International LDR trip - how to take money?

[churchgrim]

So, I'm going to the US for a month in November, and have been trying to think of the best way to take my savings with me.

• Take it all in cash - a little inconvenient, have to carry it around with me/give to my SO to carry, never sure how much to bring each day
• Get a travel card - setup, card closure & top-up fees, fees for ATMs, withdraws, etc, but convenient, pre-paid, already in $USD
• Just use my everyday VISA card - high conversion fee for every transaction, easiest option

What's the best (cheapest?) way to take and use money overseas? What do you usually do?

[Anoulie]

I got a visa card specifically for the trip and there was a 1 % "abroad free" (don't remember what it was exactly), so that wasn't too bad. I don't know about the conversion rate, though.

You could also take traveller cheques.

[Lovebee]

I got a pre-paid card from FairFX, who offer a good conversion rate and a lot of fee-free transactions once you're in the US (But I think they might be UK only). I also took a bit of cash for those smaller purchases and leaving tips etc.

The trip I did at Easter, I just used my normal Visa credit card and got hit with a lot of transaction fees - it was a bad idea! The prepaid card was so much better as I had complete control of how much I was spending. Really easy to top up and I never had any problems with it.

[Hollandia]

Check to see if you even need to take it out in advance. My ATM worked over in Netherlands. Any card with the Cirrus or PLus symbol on the back should work in USA ATMs.

[lucybelle]

ALWAYS bring at least a little cash with you (I'd say $50-100). I still remember the heart attack I had when I arrived in Spain and my credit card wasn't accepted the first two times they ran it. (it worked the third time, THANK GOODNESS!)

Depends on where you go in the USA, but almost everything you can purchase with a credit/debit card. Call your bank to see what the international fees are. I think it's better to just use the credit/debit card than to take out cash from an ATM since you get charged: a) ATM fee, b) international fee, and c) exchange fee. Where when you use the card on its own, you usually only get the last two.

How much time do you have before you leave? You could try to find a new bank that charges low or no international fees and open an account. That'll be free to do, just takes a little time.

I wouldn't do traveler's checks. They're basically obsolete. And you don't want to spend your time in a bank waiting to convert them!