Good Tip....??

[HillBilly Bob]

I don't know!!   but...

 

Just read a column about traveling internationally.  Always use your debit card for purchases.  Keep only a small amount in your check account to cover your purchases so if your card is hacked, they can't take ALL your money.    If you need, you can add more money to the debit account from your personal computer (i.e. Savings Account Transfer)  off site and they will not have any access to that money.  

 

If you should have your credit card hacked, the card company will cover that...but the hassle you have when you return home will be a pain in the butt.  

 

 

 

[bitemyfly]

 , if your main concern is protection against fraud , your better option is credit card , they generally offer better protection against fraud. 
 

[1025cruise]

I don't do debit cards. Period. Would never use one. I'll take the risk with the credit card, otherwise will use cash.

[mom says]

3 hours ago, HillBilly Bob said:

Always use your debit card for purchases

What dumb*** recommended that? All of the reliable travel experts I've read say just the opposite.  What they do say is to use only your debit card for ATM cash withdrawals, and for extra protection, use a card that is only attached to an account used only for travel purposes.  Use local cash, or a credit card for most purchases.  Preferably a card with no conversion fees.

[cruisingguy007]

I agree with the others, terrible advice. If I was that worried about having my card info stolen I would buy a pre-paid debit card that I could use that I wouldn't be worried about anyone hacking. I'd never use any of my bank debit cards. That is a sure way to get your actual account cleaned out. Remember, credit cards are simply a float. Even if someone "cleaned them out", they didn't take your money but took the banks money. The accounts would be closed and new cards overnighted. If your debit card is cleaned out, that's your money that is taken. Much worse case scenario. It's another reason I would never write a check at a store. Checks are essentially giving out your account number, ID number, birthdate; literally the worst form of payment. A digital check debit from a trusted location is reasonable (if there is a fee that will exceed your cash back % of your credit card) but always use credit whenever possible. 

[neverbeenhere]

I own cash in a variety of currencies and use those when traveling.  I'm not worried about having too much and having to take it home as I will be back someday. If I decide not to go back to a country, I have friends.

[Northumberland]

My wife is a retired banker and suggested if they hack your debit card, they would have access to both you're checking and savings accounts.

We typically use a credit card the has a low maximum for traveling. 

If we think we are going to max it out, we make an on line payment.

[clo]

9 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

I don't do debit cards. Period. Would never use one. I'll take the risk with the credit card, otherwise will use cash.

So how do you get cash?

[clo]

4 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

I own cash in a variety of currencies and use those when traveling.  I'm not worried about having too much and having to take it home as I will be back someday. If I decide not to go back to a country, I have friends.

Now that's interesting. I've been to six continents and my husband to all seven. And he used to travel a whole lot internationally. He still accumulated a small amount of money. But we didn't have friends traveling to Guatemala for instance.

[cruisingguy007]

1 hour ago, Northumberland said:

My wife is a retired banker and suggested if they hack your debit card, they would have access to both you're checking and savings accounts.

We typically use a credit card the has a low maximum for traveling. 

If we think we are going to max it out, we make an on line payment.

 

No sense in having a low limit, you're not responsible for any unauthorized charges and having a lower limit will increase utilization and hurt your score (temporarily at least). You never really want to use more than 10% of any card, especially if you will carry a balance (which you never should unless it's a 0% intro period). There are plenty of good cards with high limits, no foreign transaction fees, and rewards. Dump the regular cards and only go for the premium products. They should be paying you to use their product if you're doing it right. 

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, Northumberland said:

My wife is a retired banker and suggested if they hack your debit card, they would have access to both you're checking and savings accounts.

That's why we have a separate travel account (with no overdraft protection) - not tied to any of our other accounts that has a debit/ATM card.  

[sanger727]

I agree with the other posters. Unless you open up a separate checking account that is not linked to anything else and has a tiny amount of money in it, using a debit card is a terrible idea. We always use credit cards and only debit cards to take out cash at bank ATMs. I've had credit cards with fraudulent charges racked up before. The banks actually have pretty good algorithms to catch unusual spending and will try to call you to verify or cut a card off quickly if they detect that. But either way, disputing charges for fraud is super easy. Having your bank account wiped out by fraudulent spending and then having to fight the overdraft and penalties for your bills not clearing would be a huge hassle.

[lissie]

My goto international debit card is now Transferwise (just rebranded to Wise) - in fact I'm using them to do a bit of currency speculation and buy future trip currencies when the rate is good. Heaps of controls - they email or text everytime a charge is made - and I normally just top up in the morning before going out  for the day. Also each card is only associated with one person - so my partner's card is totally separate from mine. So if I lose mine - Ican cancel it immediately myself on the app - but his will continue to work 

[wowzz]

11 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

It's another reason I would never write a check at a store

Does anyone actually use cheques anymore? I haven't written one for at least 7 years. 

[cruisingguy007]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

Does anyone actually use cheques anymore? I haven't written one for at least 7 years. 

 

Sure do. I see elderly do it at the grocery store all the time and I cringe. A debit/check card is much more secure, credit card even better. Back in the days you may get a few days (3-4) float but things are processed much quicker these days and a credit card is a much better float system if needed. There are very few reasons/needs for check writing. 

[wowzz]

49 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Sure do. I see elderly do it at the grocery store all the time and I cringe. A debit/check card is much more secure, credit card even better. Back in the days you may get a few days (3-4) float but things are processed much quicker these days and a credit card is a much better float system if needed. There are very few reasons/needs for check writing. 

Obviously a US thing. Cheques are virtually obsolete in the UK.

[lissie]

18 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Obviously a US thing. Cheques are virtually obsolete in the UK.

NZ banks are stopped accepting them this year - they'll be gone completely in a few years. 

[c-boy]

15 hours ago, lissie said:

My goto international debit card is now Transferwise (just rebranded to Wise) - in fact I'm using them to do a bit of currency speculation and buy future trip currencies when the rate is good. Heaps of controls - they email or text everytime a charge is made - and I normally just top up in the morning before going out  for the day. Also each card is only associated with one person - so my partner's card is totally separate from mine. So if I lose mine - Ican cancel it immediately myself on the app - but his will continue to work 

I had a new Wise account set up in early 2020. My travel account attached to it is Chase. I had the opportunity to use it last fall and was impressed with the fluidity of transactions. 

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Obviously a US thing. Cheques are virtually obsolete in the UK.

 

Not really.  They are pretty much the exception rather than the rule here too.  

[ldubs]

On 3/24/2021 at 9:45 AM, HillBilly Bob said:

I don't know!!   but...

 

Just read a column about traveling internationally.  Always use your debit card for purchases.  Keep only a small amount in your check account to cover your purchases so if your card is hacked, they can't take ALL your money.    If you need, you can add more money to the debit account from your personal computer (i.e. Savings Account Transfer)  off site and they will not have any access to that money.  

 

If you should have your credit card hacked, the card company will cover that...but the hassle you have when you return home will be a pain in the butt.  

 

 

   

I use my debit cards at ATM machines but otherwise use credit cards.   I may not agree that debit cards should always be used.  To me the hassle of dealing with a hacked credit card isn't so bad as losing whatever funds are in your account.   However, your suggestion  to have a separate debit card account to limit exposure is good for those who use them.   

[neverbeenhere]

BTW: There are a number of Charities that collect unused foreign currency, my bank has a Officer who collects the foreign currency for one charity.

[clo]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

Does anyone actually use cheques anymore? I haven't written one for at least 7 years. 

My dog's groomer only takes checks or cash. That's the only check I ever write.

[K32682]

19 hours ago, clo said:

So how do you get cash?

 

When I was in Namibia and Tahiti my debit card didn't work on the local machines. I received a cash advance on my credit card. Not cheap but it works. 

 

I do carry a debit card while travelling and use it strictly for cash. I bring at least two credit cards for personal travel and a third on a business trip. All have the highest limits I can get. 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by K32682

[iancal]

We never use our debit card for purchases....at home or travelling internationally.  Pre covid we have been out of the country for at least four months a year since retiring nine years ago.  Most continents....lots of 'back of beyond' places on six continents.

 

We have had our credit card hacked (at home) three or four times.  Never an issue.  One call to the credit card issuer and all transactions were reversed plus a new card in the mail.

 

We always travel with three or four credit cards.  Our experience is that on occasion some cards have been refused when buying air on line from some regional airlines in Europe and SE Asia.  One of our other cards always works.

Edited March 27, 2021 by iancal

[ldubs]

On 3/27/2021 at 10:21 AM, iancal said:

We never use our debit card for purchases....at home or travelling internationally.  Pre covid we have been out of the country for at least four months a year since retiring nine years ago.  Most continents....lots of 'back of beyond' places on six continents.

 

We have had our credit card hacked (at home) three or four times.  Never an issue.  One call to the credit card issuer and all transactions were reversed plus a new card in the mail.

 

We always travel with three or four credit cards.  Our experience is that on occasion some cards have been refused when buying air on line from some regional airlines in Europe and SE Asia.  One of our other cards always works.

 

 

Our approach really parallels what you describe.  The last time one of our credit cards had an unauthorized charge we were in Denmark.  The unauthorized charge was in Florida.  We would not have been aware until much later except the credit card company reached out to us.   Whatever their system is, it works very well.