Credit cards, travellers cheques, exchange and other tips

[petetherock]

This thread will help those going abroad to decide which is the best option, and where there are pitfalls in each type of money to use: CC, cash or cheques.

Note that many countries esp in Europe and from next year in NZ will have an embedded chip in their cards, which means you need a pin to use your CC, otherwise you cannot use it in their countries.

Cheques are also not accepted in many places or you need to find a place to exchange them for cash.

Cash is king, but some may worry about carrying too much, so a rule of thumb I tend to use, is change enough for all my daily expenses which I need to pay for :

Food, transport, fuel, entrance fees etc

Then use the Credit card for the rest.

But do not let the card out of your sight, esp in certain countries in Asia and even Europe.

As for foreign exchange, I have found our local rates to be pretty good, so I do most of the change here first, and Mustafa is pretty decent, but if you only change a few hundred dollars don't bother to spend your bus/MRT/parking fee to go there and just change at the airport.

 

[Lolrence]

I always do my exchange of money at Parkway Parade... there are 3 shops side by side :bsmilie:

 

[LiuLangMao]

just bring your ATM card....can withdraw from most of the country ATM ...only need to pay $5 services charge....
I even did it in Laos and Nepal....
for most euro cty....no prob at all....

and as a back up..just keep some USD....its widely use in most cty....leave your SGD at home...many place dun accept it...

 

[tanjonhan]

This thread will help those going abroad to decide which is the best option, and where there are pitfalls in each type of money to use: CC, cash or cheques.

Note that many countries esp in Europe and from next year in NZ will have an embedded chip in their cards, which means you need a pin to use your CC, otherwise you cannot use it in their countries.

Cheques are also not accepted in many places or you need to find a place to exchange them for cash.

Cash is king, but some may worry about carrying too much, so a rule of thumb I tend to use, is change enough for all my daily expenses which I need to pay for :

Food, transport, fuel, entrance fees etc

Then use the Credit card for the rest.

But do not let the card out of your sight, esp in certain countries in Asia and even Europe.

As for foreign exchange, I have found our local rates to be pretty good, so I do most of the change here first, and Mustafa is pretty decent, but if you only change a few hundred dollars don't bother to spend your bus/MRT/parking fee to go there and just change at the airport.

Despite the chips, most still do take swipes btw....

 

[kkgoxplore]

Avoid changing currencies on weekend as the rate would be less favorable. Also don't change at the hotel as the rate would be even worse though it may not be so bad in some countires.

Don't shop at the airport (other than for duty free items) or at the hotel. The price ae way too high.

If you have a Citibank account, you can withdraw local currency (from your saving/checking account) without any additional charges. The rate is good too.

 

[Magix88]

If you have a POSB/DBS account, ATM withdrawals from DBS banks branches in Hong Kong and Taiwan DBS Bank branches do not have $5 surcharge. The rates are reasonable too.