Travelers checks do you use it?

[QuarterMillionMan]

Someone I know tried 5 banks to no avail getting travelers checks. I didn't know banks no longer issues these, nor did I know people still use these. Do you still use it? Where do you get it, etc?

[rennigade]

Whats the point of travelers checks? If you dont have a credit card, you should probably get one. Whenever we travel, doesnt matter if its for 3 days or 15 days, we never take more than $150 in cash and never had any issues. If we run out of cash and an establishment doesnt take credit cards, you're not getting our business. And spare me the emergency pinches and what if you need cash, blah blah. This isnt 1950 anymore, you're probably not traveling to some third world country where credit card machines are like magic. Just stop with that nonsense.

[Like2Plan]

Funny story. We purchased some travelers checks for a trip to the UK years ago and did not use them-something always happened to delay the trip. (I think it is time to cash them in.) We purchased them from an American Express travel office. It used to be that credit cards were not widely accepted on international travel, so you either brought cash (huge amounts not recommended) or travelers checks.

But, I would not buy them now-a-days. As rennigade said, I think travelers checks are not as appealing anymore. You can get cash from ATMs and most everybody accepts credit cards anyway. The ATMs and credit cards typically give you a more favorable exchange rate (if you find one that doesn't tack on a foreign transaction fee). If you mostly use a credit card you don't have to worry about having left over extra foreign currency that you have to change back into dollars (plus they don't change-change).

I don't entirely agree with rennigade about the emergencies on the road. For example, if you are stuck in a snow bank (or the ditch) and you need a tow and the tow truck driver will only take cash.... (But, I doubt a traveler's check would have done any good in that scenario, either. )

[Like2Plan]

Here's a link to an article:

https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/travelers-checks/

From the article:
"Where to Buy Traveler’s Checks
You can find traveler’s checks offered by companies like American Express and Visa. You can also go to your local AAA to purchase them.
The best place to purchase traveler’s checks is from your own bank — unfortunately many banks no longer offer traveler’s checks, including Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America."

(I'm not sure who AAA uses anymore. IIRC, "I think" it used to be Barclays, but it has been at least 30 years since I purchased any from AAA. )

[ua_guy]

Travelers cheques are an older concept.

As few as 10 years ago, it was dicey whether a US-issued "international brand" credit card like Visa, Mastercard would actually be accepted abroad because many US cards only featured mag-stripe technology where other parts of the world had already upgraded to chip-and-pin and many machines no longer supported swipe transactions. I think just about all us-issued cards now feature a chip, so it shouldn't be a big deal like it used to be. But you definitely weren't using a mag-stripe card in certain places back then, so you needed actual currency, or perhaps a traveler's cheque.

Now the concern is mostly about a) telling your bank you're going abroad so they don't shut off the card, thinking it's been stolen, and b) understanding what your bank may charge in foreign transaction/exchange fees. I don't think all cards are created equally there, so it pays to know in advance or get a card where those are minimal. Good to have some cash on hand anyway for little things, of course.

[moneybags]

But, I would not buy them now-a-days. As rennigade said, I think travelers checks are not as appealing anymore. You can get cash from ATMs and most everybody accepts credit cards anyway. The ATMs and credit cards typically give you a more favorable exchange rate (if you find one that doesn't tack on a foreign transaction fee). If you mostly use a credit card you don't have to worry about having left over extra foreign currency that you have to change back into dollars (plus they don't change-change).

When we travelled to Europe, we opened a checking account with Schwab; all ATM fees are refunded. We actually use this account to access ATMs everywhere so we don't worry about fees.