US Trip - easiest way to carry funds

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jim.cox

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#214958 6-Jun-2017 06:16

Kiaora Tatou

Its been a while since I did any travelling - way back in the days of travellers cheques - and I'm well out of touch

My daughter is off to do 4 months in the United States with Camp America.

What's the easiest way to carry funds while travelling today?

Thankx

Jim

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PeterReader

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#1795070 6-Jun-2017 06:16

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frankv

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#1795072 6-Jun-2017 06:59

I just did a trip to the USA. My regular Visa card was just fine, except that petrol pumps mostly wouldn't let me use it to pay at the pump. ATMs typically charge $5 per transaction, so get cash out in larger chunks.

michaelmurfy

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#1795102 6-Jun-2017 07:42

Have a look at Cash Passport: https://www.cashpassport.co.nz/

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frankv

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#1795118 6-Jun-2017 09:03

My wife had a Cash Passport on our recent trip. I don't think there's any value in it (unless you can predict USD-NZD exchange rates). Despite the claims made for it, you still have to pay ATM fees.

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#1795119 6-Jun-2017 09:07

I use Qantas cash card or my Mastercard

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#1795125 6-Jun-2017 09:27

jim.cox:

Kiaora Tatou

Its been a while since I did any travelling - way back in the days of travellers cheques - and I'm well out of touch

My daughter is off to do 4 months in the United States with Camp America.

What's the easiest way to carry funds while travelling today?

Thankx

Jim

.

Two ATM cards, each on a different bank.

I say this because the non-bank ATMs in the US seem to produce a lot of fraud activity....and you can find your accounts locked. If you have a card on a second bank you can still access money.

I don't know what it is.....but I've had my accounts frozen twice due to using ATMs that aren't directly owned by a bank. Maybe the staff are crooks. Maybe the whole operation is run by the Mob. But I've never had a problem using an ATM operated by a bank.

The problem with having your accounts frozen is they require you come to a branch with ID and they give you new cards. Awkward if you're 10,000km away.

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#1795129 6-Jun-2017 09:38

I use my NZ credit card for 99% of purchases. In my 2-3 trips to the US every year I tend to find $100 - $200 or so in cash normally lasts me a couple of weeks. I tend to take some cash with me and if I need more just get it out from an ATM which costs me $5

Without really knowing what purchases will be it's hard to really answer the question.

antoniosk

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#1795177 6-Jun-2017 10:34

jim.cox:

Kiaora Tatou

Its been a while since I did any travelling - way back in the days of travellers cheques - and I'm well out of touch

My daughter is off to do 4 months in the United States with Camp America.

What's the easiest way to carry funds while travelling today?

Thankx

Jim

Consider a Kiwibank Loadedfortravel card. Seems to be a bit nicer than cashpassport, which is just about the only alternative, and I am very anti that brand in general.

Let her take her eftpos card too - I believe plus/cirrus is still in use globally

Your own credit card will always be infinetly better than the prepaid cards, but they are just secondary cards linked to your primary. Westpac couldnt support me putting a spend threshold on a secondary card for my daughter, so never got her one.

It's frustrating I know. US is a big cash economy still, so should be prepared for that (and cash on hand is always risky, sigh).

________

Antoniosk