To avoid spending more than you have to, check out these 10 tips to save money while traveling.
1. Let your bank know you will be traveling.
Notify your bank that you are traveling out of state so they don’t shut your credit card off.
Fraud detectors are tripped if you're suddenly using your card across the country, making more or different purchases than you usually do or charging unexpectedly large amounts (such as a weeklong hotel stay).
Note that this applies to debit cards as well as credit cards. Also when traveling abroad, you may need to use a card with a security chip. Make sure you have one with you.
2. Know bank and ATM fees.
While traveling internationally, you will likely incur a fee each time you get cash at an ATM. These can vary a lot. It's worth checking before every trip.
3. Make a plan for getting to your hotel from the airport.
Don’t let the first ride cost you a mint. Make sure you know what the price of a taxi is from the airport to your hotel. If it is too much, find an alternate option such as train, bus or hotel shuttle. You don't want to be fumbling around trying to figure all this out on the airport curb.
4. Know your cell phone charges.
How much could a few texts, a bit of mapping, a few email checks and a batch of social media updates cost per day? Plenty, it turns out. Even if you purchase an international roaming plan, these often have pretty aggressive data caps, and your data allowances can disappear really quickly.
Sign up for an international roaming plan which will lower your expense. Or just text using What’s App (free app for international texts.)
5. Find out the local exchange rate.
Especially in the first several hours at your destination, having done a little research on the local exchange rate against your home currency can make a huge difference. Check out banks, hotels and International Exchange Stores for rates. They will vary within the city including a convenience fee.
6. Don't bring traveler's checks.
Barely anyone accepts them anymore, they're not cheap, you have to invest a fair amount of time in obtaining and purchasing them, and credit cards give you a far better rate of exchange in most parts of the world.
7. Find out the customary tip.
Tipping customs vary immensely from place to place, and not having knowledge of these can be both awkward and expensive. Many restaurants already include the tip. Make sure you know ahead if this is the custom.
Tipping practices can also vary from industry to industry as well; in Brazil, for example, a 10 percent tip is customary in a restaurant, but it might already be included, so you will want to check the bill
8. Tip your housekeeper daily.
Many travelers will leave it until the end of a trip to tip the housekeepers (usually by leaving some cash on top of the bed); this can backfire. On any given stay, you might have a different housekeeper from one day to the next, and to be the most fair and to get the best treatment, it is best to leave something each day. Many housekeepers live on subsistence wages, and this is the right thing to do.
9. Secure your valuables.
Shoving your wallet in your back pocket or your purse over your shoulder is such a natural and almost automatic action that almost all of us will do this at some point in our travels. It is also the easiest way to get pickpocketed or ripped off, as these spots are both obvious to thieves and difficult to protect.
This applies to your wallet and anything that someone could grab quickly. Be especially careful during rush hour when trains and buses are packed. Carry your backpack in front of you.
A button on your back pocket or an across-the-body bag instead of an over-the-shoulder purse can also help here; adding just a little bit of difficulty is often enough to inspire thieves to look for other victims.
10. Don't use public Wi-Fi for financial transactions.
You will want to avoid checking bank balances, making online payments or entering financially sensitive passwords of any kind while using public Internet or Wi-Fi networks. Note also that a hack doesn't have to be an inside job -- that is, a hotel employee or system installer -- but can also be a fellow lodger who has hacked into the minimally protected (if at all) hotel Wi-Fi network.
www.petersontravelpros.com
1. Let your bank know you will be traveling.
Notify your bank that you are traveling out of state so they don’t shut your credit card off.
Fraud detectors are tripped if you're suddenly using your card across the country, making more or different purchases than you usually do or charging unexpectedly large amounts (such as a weeklong hotel stay).
Note that this applies to debit cards as well as credit cards. Also when traveling abroad, you may need to use a card with a security chip. Make sure you have one with you.
2. Know bank and ATM fees.
While traveling internationally, you will likely incur a fee each time you get cash at an ATM. These can vary a lot. It's worth checking before every trip.
3. Make a plan for getting to your hotel from the airport.
Don’t let the first ride cost you a mint. Make sure you know what the price of a taxi is from the airport to your hotel. If it is too much, find an alternate option such as train, bus or hotel shuttle. You don't want to be fumbling around trying to figure all this out on the airport curb.
4. Know your cell phone charges.
How much could a few texts, a bit of mapping, a few email checks and a batch of social media updates cost per day? Plenty, it turns out. Even if you purchase an international roaming plan, these often have pretty aggressive data caps, and your data allowances can disappear really quickly.
Sign up for an international roaming plan which will lower your expense. Or just text using What’s App (free app for international texts.)
5. Find out the local exchange rate.
Especially in the first several hours at your destination, having done a little research on the local exchange rate against your home currency can make a huge difference. Check out banks, hotels and International Exchange Stores for rates. They will vary within the city including a convenience fee.
6. Don't bring traveler's checks.
Barely anyone accepts them anymore, they're not cheap, you have to invest a fair amount of time in obtaining and purchasing them, and credit cards give you a far better rate of exchange in most parts of the world.
7. Find out the customary tip.
Tipping customs vary immensely from place to place, and not having knowledge of these can be both awkward and expensive. Many restaurants already include the tip. Make sure you know ahead if this is the custom.
Tipping practices can also vary from industry to industry as well; in Brazil, for example, a 10 percent tip is customary in a restaurant, but it might already be included, so you will want to check the bill
8. Tip your housekeeper daily.
Many travelers will leave it until the end of a trip to tip the housekeepers (usually by leaving some cash on top of the bed); this can backfire. On any given stay, you might have a different housekeeper from one day to the next, and to be the most fair and to get the best treatment, it is best to leave something each day. Many housekeepers live on subsistence wages, and this is the right thing to do.
9. Secure your valuables.
Shoving your wallet in your back pocket or your purse over your shoulder is such a natural and almost automatic action that almost all of us will do this at some point in our travels. It is also the easiest way to get pickpocketed or ripped off, as these spots are both obvious to thieves and difficult to protect.
This applies to your wallet and anything that someone could grab quickly. Be especially careful during rush hour when trains and buses are packed. Carry your backpack in front of you.
A button on your back pocket or an across-the-body bag instead of an over-the-shoulder purse can also help here; adding just a little bit of difficulty is often enough to inspire thieves to look for other victims.
10. Don't use public Wi-Fi for financial transactions.
You will want to avoid checking bank balances, making online payments or entering financially sensitive passwords of any kind while using public Internet or Wi-Fi networks. Note also that a hack doesn't have to be an inside job -- that is, a hotel employee or system installer -- but can also be a fellow lodger who has hacked into the minimally protected (if at all) hotel Wi-Fi network.
www.petersontravelpros.com
