-
Contact
your bank and credit card companies before you depart. To fight theft,
banks and credit card issuers may freeze your account if your credit, debit
or ATM card suddenly shows purchases in Jamaica.
-
If you'll
be arriving late or on a weekend, consider changing about $50 in advance
into foreign currency at your bank or the airport. You won't get the
best exchange rate, but you'll have money in your pocket when you arrive for
taxis, food and tips.
-
Banks in
foreign countries are usually open fewer hours than in the United States.
Learn the bank schedules and holidays in the country you're visiting.
-
Save
receipts from all exchanges and transactions. Some countries require
you to show money exchange receipts upon leaving. And you'll want
proof for your credit card company if you need to dispute a charge.
-
Bring a
couple of cards to provide a backup if one or more is demagnetized, frozen
or eaten by a machine. make sure your cards won't expire before your
trip ends. Leave cards not useful to you at home.
-
Don't
make lots of small exchanges. Banks and exchange tellers charge a flat
fee for each transaction. If a withdrawal of 50 Honduran lempira costs
as much as 300 lempira, it makes sense to get the larger amount as long as
you have a safe place to keep it and will be visiting long enough to spend
it.
-
Carry the
phone numbers of your credit card companies, along with photocopies of the
fronts and backs of your cards. If you card is lost or stolen, report
it immediately.
-
Be sure
to learn your PINs (personal identification numbers) before you leave since
most companies will not give them out over the phone. Also, if you PIN
is more than four numbers long, or a word, consider changing it to a
four-digit number since some foreign bank machines accept only four-digit
numbers-only PINS.
-
It is a
good idea to wear a money belt underneath your clothing. Keep only a
day's worth of cash and your primary credit card in your pockets, everything
else goes in the best, including your passport and other cards.
-
Use an
ATM attached to a bank, and use it while the bank is open. You'll be
safer and, if there's a problem such as your card being eaten, you can get
help.
