Money and Your Travels

You may be on vacation, but your money is not. Whether you are traveling locally or are heading far from home here are some tips to help you lessen financial worries.

Tip One – Make Some Calls
Call your financial institution and credit card companies to let them know where and when you will be away.  Why is this important?  Companies monitor card activity and take note when your activity changes in amount, type or location.  If they are unaware of your travel plans they may put a hold on your account or cancel your card permanently.  If they know they can use this information when monitoring your account.  Forget to call in advance - you can still do it from the road. Most companies list contact information on the back of their card and website. 

When you call ask about your spending limits, especially for your debit card.  Getting caught short on cash because you are over your limit is no fun at all, especially on vacation.  Whether or not you have your spending limit changed depends on your situation and should be discussed with your financial advisor.

Tip Two - Make Payments
If bills are due while you are away pay them early or use The Credit Union’s On-Line Bill Payment service to post-date payments.  Trying to remember to pay the gas bill while you are away is no fun at all.  And if you do remember and cannot gain access to your account because of a technical reason you will be stuck with additional fees or worse when you get home.

Tip Three – Make Sure You’re Covered
While travel insurance and travel health insurance does not protect your money directly it does protect you from suffering unnecessary financial losses should anything happen.  Before you hit the road, make sure you understand what coverage you have with your credit cards, employee plans and any personal insurance programs to which you belong.   If there are gaps in cancellation, purchase, medical and other travel insurances, close them before you go.   Travel coverage is available through The Credit Union.

Tip Four – Make a Back-up Plan
While credit and debit cards can free you from carrying cash while traveling they are not always available as systems go down and cards can be damaged, lost or stolen.  Make sure you have more than one way to access your money.  However, do not load up your wallet with cards or cash.  Take a debit card and no more than two credit cards (one for regular use and one for emergency backup).  Keep everything else locked up at home which will also help keep you on budget.  Keep only a small amount of local currency in your wallet at a time.  And as old-fashioned as they seem – it is wise to take travelers’ cheques with you.  They are widely accepted and are not subject to credit approval or system failures.  And unlike many cards, are easily replaced if lost or stolen while traveling.  If you don’t use them, you can save them for another trip or deposit them back into your account when you get home. 

Tip Five – Keep a List
Keep a list of the cards you are carrying and the contact numbers for the issuing financial institutions just in case you need to call them while you are traveling.  Trying to remember which cards you had if your wallet is lost or stolen is not easy in a stressful situation. Many travel experts also suggest making copies of insurance and health cards and your passport and keeping these separate from the originals.