but euros are fine. But as per my above advice always try and get local currency asap by withdrawing in the airport atms (but watch out for silly commissions as many Airport ATMs jack the commission up)

Buen Viaje!

Jellybaby1

That's great information - thank you so much uponthegad!