Money Money Money Money...MONEY!

Travelling abroad was presenting us with some choices regarding money.  The old fashioned way was to obtain traveller's checks.  Today there are several options: Credit Cards with the European chip, Travel Cards which you load a chosen amount of money on with a limited amount of reloads and charges by the bank.

The one we chose was a debit card from our bank.  The pros of this choice were: usage of our debit card at an ATM would be the same as in the US to obtain cash.  Dependent on the country you are in, you would receive cash in the currency of that country.  We could also use the card as a point of sale card. At the time of the sale, you decide if you want the sale to be , for example, Euros or US Dollars.

Another pro was if there were any issues regarding the card, we had a number 24/7 to contact our bank regarding our account.  We also gave the bank our itinerary so they'd have an idea if there were any fraudulent charges against our account.

 The cons were pretty much the same as in the US,  fees would be charged at each ATM for cash.  In addition though, there would also be a conversion rate charged for money i.e., Euros, Pounds, etc.

We figured you have to pay the conversion rate somewhere, so we might as well just go through the bank.

The best advice we can give is "go to your bank and discuss your travel plans with them.  They are prepared to advise you which choice will meet your needs best."