Our bank no longer carries traveler checks. Will ship office cash personal checks or.

[dcsam]

Still working on getting local currencies during our upcoming Norway cruise, and running out of options.

 

- our ATM card does not have the 'chip' technology used by many European ATM machines

 

- I was hoping to bring some travelers checks to cash onboard, but our bank no longer has them

 

- I will get just a bit of cash in EUR, NOK, and DKK from our bank beforehand - just enough to squeak by.

 

So here's another question:

Will the ship's front office cash personal checks and/or charge our shipboard account for cash?

 

Thanks so much.

[maryann ns]

You can use you cards at ATMs as long as you have a 4 digit PIN #. There are a few places where your card will not work but that is mainly automated ticketing machines and toll plazas.

 

This is what I have read in many posts. Do not go to the expense of getting out too much cash beforehand as it is expensive to do so. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2031663

[dcsam]

We really don't want to use our credit card as an ATM. I called the cc company - glad I did because when all is said and done, any cash we take out of an ATM would incur 30% extra fees, charges!!! :-0

However, we can use the card to make purchases at about 8%. So, if needed, this is what we will do.

[uktog]

Traveller cheques are being phased out by banks and are accepted in fewer and fewer places. An option is a currency card preloaded with cash such as Travelex offer. But best bet is using and ATM which you should be able to do - make sure you tell your bank that you are going abroad ahead of your travels

[dln929]

Still working on getting local currencies during our upcoming Norway cruise, and running out of options.

 

- our ATM card does not have the 'chip' technology used by many European ATM machines

 

- I was hoping to bring some travelers checks to cash onboard, but our bank no longer has them

 

- I will get just a bit of cash in EUR, NOK, and DKK from our bank beforehand - just enough to squeak by.

 

So here's another question:

Will the ship's front office cash personal checks and/or charge our shipboard account for cash?

 

Thanks so much.

 

I didn't even know they made travelers' checks anymore (do they???!!!). Perhaps this might be a solution to your euro problem: http://www.travelex.com/us/products/cash-passport/

[dcsam]

The Travelex card is certainly a good option. Thank you.

[ozark74]

Still working on getting local currencies during our upcoming Norway cruise, and running out of options.

 

- our ATM card does not have the 'chip' technology used by many European ATM machines

 

- I was hoping to bring some travelers checks to cash onboard, but our bank no longer has them

 

- I will get just a bit of cash in EUR, NOK, and DKK from our bank beforehand - just enough to squeak by.

 

So here's another question:

Will the ship's front office cash personal checks and/or charge our shipboard account for cash?

 

Thanks so much.

 

We do not have a chip in our atm card and have not had any problem. Was in Spain in November and used it twice also Australia. Just make sure you have only a 4 digit pin. You could order money online Wells Fargo or other banks.

Have not used travelers in years. To much trouble.

Edited May 6, 2014 by ozark74

[nonrev1]

When we were in Norway we had no problem using our ATM card since it has a four digit pin. We use a Capital One card when traveling outside of the U.S. because they so not charge transaction fees for currency conversion. They will also provide you with a 4 digit PIN number upon request. If you have a PIN number assigned to your credit card, you do not need to worry about the chip.

[dcsam]

Thanks everyone! I think I've got it figured out now. We're going to use another credit card, that's seldom used. Their rate was MUCH better (3%) than our other (30%). Just goes to show it 'pays' to check into these things prior to heading overseas.

[MizzLee]

And with that said, I'm sure most know this, but make sure that you alert your bank that you will be using the card abroad. Nothing worse than being on vacation and discovering that your account has been frozen!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[shedridt]

I believe that you were NEVER going to be subject to more than a 3% fee, as there are laws that protect consumers against outrageous charges. 30% has never been an option so perhaps there was a capricious decimal involved here?

 

Travelers Cheques are dinosaurs in travel & are more trouble than they are worth. Trust in your ATM, but DO try to get your bank to issue you a credit card with a 'chip'. This is all the thing in Europe & we twice - in critical conditions! - found ourselves needing that sort of card. You can easily get them now, upon request to your credit card bank.

 

Hope you have a wonderful time!

[shedridt]

Actually, you DO need to worry about the chip as some machines will not even allow your credit card to access their chip oriented machine.

 

How to describe this? We tried unsuccessfully to manually put in our American card in France in a filling station. Some friendly French people came along & through manual pointy stuff we showed that our card wouldn't even fit the machine. ALORS! We gave them 20 Euros & they filled our tank with 20 Euros worth of gas, which was mighty nice of them.

 

The thing is that the card wouldn't even go into the machine. You need the new 'chip' card. I've heard we can easily get it by asking for it. I won't leave home for Europe without it!

[mare s.]

There is an extensive discussion about chip and pin cards in the Italy Ports of Call Board. Apparently the U.S. magnetic strip cards are becoming obsolete in Europe...chip and signature will work some places where there is a human being, but ticket kiosks, etc. you need a chip and pin card (which U.S. credit card companies just aren't offering yet)

[wangeling gal]

For our last few holidays we have used what is called a cash passport. Basically it is a pre loaded debit card that can be loaded with the currency of the country/countries that you are visiting. Or it can be in your own currency but will dispense the currency of the country that you are visiting ( eg: Aus$ > Indian Rupee). Depending on which company or bank you use, currencies such as Euros, Pounds, Yen, American Dollars (and others) can be loaded at the exchange rate of the day for whatever amounts you want, for a small fee. You get 2 cards and they have a pin and a chip. There is a fee for the withdrawals, so we tend to get 2 or 3 days worth at a time. They then can be cashed back out to your currency if any is left at the end of your trip. We still take a credit card, just in case, but have never had to use it.

We try to avoid ATMs that 'eat' your card when you withdraw money, just in case there is a problem, and your card doesn't come back out, because that can cause an awful lot of trouble especially if it is after hours or the weekend, or if there is a language difficulty. Of course sometimes there is no option but to use that sort of ATM, but it is something we are aware of doing.

Hope you have the most wonderful of cruises:D

Edited May 9, 2014 by wangeling gal

[dcsam]

The 30% card is the Alaska Airlines, Bank of America card. It's just a credit card - not the type of ATM or Debit where the funds come out of your checking or savings. Our 3% VISA card, when used in an ATM machine, comes out of our checking. No way in heck will I use the Alaska card.

[PSULion]

All of my ATM cards worked a few months ago at ATMs in Gibralter, Spain and France. By all, I mean Schwab, Bank of American, Chase, ING (now Capital One I think) and Wells Fargo (yes I have a lot of accounts-LOL). There is no need to use a "credit card" cash advance that will a) charge you a percentage up front and b) charge you interest on the money for the entire time from withdrawl to payment (i.e. there is no grace period on a cash advance).

 

I recommend an ATM card that charges no fee no matter which machine you use, in my case, Schwab and ING-Capital One). The chip matter is not an issue *yet* so long as you have a pin established.

 

John R.

[Christine Frances]

Still working on getting local currencies during our upcoming Norway cruise, and running out of options.

 

- our ATM card does not have the 'chip' technology used by many European ATM machines

 

- I was hoping to bring some travelers checks to cash onboard, but our bank no longer has them

 

- I will get just a bit of cash in EUR, NOK, and DKK from our bank beforehand - just enough to squeak by.

 

So here's another question:

Will the ship's front office cash personal checks and/or charge our shipboard account for cash?

 

Thanks so much.

 

Our bank still sells them and we always purchase them when we cruise. We spent 6 weeks in Europe last year and took both USD & Euro Traveler Cheques. Sure made paying for our tours so much easier - just cashed them on the ship as needed with no charge. Our bank sells Amex TC's and here is a link where you can find out where to purchase them in your area. (if you are still thinking of that option lol) We only use our debit card in an emergency but do use our chip & pin credit card.

 

http://www.aetclocator.com/wheretobuy/travelerscheques/

Edited May 15, 2014 by Christine Frances

[scapel]

We really don't want to use our credit card as an ATM. I called the cc company - glad I did because when all is said and done, any cash we take out of an ATM would incur 30% extra fees, charges!!! :-0

However, we can use the card to make purchases at about 8%. So, if needed, this is what we will do.

 

Don't know where you live, but I use Capital one credit card which makes no foreign transaction charges and no currency conversion charges as some other credit cards do. For an ATM I opened a high yield checking account which furnishes an ATM card with no charge. I just keep a $5000 balance in the account. I very seldom use the ATM. If I want a large amount of foreign currency I use the ATM.

When travelling I use small USD bills and get change in local currency at a rate very favorable to the merchant, but I try to minimize this amount of foreign currency as much as possible.

Always try to use the credit card.

[Redtravel]

Last week I was in Bermuda. Many stores had signs posted that they stopped accepting Travelers Cheques in Jan. 2014. With fewer places to use them, they are not worth using. i use AtMs to get foreign currency or just use a credit card to buy things. Many banks now have cards with chips. Call your credit card company and request a chip card. Chase gave me a new card with chip. There are many orher banks using the chips.

[marinaro44]

Call your credit card company and request a chip card. Chase gave me a new card with chip. There are many orher banks using the chips.

Right. Just asked for and received Amex, Visa, and MC cards with chips. Simple.

[scapel]

Right. Just asked for and received Amex, Visa, and MC cards with chips. Simple.

 

Why do you want one with a chip?

[marinaro44]

Why do you want one with a chip?

See postings on page 1 of this thread.

[scapel]

See postings on page 1 of this thread.

 

Understand,

I didn't know this. I used my ATM in Amberg, Germany last year without any difficulty and no charge as long as there is $5000 or more in the checking account at Capital one. I use this card only for an ATM. I used separate cards for credit cards.

Does anyone know if you can tell if the card has a chip or not by looking at it?

 

I just got a new passport and there was a note it has a chip in it, but I can't see it. Doesn't the chip allow one of these scanners that some thieves may have that allows them to get a number if they get close enough to you to scan it? I have read something about this in the past.

[scapel]

When we were in Norway we had no problem using our ATM card since it has a four digit pin. We use a Capital One card when traveling outside of the U.S. because they so not charge transaction fees for currency conversion. They will also provide you with a 4 digit PIN number upon request. If you have a PIN number assigned to your credit card, you do not need to worry about the chip.

 

 

I use three Capital one Cards.

One is a Visa for general purchases no ATM with it.

One is a Master Card for automatic charges such a Cell phone bill, phone bill, tv cable bill etc. Both of these cards are paid automatically from checking account when they are due so as not to forget to pay.

One is a Checking account with free ATM --Keep $5000 balance. It is a high yield which is maybe 2% interest. Not worth much, but the ATM is convenient and I do not like ATM attached to my general credit card.

I jumped on Capital one when I found out that they do not make currency conversion charges nor do they make foreign transactions charges. These are two separate charges made by some card companies. I once got a $186 charge for making a charge on a credit card by phone to Punta Arenas, Chile. It was to pay for an Antarctic Cruise on a Russian ship.

I got it back since the card company stated they had recently notified me of this policy. Something to think about with large charges.

[Bowie MeMe]

There is an extensive discussion about chip and pin cards in the Italy Ports of Call Board. Apparently the U.S. magnetic strip cards are becoming obsolete in Europe...chip and signature will work some places where there is a human being, but ticket kiosks, etc. you need a chip and pin card (which U.S. credit card companies just aren't offering yet)

 

My new cards from Chase (Sapphire Preferred and United Mileage Plus) have the chip and the signature so getting closer. These are credit cards and you need DEBIT cards for the ATM at little to NO cost (foreign transaction fees waived though still a cost of a few dollars for using a machine not in the "home system" -- fee by the owner of the machine giving out the money.

 

If you use the credit card for a "cash advance" --to get money out of a bank or ATM machine several things happen. It is in those hard to read rules they give you! First you start from that moment paying the interest on the cash money you got -- no period of time before the interest starts. Second and worse is that you start paying interest on everything you have pending and have bought on the card -- no float period. This costs you big time and it goes on until you pay the account in full. That is what it means when you see the chart with how much you will pay over time if you don't pay the credit card bill in full and yes it could be getting up there in that scary 30% range under some circumstances.

 

I think you may need some help. Go to your local bank that you trust and ask to sit down and talk about your credit and debit card needs. Each person will have different needs. We have a very large credit line because we like to travel to exotic places and if I had to buy walk up first class tickets they are so expensive (sister broke her leg and had to come home 1st class because leg would not bend into a seat in economy:eek: but I would use Medjet Assist for that --medical evacuation insurance). I carry several different cards on different bank systems so that if one is frozen or not accepted I have plan B and C. Some of the cards are in my name and some are in hubby's. Also have 3 debit card accounts so that ATM (which are on systems or families) won't take one have another. Some of those accounts I only have token money in until I travel and then I add to the accounts -- ATM you are transferring money from bank account to the ATM to distribute for pocket money. Use your credit card for most transactions because that is the best transaction rate which equals cheaper for you to buy an item or service. Look for that no transaction fee -- the foreign transaction fee is determined by where the bank processing the transaction is located (example: US TA, US cruise line home office Miami, passenger US, credit card US, passenger bank US BUT cruiseline bank was in IRELAND -- thus foreign exchange rate. SHOCK)

 

My advice: File for 2 credit cards with chip. Look for good signup bonus to use for hotels or air or as cash back (eraser plan) Excellent if have chip technology and no or low foreign transaction fees) and push travel. Have ATM cards (debit cards) from at least 2 kinds of banks (Citi/Chase/BofA/Barclay's for example). Take a fair amount of US$ stowed in a travel vest or other secure way. Can often exchange a limited amount in USD for local currency at bank or hotel or purser. Once when the ATM on the ship was not working and had not worked for 3 ports, I talked a friendly staff into writing a "bill of sale" for some money and charging it to my cabin and he gave me the money out of the cash drawer. Late at night only one on desk etc. so a big favor. Don't expect it but it can happen. Casino can sometimes change money for you especially if winnings! Merchants in the town will often for a price let you charge something and get some local currency in change.

 

Good luck -- it is hard to keep up but you have no choice. Traveler's checks are gone and their use is almost impossible if you have them. If you like dealing with American Express you might consider one of their credit cards or prepaid cards.