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Travel and Money by Leon Arrimage http://www.flotravel.com There are many aspects of travel that must be taken seriously to make the trip enjoyable. The way that you pay for things along the way, is one of the most important. As you travel it seems that money flows at every turn. Cash is the most powerful form of money. However if you ever travel outside your own country, you can't use your cash without a change to the local currency. You can exchange your cash to local currency at most banks or at an Exchange department at your location. Many times you can even get change at the airport as you arrive.The exchange department and banks have different charges and sometimes slightly different rates of exchange when converting to the local currency. But the banks are usually the better choice. Due to new technology, automated systems have become popular at airports, railroad stations or at other travel places. These machines have their own conversion rates and fees attached. Usually the cost to use them is a bit higher than the banks. In today~s world, carrying a lot of cash when you travel is not safe. Moreover, to convert it, we need to go to a place of exchange in most cases. Traveler~s checks are out of fashion today. The good part about them is that if lost, they can be reinstated within a short span of time.If you are a customer of bigger companies like American Express, Barclays, Visa, Citibank etc. then traveler's checks can be exchanged for cash at any exchange bureau or bank without any hassles.Some financial institutions may or may not charge 1% amount to accept the checks. So it is not viable with every financial institution. ATM's are providing an increasingly better service due to the growing number of ATM's world wide, and competitive rate of exchange. But if you have a major credit card, then you can make use of the card almost everywhere, and the exchange rate is figured for you my your own bank. Be sure to check your credit limit and withdrawal limits associated with your card. They have charges and fees if you are using an ATM machine that is not associated with your bank. So be prepared to pay a certain price. Though it may prove you costly at times, overall it a good idea to have a credit card when you travel. Today, having a lot of cash is not the best way to travel. Here, in North America, credit cards come very handy. You can make direct purchases with your credit card. These credit/debit cards are accepted all around the world. This makes carrying a credit card, a very convenient way to carry the "currency" and use it wherever it is necessary. But in all their convenience, I recommend caution with the credit and debt aspects of the cards. They are a tool that can be used wrongly as well as correctly. Usually, a Visa or a Master card charges one percent processing fee of the total amount of foreign purchases. People are ignorant about these kinds of charges. Different credit cards have different charging plans. So a customer or user needs to be aware about these charges. |