Cruising with money...

[msponer]

American Express is accepted almost nowhere, but I still like them. I lost my wallet in Acapulco (when I was dumb and carried all my cards at once). I took a bus to the local Amex office and within an hour I had a new card.

So I think they are worthwhile just for that reason.

RebelHeart-- the only place I ever exchanged a travelers check was at a small bank in Borneo. There was really no other way to get money, since I didn't bring enough.

[Mexdon]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

That's not a universal truth. In parts of Mexico and plenty of Central American countries you'll go farther with US Dollars than the local currency.

In Mexico, not anymore. A new Law came into effect on Sept 14th 2010 limiting the amount of dollars that can be exchanged or banked even if the company business has a US dollar account. Dollar here now is almost a dirty word. A tourist or anyone is limited to cashing US$ 1,500.00 per month. To do this you have to provide a current ID, which is copied and kept. Exactly how the control works I do not know. Mexican individuals or foreigners with a Mexican bank account can no longer have an account in US dollars. Virtually all major stores now refuse to accept US dollars for payment of purchases and the black market exchange has disappeared. Conversely there is no restriction on the amount of dollars you can buy with Mexican pesos, you just can't spend them in Mexico.

I have been told but can not confirm officially the reason for this restriction is to block the laundering of dollars by the narco dealers and the govt. reason for including tourists in this is they believe everyone that comes into Mexico has a credit or debit card to use and the change would not cause any inconvenience to tourists.

Just don't get upset when the local beach restaurant no longer welcomes your greenbacks. They are almost valueless to him.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

You guys with traveler's checks:

How are you redeeming those in various countries? Do you take it to a local bank in exchange for currency? If you're taking them direct to vendors, what's your success rate for having them accept them? I'm just thinking about the little hole-in-the-wall establishments I've seen in foreign lands and I think they'd look at traveler's checks like I was handing them monopoly money.

Yeah, you will need a bank or amex. office and bigger hotels will cash them..the great thing is that you cant get robbed because they cover any loss...do not sign them in advance thou,they then become like cash and they wont insure your loss..DVC

[Amapola]

We carry less than $500 cash, use a credit card almost exclusively, and have auto bill pay.

[wsmurdoch]

My wife and I each carry a primary credit card that we routinely use. We each carry a second card; she one, I another. This gives us a total of three cards. The two extra come in handy when the primary card is locked up -- it happens. Three cards got us through when my wallet was stolen and we had to stop two of the cards. All three cards have PINs and can be used in an ATM. One can function as a debit card. We have Xerox copies of all three cards (front and back) hidden on the boat to know who to call if something happens. We keep enough cash in $20 bills to spread around if we need it to get the boat out of a jam or to use when credit cards are not accepted. We pay the charges on line when we have an internet connection.

We have a bank acount with a large credit union and accounts with two major investment houses. All three answer the phone.

In Gibraltar I had no trouble getting cash from the Midland ATM with a Midland Bank card. I got to pick either UK pounds or Gib Pounds.

Bill Murdoch

[Vasco]

I think traveler's cheques have gone the way of the dodo bird. American Express is now introducing a pre-loaded card, load it up, one free ATM withdrawal a month, then $2 each withdrawal plus ATM charges if applicable, what a deal!!!

[barnakiel]

Debit and credit cards best. Cash second best. Rum almost as good as cash. But you cannot buy baguettes at Carrefour with rum ... at least not in French places ;-)

b.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Vasco

I think traveler's cheques have gone the way of the dodo bird. American Express is now introducing a pre-loaded card, load it up, one free ATM withdrawal a month, then $2 each withdrawal plus ATM charges if applicable, what a deal!!!

Walmart has a similar one and no credit check for those of us who are financially impaired. BOB

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Walmart has a similar one and no credit check for those of us who are financially impaired. BOB

Why would you need a credit check? The card is useless unless you load it up with cash.

[David_Old_Jersey]

OP probably trying to work out how worthwhile a target the average yacht is......a bit of pre-planning / research always useful on stuff like that.

My take is probably no hidden horde of cash onboard (on the average boat) - as (being in the 21st Century) no need.

FWIW I also like dealing in cash (nowadays only spending) - Govt can know where my money comes from, but f#ck 'em for knowing where it gets spent!

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Why would you need a credit check? The card is useless unless you load it up with cash.

Exactly. Multihulls world did a story about a family of 7 taking a year off for a year in a Lagoon 500. They stashed $100,000 split evenly between euros and greenbacks in several locations on the boat. At the end of the year they had less than $100 left. So that's how much a year of cruising costs. For 7.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by mdvick

Moderators??????? I suggest that this be closed.

If a particular post is of concern, it will probably be more effective to use the Report Post button on the lower left of your screen than to call for the thread to be closed. The moderators are generally pretty quick to enforce the "Be nice" rule when members begin calling each other names.

[FrankZ]

I have removed several posts that were either off topic or rude. Let's stay on track as this thread could provide valuable advice, but we are not going to tolerate the name calling and rudeness.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Dhillen

Great thread. I knew of one German guy who had his life savings in cash (Marks, no less!) rolled up and stuffed in a coffee can buried deep in the bilge. Yep, they got wet, rotted and he lost most of it. Lesson learned.
Obviously, a mix of cash, credit and ATM cards is the safest way to go. We have used ATM cards successfully everywhere. I find Visa is way more accepted than MC and a lot of places, especially in Asia where I live, won't touch Amex.
WHO uses travellers checks these days? Wow? I gave up on those 25 years ago and have never had a problem travelling to places as diverse as Tibet, Sudan, Sri Lanka, etc. If you like standing in long lines and getting bad exchange rates, this could be for you.
Another good thread would be where on the boat do you stash cash? I used to stuff mine inside my Dickinson diesel boat heater in the tropics. My reasoning was I was NEVER going to use the damn thing and theiving locals wouldn't know what it was and would probably leave it alone.

Cheers.
Dhillen

Interesting about stashing cash. I thought the best idea would be to copy about 20, $100 bills and stash those in a sort of easy place to find (but not too obvious). Making sure the real stuff is well stashed. They would grab it...flee and get busted trying to move counterfeit.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

Interesting about stashing cash. I thought the best idea would be to copy about 20, $100 bills and stash those in a sort of easy place to find (but not too obvious). Making sure the real stuff is well stashed. They would grab it...flee and get busted trying to move counterfeit.

Yes, except you could be busted for counterfeiting, too.