TripHip - Travel Tips and Advice for Traveling on a Budget

If you plan to use your credit or debit cards during a trip abroad, it's a good idea to let your bank and/or credit card companies know that you will be traveling.

If they don't know that you are traveling, they may lock your account, thinking that your purchases and withdrawals are suspicious because they are out of the ordinary compared with your usual use. This can not only be embarrassing, it can also leave you out in the cold when you most need the cash!

If you're going to a foreign country, don't worry about getting traveler's checks. They're practically a thing of the past, and they're a lot of hassle on both ends. These days, you can easily and safely use your debit card at any ATM machine in the world.

Just be sure to let your bank know that you are traveling, otherwise they may lock your account due to "suspicious activity"!

If you are traveling abroad, you can often get the best exchange rates at ATMs. The currency exchange kiosks at airports often have high fees, so avoid them if you can.

ATMs are really convenient, because you don't even need to go into the bank or go through the hassle of paperwork, like travelers once had to do when exchanging traveler's checks.

You can often get the best exchange rates abroad simply by pulling money out of the ATM.

When you pull money out of the ATM, you will usually get hit up with a fee from your bank as well as from the bank you are using. Did you know that you can sometimes avoid these bank fees?

Before you leave the country, find out if your bank has any agreements with any banks abroad. If it does, this might mean that you can use your debit card abroad at those affiliated banks, and avoid an ATM fee from either bank.

For example, I belong to Bank of America. Bank of America has affiliations with Barclays in the UK and BNP Paribas in France, so I can use either of those banks when I am in the UK or France without getting hit with ATM fees.

Considering that ATM fees can be anywhere from $2-5, and that they really add up - it's well-worth finding out if your bank has any agreements with banks overseas!