where to cash traveler s checks
if you want to convert your traveler s checks into cash instead of spending them directly you can often deposit them normally at your bank many hotel or resort lobbies will also provide this service to guests at no charge american express also provides a service to redeem traveler s checks that they issue online to be deposited into your bank account advantages and disadvantages of traveler s checkstraveler s checks are handy for tourists who do not want to risk losing their cash or having it stolen while abroad because traveler s checks can be reported lost or stolen and the funds replaced they provide peace of mind this was particularly a concern before credit cards and atms were widespread and affordable worldwide for most travelers at the same time these paper checks are now a bit outdated and come with a fee to purchase making them potentially more expensive and cumbersome than using plastic or electronic payments replaced if lost or stolenwidely accepted around the worldconvenient to usethey don t expireoutmodedmust have the physical check to use itincurs a fee to purchaselimited number of issuers todayalternatives to traveler s checksthe most obvious alternative is to use a credit or debit card issued by a bank that works worldwide and charges low or no foreign exchange fees on purchases or atm withdrawals if your bank doesn t allow for this or charges high fees then prepaid travel cards are the modern version of traveler s checks they allow you to get local currency from atms and make purchases with merchants effectively eliminating the need for traveler s checks prepaid cards are not linked to your bank account which prevents anybody from draining your checking account if the card gets lost or stolen and you can t go into debt credit cards offer similar or better protection but you might not want to use your everyday card abroad by using a dedicated travel card you avoid spreading your card numbers around which means you can be less vigilant about monitoring your accounts when you get back home visa and mastercard both offer prepaid cards designed for use abroad those cards are available online through travel agents and at banks or credit unions travel cards should feature low atm fees technology that lets you operate like a local in foreign countries emergency cash when you lose the card and zero liability fraud protection that said prepaid cards can be expensive so you need to compare fees against your other cards to decide whether or not a travel card makes sense for u s citizens living abroad for extended periods maintaining checking and other bank accounts in the united states provides several advantages and many checking accounts are friendly for foreign transactions 