Money Management while cruising.

[Les Crawford]

What do you cruisers do for cash while away from home? Do you carry extra money, travelers cheques? How do you get money from a bank, when your regular bank is not a big national bank? I am thinking only at this time of cruising in USA/Canadian waters.

Les

[Hud3]

It's easy--just use an ATM card. The machines are all over. Be sure to let your bank know you'll be traveling away from your normal location so they don't de-activate the card, thinking it's been compromised.

[NornaBiron]

ATMs are almost everywhere. We rarely have any difficulty getting access to cash.

[onestepcsy37]

Yes. ATM. Just make certain, as Hud3 said, to call your bank and tell them so they can make a note on your file. We also keep a small stash of cash hidden on the boat.

[barnakiel]

ATM when makes sense and available. Cash in all other cases.

b.

[edneely]

We use Charles Schwab bank. Since they don't have ATMs, they reimburse all fees for using them. Any ATM, worldwide. Quite a deal.

[tdh1849]

Do a couple of things. Arrange for direct deposit into a bank account and do "Paperless banking", everything online.
Get an atm/checking account card for that account.They are using cards with a "chip" now.
Get a credit card that does not charge 3% foreign transaction fee.
Pay everything with a credit card and then pay the bills online.
Have a safe trip.............

[jcapo]

An ATM only card, one without the Visa logo, is a good idea especially outside of the US. A debit card with a Visa logo can be run as a credit card without a pin number. An ATM only card requires a pin be entered.

Just my $0.02.

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by jcapo

An ATM only card, one without the Visa logo, is a good idea especially outside of the US. A debit card with a Visa logo can be run as a credit card without a pin number. An ATM only card requires a pin be entered.

Just my $0.02.

Why one without the Visa logo? We find that ATMs all over Europe and Turkey will take Visa cards. If travelling within the EU pin numbers are essential as almost all transactions within shops are 'chip and pin'.

[Cadence]

• I think I have seen a no. of good ideas. Might I suggest leaving your major assets in a secure account out of your traveling account.

[Lunar_Day]

We switched to Bank of America. This particular bank is International and we could always find a branch.

[Snore]

While I am not cruising (yet), we bank and invest in with Schwab. Checking links to a backup account and there is a third unlinked investment account. As someone already posted, I never need to look for "my" ATM, when we travel - as all ATM fees are rebated and they have decent foreign exchange rates when abroad.

Having three accounts allow you to separate your living money from your investment money. While the banking system assures everyone that in the event of fraud we are covered, this is a firewall if something's goes wrong. Moving money from the investment to the living accounts requires either a visit to their website or a telephone call and some heavy ID checking.

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

Why one without the Visa logo? We find that ATMs all over Europe and Turkey will take Visa cards. If travelling within the EU pin numbers are essential as almost all transactions within shops are 'chip and pin'.

In the US a debit/atm card with the Visa logo can be run as a credit card transaction, no pin needed. If you loose it or the number is scraped it can be used with no pin relieving you of perhaps lots of funds. An atm only card requires a pin.

In the US you can use a regular Visa/Mastercard credit card in atm machines to get a cash advance along with the additional cash advance fees of a credit card.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Les Crawford

What do you cruisers do for cash while away from home? Do you carry extra money, travelers cheques? How do you get money from a bank, when your regular bank is not a big national bank? I am thinking only at this time of cruising in USA/Canadian waters.

Les

I pay my recurring bills online through my bank. When cruising I use a credit card whenever possible. I take some cash with me and hide it on the boat. Walmarts and many supermarkets allow me to get cash back with a purchase. I can buy a few dollars worth of merchandise and get $60 in cash back charged to my credit card but since I pay off the credit cards in full each month there is no interest or fee like there might be with an ATM.

[onestepcsy37]

What Snore does, only we use Fidelity. We transfer working capital out of our investment accounts by phone or internet. Fidelity picks up all ATM fees so we can use any bank. Notice I said BANK. I wont use any 'free standing' ATM. You might also want to consider stopping overdraft priveleges on your ATM account; prevents the thief from getting more than is in your account.

Also keep in mind that in some small places banks may only open one day a week, and then for just a few hours.