My experience with Canadian money
in [Cruise Ship]
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From: Charles on 11 Jul 2010 22:57 In article <0uvk36tkln6k29aa86rk69ch1fhqa41n5t(a)4ax.com>, <gmbeasley(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > I would not use a credit card as they charge from the day of > withdrawal even if you pay your balance off every month. The only way > I know of to avoid this is to put in money in advance so your credit > card is over paid. I just us a debit card which does not charge > interest on the withdrawal. I also do not use my bank's ATM card as > they charge a fee, and my debit card does not. I don't mean use your credit card to get a cash advance. Charge your purchases instead of using cash. Preferably using a Capital One or other card with no foreign transaction fee. Use your bank debit ATM card by PIN number to get any cash. -- Charles
From: Bill on 11 Jul 2010 23:13 On 7/11/2010 10:40 PM, gmbeasley(a)mindspring.com wrote: > On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:54:42 -0400, Charles > <fort(a)his.com.remove.invalid> wrote: > >> And no way I would do an exchange for local currency on the ship >> either. You will get the worst rates. Use your credit card or get cash >> from an ATM machine if you really need cash. > > I would not use a credit card as they charge from the day of > withdrawal even if you pay your balance off every month. The only way > I know of to avoid this is to put in money in advance so your credit > card is over paid. I think you misunderstood Charles. He was not suggesting using a credit card to get cash, which as you said would charge interest immediately (plus a cash advance fee). He meant to just charge the purchase rather than getting cash. The vast majority of credit cards do not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay the bill in full by the due date. > I just use a debit card which does not charge > interest on the withdrawal. I also do not use my bank's ATM card as > they charge a fee, and my debit card does not. Some ATM cards do not charge a foreign ATM fee and refund any fee charged by the ATM. I understand that ATM fees are much less prevalent over in Europe than they are here in the US. I only got hit with one last year while overseas and for some reason Schwab decided it was something other than an ATM fee and would not refund it as they did the fee for using the on-ship ATM. Bill
From: gmbeasley on 12 Jul 2010 08:48 On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:13:37 -0400, Bill <billrubin(a)prodigy.net> wrote: >On 7/11/2010 10:40 PM, gmbeasley(a)mindspring.com wrote: >> On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 10:54:42 -0400, Charles >> <fort(a)his.com.remove.invalid> wrote: >> >>> And no way I would do an exchange for local currency on the ship >>> either. You will get the worst rates. Use your credit card or get cash >>> from an ATM machine if you really need cash. >> >> I would not use a credit card as they charge from the day of >> withdrawal even if you pay your balance off every month. The only way >> I know of to avoid this is to put in money in advance so your credit >> card is over paid. > >I think you misunderstood Charles. He was not suggesting using a credit >card to get cash, which as you said would charge interest immediately >(plus a cash advance fee). He meant to just charge the purchase rather >than getting cash. The vast majority of credit cards do not charge you >any interest on purchases if you pay the bill in full by the due date. > Yes I did misunderstand, but it wasn't clear to me that was what he meant, and I think it would be relatively easy to make that mistake the way it was written. My own rule which doesn't work quite as well on a cruise because the wharf vendors and the ship stores often don't have the facilities for it, is that I won't buy anything that the seller won't take a credit card AND ship home for me. Not wanting to have to have room in my luggage (and having the extra weight) is far more important to ME than whether I get charged a couple of dollars extra. I used to take an extra empty bag, but with the charges for checked bags, that's not something I do anymore. I had some problem in Hawaii because the taxi drivers did not take credit cards in payment. I had cash, but I spend cash VERY reluctantly because it is hard to get more unless I use an ATM or get it from the ship. > > I just use a debit card which does not charge >> interest on the withdrawal. I also do not use my bank's ATM card as >> they charge a fee, and my debit card does not. > >Some ATM cards do not charge a foreign ATM fee and refund any fee >charged by the ATM. I understand that ATM fees are much less prevalent >over in Europe than they are here in the US. I only got hit with one >last year while overseas and for some reason Schwab decided it was >something other than an ATM fee and would not refund it as they did the >fee for using the on-ship ATM. > >Bill
From: BobEdwards on 12 Jul 2010 11:06 I, also, wait until I arrive in a foreign country before buying their currency. Here's a tip. Upon arriving in Venice recently I found that there were no ATMs in the baggage claim area and one euro was required to get a cart. Someone advised me that a US quarter was the same size and would release a cart. It worked.
From: Barbara Brown on 12 Jul 2010 11:50
On 7/11/2010 9:57 PM, Charles wrote: > In article<0uvk36tkln6k29aa86rk69ch1fhqa41n5t(a)4ax.com>, > <gmbeasley(a)mindspring.com> wrote: > >> I would not use a credit card as they charge from the day of >> withdrawal even if you pay your balance off every month. The only way >> I know of to avoid this is to put in money in advance so your credit >> card is over paid. I just us a debit card which does not charge >> interest on the withdrawal. I also do not use my bank's ATM card as >> they charge a fee, and my debit card does not. > > I don't mean use your credit card to get a cash advance. Charge your > purchases instead of using cash. Preferably using a Capital One or > other card with no foreign transaction fee. Use your bank debit ATM > card by PIN number to get any cash. > I would never get a Capital One card after all the stuff that happened with them. I'd rather pay a fee with another card if necessary. |