Advice on what to do with cash on RTW trip

GAMAN

Hi All,

Im going away for a year will have about 20,000euro whats the best thing to do from experiance of people who have done it before, topping up your credit card, Laser, Traveler Cheques???????? Any security tips about using cards away or taking out cash while traveling? I will be in SE Asia,Oz and south America.

Cheers

Neamhshuntasach

I've only ever used a combination of credit cards and bank cards from at least 2 different banks. This year i'll be bringing 3 bank cards with me and a visa card. And i'll just seperate them so in case i lose them i'll have them to fall back on and just transfer funds.

I usually take a couple of weeks money out and break it up and hide it in socks and different things in my bag. I take out small lump sums so i avoid charges although it would be safer going to the bank and taking out just a weeks spending money.

don't bother with travellers cheques for south america anyways. they are hard to change.

Regarding security tips for using ATMS, have somebody you know and trust stand beside you to deter people trying to pull scams. If the bank allows you to go inside to withdraw cash from the ATM then do that. It is much safer. Try use ATM's during the day and not at night in poorly lit areas. Never let any stranger help you. You'll get people saying they can translate the Spanish for you. Just say Gracias Señor, pero yo entiendo Espanol. Also never count the money out straight after it. If you must count money walk into a store front. And never flash money on the street in general. You could be holding someones annual wage in your hand and they will be tempted.

The above goes more so for South America rather than SE Asia and Oz. But always be careful everywhere when money is involved.

shinnersdcu

I'm in the same boat Gamon and your advice Neamhshuntasach is what i was thinking about doing but what I'm now worried about internet banking when I'm away.

I want to bring my laptop as it's tiny and I'll include it in my insurance but everyone has advised me against it and told me to just use cafes and at most bring a wifi phone


but my problem is the thought of keyloggers etc on the computers when im away.Sure if they get your pin etc and clear you out,aren't then not entitled to anything as all banks say o you must have written it down or given it to someone!

Like I could ring home and tell family to transfer money etc but that's not going to be that realistic for the entire year,like if you need to book a flight or something asap

Is this common threat or am I being paranoid?

Neamhshuntasach

Nah you're not being paranoid. Thousands of people have had money disappear from their accounts due to using Internet banking in public cafe's etc. This is mainly done by keylogging which records every key stroke during your session.

A safer way than normal is to use portable firefox. You can install it on a pendrive and stick that into the computer and browse to your bank from the link on the pendrive rather than the computers desktop. This saves all the cookies and temp internet files to your pendrive. It isn't 100% secure and there are programs and means to get around using it. You can download it from here along with some other portable apps

http://portableapps.com/

I'm with TSB and after i enter my number and password i'm asked to enter 3 random digits from my 6 digit pincode. Even if the keylogger had the capability to take a screen shot to see what order i was asked to enter them in. They'd still only have my bank number, my password and 3 digits of my pin code. They'd be lucky to guess the remaining 3 within 3 attempts.

But what i do is just call home to either my mother, brother or one of my uncles. I trust all 3 and chances are i'll always catch one of them in and awake. It's not that often that you need to use Internet banking. Or book flights for that matter. It's not a big hassle to get a family member to do it for you. And remember you can also do the same thing with phone banking as you can do with internet banking. So just do all your stuff over the phone.

RATM

Yeah be careful with ATMS, especially in S.America. Me and a mate got done to the tune of 5k in Venezuala a few yrs back- they cloned our cards. we were sailing in the Caribeen and by the time we got to Antigua we'd been cleaned out. Passport stamps proved we weren't even in the country when it happeded so we got a refund but it took 8 wks and alot of hassle with phone calls, faxes, etc.

Also bring 200 euro of travellers cheques and email yourself the barcode numbers on them. that acts like an insurance net in the event of Atm cards being stolen.

shinnersdcu

ah I'm bloody petrified now!suppose that's part and part of it!

Never thought of phone banking,thanks a mill!and will just ring home the rest of the time

You reckon I should keep the bank account quiet empty then in case of skims?and gets the family to transfer my money in from another of my bank account when i need it?at least that way if I'm done they're not going to get all of my money!

how may credit cards do you reckon you should bring?

Neamhshuntasach

I'll have my money spread out over 3 bank cards that i will separate on my person or in my pack. I'll also only have half of what i'm bringing when i leave. I'll get my mom to put lodge the rest into my account about 6 months later. And chances of me losing all 3 cards or getting skimmed at ATM's on all 3 would be low. I always go to a busy ATM that locals queue at. Always look at the locals and do what they do if you are unsure or feel unsafe about something. The ATM's that are set up for copying people's cards are usually remote ones in poorly lit areas so they can install and uninstall it without being caught.

I'm only bringing the one credit card. I have rarely used a credit card when previously traveling due to high surcharges on them at some places in Latin America. Also if i do lose it Visa will send me another card anywhere in the world. Whereas chances of your bank doing that are remote.

Another thing, check your bank balance regularily and keep receipts from journey's in case you need to prove you were outside of the town or country where a transaction occured on your card.

RATM

shinnersdcu wrote: »

ah I'm bloody petrified now!suppose that's part and part of it!

Never thought of phone banking,thanks a mill!and will just ring home the rest of the time

You reckon I should keep the bank account quiet empty then in case of skims?and gets the family to transfer my money in from another of my bank account when i need it?at least that way if I'm done they're not going to get all of my money!

how may credit cards do you reckon you should bring?

Yeah thats a good idea, maybe tell your parents to keep an eye on the account and top it up wihen it goes below 250 but never top it up over 500. That gives you a bit of insurance in the event it gets skimmed.

Seriously though dont spend all your time worrying about it. Use in-branch ATMs where possible, ATMs in large banks like HSBC in capital cities should be the safest to use

And if some innocent looking street kids try to guide you to a certain ATM do not in any circumstance use it. They'll be the ones that get you skimmed- the local mafia often use kids as pawns for their little games.