Thread: When traveling on vacation, what forms of payment do you bring?

When traveling by plane or train in addition to taking cash, do you people take a debit card and not a (credit card)?

I had a debit card for 1 year used it a few times like the grocery store. about a year later I just canceled it. when I got a hard copy of my 5% back cash back rotating categories for my Discover card I didn't see restaurants in the first quarter. me and my parents will be traveling to Florida to visit 1 of their friends and get this, going to see 2 hockey games Buffalo at Tampa and Edmonton at Tampa. I'm trying to get 1 exhibition baseball game.

So over the weekend I decided to get another debit card. Just wondering when you and your family members leave town do you people bring a debit card with you?

how many credit cards do you people bring? for anybody who has any Discover card do you bring your card with you?

for anybody who has a store card without a visa or mastercard, including gas stations, would you bring those cards with you or leave them home?

This is my plan. I'm bringing $20 dollars cash my TD bank card, I plan on going to burger king, Nathans and Kentucky Fried Chicken so I can stop at a TD bank and get more cash when needed. I plan on bringing my Discover card, my capitol1 venture gold and my Green American Express, I usually don't bring my gas card. because that's the card you can only use at exxon or mobil?

what does everybody bring when leaving on vacation in addition to cash?

The general rule when traveling is to take twice as much money as you think you will need and half as much clothes!! Be sure and notify your bank/banks about your travel plans (dates/cities).

Originally Posted by namvet

The general rule when traveling is to take twice as much money as you think you will need and half as much clothes!! Be sure and notify your bank/banks about your travel plans (dates/cities).

That's only if you're traveling on a business trip. I'm more interested in knowing about vacations San Fransisco, Beverly hills, Chicago, Hawaii, Tampa bay Florida these sort of places.

I usually do not bring my Debit Card unless I know there is a branch near where I am going.

I will bring my main credit card and at least one backup card.

On any given day I have between $100 and $300 in cash on me. (Old habit from before credit cards were everywhere. A habit I am not likely to break at any time).

I always let my cards know when I am going to be traveling (personal or business). This again is a old habit that I am not likely to break any time soon.

Hope it helps.

Originally Posted by sticf

I usually do not bring my Debit Card unless I know there is a branch near where I am going.

I will bring my main credit card and at least one backup card.

On any given day I have between $100 and $300 in cash on me. (Old habit from before credit cards were everywhere. A habit I am not likely to break at any time).

I always let my cards know when I am going to be traveling (personal or business). This again is a old habit that I am not likely to break any time soon.

Hope it helps.

so what you're saying is unless you are 100% sure there's an ATM of the same branch, you won't bring your debit card. last year in Chicago it was just me and Mom. before I left I signed up for the 5% back on restaurants, went the same time of year March 21 thru March 26th. so even though I had my debit card, we didn't go to any fast food restaurants, we ate in affordable places, I used my Discover in Chicago.

this is a new year in Sarasota I hope there are TD Banks. I would rather get some cash that way, then bring a lot of money the way we use to do things back in the old days.

sticf you travel a lot when you are with employees or family members do you ever have a problem when leaving houston going to a different place, going through there terminal, waiting around for either taxis or hotel buses. have you ever had anybody trying to steal from you or anybody with you?

It could also be on the streets depending upon the location whether it be business or vacation.

Originally Posted by Pete838

Huh? That makes no sense, and I have to wonder what your absolute obsession with 'traveling on business' is all about, and wonder if you do actually travel on business or just pontificate about it online. I take the same forms of payment with me whether I'm going to dinner with my wife in Zurich or going to a business conference in Tampa. It makes no difference, other than to say that Discover cards aren't much use anywhere but here in the USA and Asia (JCB/UnionPay).

If I'm traveling internationally I try to be aware of the general culture of card acceptance. For example, in the United States credit cards are much more widely accepted than South America or Europe. If traveling internationally I also try to use cards with no foreign exchange (FOREX) fees. If you can use a FOREX free card, it will be less expensive than exchanging for foreign cash at a bank or airport, and you won't take home a bunch of useless bank notes to stick in a drawer at home.

Regarding debit cards, I try to avoid using them. The rewards are often weak, and purchase protections are often much less consumer friendly than credit cards.

I agree. I usually only use debit cards once in a while at the grocery store. however when going to Florida it's not necessary to bring that much cash I would just get cash out there.

when calling up the visa concierge service on the recording it lets you know, that you can let your bank know about upcoming travel. mine would be capitol, If I did travel on business, I guess they would arrange my travel plans

but since this is vacation no reason to tell anybody, Capitol1, Discover or American express.

Originally Posted by Money card

sticf you travel a lot when you are with employees or family members do you ever have a problem when leaving houston going to a different place, going through there terminal, waiting around for either taxis or hotel buses. have you ever had anybody trying to steal from you or anybody with you?

It could also be on the streets depending upon the location whether it be business or vacation.

I have never been mugged if that is what you are asking. I have never been in the presence of a mugging. I do not travel much these days, maybe 3 business trips and 1 big vacation a year (all in the US). Why would I have a problem in the terminals?

As to the debit card question:
I do not like debit cards. If I my banks would offer a ATM card only I would take them in a heartbeat. I usually only use the debit card to pull cash out of a local account (to avoid fees). I rarely keep it in my wallet even when I am at home. Anyplace that accepts a debit card, I will just use one of my credit cards. Add to that Pete's observation about rewards and I see no use for debit cards. Lastly, I do not have to worry about bouncing one of my automatic payments if someone makes false charges on my credit cards.

I know this may be a bit strange in the age where banks have tried to push us to use Debit as Credit. However, my checking accounts are really just holding places for money that is going to bills. They act more as a "clearing house" than a place to park money for any given time. Any money that is not slated for immediate spending (2 weeks or less) is moved off to other accounts that are not linked to a debit card.