Page 1 of Travellers Cheques - How do they work?

Hello Hello Hello,

As some of you may know im off to NY in a few weeks for Valentines etc. I`ve never used TC`s before but someone said i should use them.

I was intending to take $500 cash and use my CC for everything else.

Also any advice about buying dollars? (low commissions, weak dollar etc)

So can anyone advise why i should use travellers cheques and how they work??

Many thanks in advance

Neil ;-)

Basically you take the TCs with you unsigned, and as you want to use them you can sign them as if using cash (and you will get change).

They are supposedly more secure than cash because they need a valid signature to cash, and apparently they are insured or something or other so any you lose that aren`t signed can be replaced.

Your bank could probably explain it better. :)

You should only really need cash for cabs, tips and meals. I would take $200 in cash and the rest in travellers cheques, pay for as much as you can with a card, and then just exchange back what you have left at the end.

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If you`re going to a big city then I wouldn`t worry about travellers cheques, personally. You should be able to withdraw cash from ATMs, and bung whatever you can on your credit card.

They work just like cash at stores in US. Make sure that they are in US dollars.
You will have to pay commision at the time of purchase of the travellers cheque at your UK travel exchange.- Check their commision charges & their exchange rates for comparison.
Take different valve denominations e.g. $5, $10, $50 etc.
Travellers cheques are safe-if you loose them or they get stolen,they can be replaced by your issuer.(keep note of the serial Numbers & keep it seperate from your Travellers cheques!.

You just sign them infront of the receiver and they will also give you change.
For cash Dollars, check out the Post Office, as they used give decent exchange rates & no commision charge.


The best credit card to use is Nationwide Mastercard or Nationwide visa card,( Some card companies cover their charges by giving you a poor exchange rate.
can I give you my shopping list ? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

You sign the top of the cheque when you first get them, at the bank post office or wherever. Then when you want to cash them you sign them again at the bottom, in front of the cashier, who will check the signatures match before giving you any money.

Neil, my advice would be to take travellers cheques rather than your cash if going to the US.....as someone has already said, they act as "bank notes" out there anyway and you can use them to buy anything just as you would with cash.

I have recently returned from Florida and we used nothing but (well....not until we hit the Malls with the credit cards that is!!! But that`s another story altogether :/ )

The other thing is, if you lose them or they get nicked all you have to do is phone the contact number that you get given and they`ll arrange for some to be ready for you to pick up in no time from the nearest bank - again, I have experience of this as we had some "lifted" from our room in a hotel in Mexico by our lovely maid. (the wife was the one who noticed that there were two $100 cheques missing as there was a gap in the serial numbers at the top!!) We called American Express and they arranged for us to pick some up the next morning from the bank in the next street.

Well worth it in my opinion.

I must admit to not being sure about the "dollars or sterling" thing though, we usually take them in dollars if going to the US for some reason.


Hope this helps
Rob

I would not bother with Travellers Cheques, especially if you are going to new york. I normally take about $100 Cash to cover early expenses - for a cab to the hotel etc and then take my credit card and/or cash card. Basically whatever you normally keep in your wallet. You are not heading off into the third world here, they do have ATMs in america :D Travellers cheques are from an age before VISA etc, when you had no other option than cash, and they offered the advantage of being useless if stolen.

In the US they (normally) ask to see your passport when using plastic, and don`t bother checking your signature which means that CCs are virtually worthless if stolen too, unless the thief also happens to be something of a doppelganger :o But remember to take your passport with you at all times, and make a note of the bank `stolen card hotline` number before you leave, just in case... normally they have a special number that you can use when abroad.

PS

I would second earlier comment about getting dollars at post office, best rates and no commission 8)

This item was edited on Wednesday, 7th January 2004, 20:26

Personally, I don`t bother with travellers cheques in the US, and maybe take $200 in cash to cover the first day or two. If you use your credit card at ATM`s to withdraw cash you will get a much better exchange rate than you would changing cash here.

This item was edited on Thursday, 8th January 2004, 07:33

Last time I went to NY smaller stores would not take the travellers cheques even with my passport. My advice would also be small amount of cash and use your card to withdraw cash. Wrap up too as it will be a bit chilly.

I echo pretty much all of the above.

I`ll just add that my Mrs has an H.S.B.C. bank account, and there are branches of that in NY (and presumably the rest of the States too). She was most surprised to pop her Switch card into the ATM and find she could withdraw cash just like back home! There was a small charge and you need to take into account the exchange rate etc.

This item was edited on Thursday, 8th January 2004, 14:21