When you are planning a vacation, it’s very important to organize your travel money, especially in today’s economy. The currently weak dollar means your money won’t go as far as it did before. It is therefore vital that you find the best travel money rate.
Travel Money Choices
You can choose from several alternatives for your travel money.
*Cash – The only thing you need to do in order to use cash for your travel money is convert it into the appropriate currency for your destination. You can exchange it before leaving home or after you arrive in the country you are traveling to. Cash is probably the oldest form of travel money, but its disadvantages have led to the development of other options. Its main drawback is a lack of security, because cash can be stolen or misplaced.
*Standard Credit/Debit Card – These are credit or debit cards associated with either one of the large international card brands such as Mastercard, Visa, Discover, JCB and American Express. The main concern with these cards is the charges often applied on each transaction as well as the risk of fraud that they carry.
*Travelers Checks (TC) – Travelers checks are fee-free, unlike credit and debit cards. TCs are also fairly safe because they must be countersigned to use them and they are replaceable if stolen or lost. The currency exchange rate is typically not very competitive, however. Moreover, most currency exchanges and banks charge a fee to exchange TCs. This fee makes their overall travel money rate even worse.
*Pre-paid currency card – Another and more recent alternative is the pre-paid currency card. The cards are structured to counter the disadvantages of the other travel money alternatives while retaining overall conveniences for the international traveller. These are covered in more detail below.
About Prepaid Currency Cards
Prepaid cards are somewhat similar to standard credit and debit cards and they offer the same ability to purchase products and services but with one big difference – you can only spend up to the total amount that has been preloaded. This means there is no risk of running into debt as it has no credit or overdraft facility. As with cash, loading up a pre-paid currency card involves converting cash into your chosen currency; this means that you are subject to the exchange rate offered by the provider. The benefit is that you are able to hedge against exchange rate fluctuations during the trip. You will be issued with a PIN number and, similar to your normal international debit and credit your card can be used virtually anywhere on the planet.
Prepaid Currency Card Advantages
*The Application Process – You don’t need to worry about your credit history because there are no credit checks. All providers of prepaid currency cards will, however, do an identity check to make sure you are who you say you are.
*Ability to Control Spending – The control these cards provide makes them popular with parents and guardians of children sent overseas to study because it helps manage the child’s spending. Cards are pre-loaded with money based on a budget, and any excess expenditure is easily detected because money would have to be loaded into the card again.
*Better travel money rate – Though not necessarily a rule, prepaid currency cards often attract a better exchange rate than other forms of travel money.
FairFX give some of the best travel money rates available on their of prepaid cards. Check out at their current exchange rates, and find out exactly how much money you could save.
