Money when traveling overseas. Should you carry cash? Award winning tour company, The Women’s Travel Group says yes. A qualifier, carry only unmarked and un torn US bills. ( No coins. It is impossible to exchange coins overseas.) This cash is for incidentals, ie airport shops might accept a dollar for bottled water. Or you want to give a small tip to a porter? Or donate to a charity box? For most travels, $50 is the emergency cash you might need.
You might also need US cash in rural areas but probably not on our January trip to Vietnam or Cambodia. ATM’s are increasingly available but some in busy airports might be out of currency. We experienced that situation, with our group in the Dubai Airport.
The future is digital payments, so get used to it. Some areas in Asia already use 99% digital payments. In England we found credit card only for a single $3 cookie.
Travelers should have 1-2 credit cards besides a the tried and true, AMEX. It is less accepted overseas. One card should be VISA, the second biggest credit card globally ,connected as it is with international banks. Your card should allow international transactions. Credit cards usually use the rate of exchange on the purchase day. Look for a card with fair fees.
Some credit union cards are accepted overseas. The Women’s Travel Group had a situation where one traveler’s credit union card was “eaten” by the ATM in Senegal. Fortunately bank staff opened the ATM from inside, and returned the card. Usually if the card is backed by a VISA or Mastercard it works. To make sure your credit union card will work overseas, call the issuer, plus ask about fees.
You can usually use debit cards and those issued by a stock broker account overseas. Again check fees.
Paypal is slowly gaining acceptance overseas. London taxis take it. For Uber, you’ll be using your US app and account. Zelle is only used if funds are coming from/to a US bank.
Final rules:
Avoid airport currency exchanges. These are egregiously expensive: they advertise no fees but have terrible exchange rates. (My solution: I walked to the line of people waiting to exchange, found a man who wanted US dollars. We did our own swap: he sold me Euros, I sold him US Dollars).
When traveling, leave one of your two cards in the hotel safe.
International wires? Do not pay by wire unless you know the company name and bank. The Women’s Travel Group visited Iran in 2016 and we are going to Cuba in March 2025. Using a US credit card is not allowed in either. We found merchants in some areas have bank accounts in major European banks in Dubai or elsewhere. Once I personally paid someone’s brother in law in Union City NJ.
Do not access your bank account with public wifi. That is like taking your clothes off on the sidewalk. Crazy and dangerous.
Travel tips from award winning The Women’s Travel Group. Call us at 646 309 5607, Eastern Time, US for more information on our tours.
