Heading South? Keep an Eye on Your Money up North

Planning a winter get away? Before you go make sure you have done everything you need to keep you and your money protected. Here are a few things to consider:

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. When 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. Forgot 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.

Make Payments

If bills are due while you are away pay them early or use The Credit Union Bill Payment service to post-date payments. A sure fun stopper is trying to remember to pay the gas bill while you are away. 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.

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, medical and other travel insurances, close them before you go. Travel insurance is available through The Credit Union.

Make a Budget

It is easy to get carried away on your vacation and equally easy to put your financial health on the backburner. Remember your vacation is a time to relax and regroup - not to cause future financial problems. So before you head out, understand what your spending limits are and what fits your budget. If you are financing your vacation through credit cards, make sure you have a plan to pay them off as quickly as you can. And before your next vacation, work out a savings plan in advance. Use the Financial Cardio test to figure out what you can spend and the Financial Strength test to figure out what you need to save to keep your financial health on track while you're away. Click here to get these tests.

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 back-up). 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 traveler's cheques with you. They are widely accepted and are not subject to credit approval or system failures. And unlike many cards, traveler's cheques 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.

Make Sure You Pack Your Credit Union Debit Card

As part of THE EXCHANGE® Network, your Credit Union Debit Card can be used across the U.S. at ATMs displaying THE EXCHANGE® Network sign. Most ATMs in the U.S. are surcharge-free, but there are a few states where additional fees may apply. Look for the No SUR! symbol in the U.S., at participating ATMs! Or searching for locations, select a search for locations that participate in the No SUR! surcharge-free program. The Credit Union does charge a fee for ATM withdrawals in the U.S. To check our service fees, click here.

The Credit Union is also a member of the ACCEL® Point of Sale ("POS") Network which is one of the largest POS networks in the U.S. with over 1,000,000 debit machines. This means you may use your Credit Union Debit Card at ACCEL® POS locations using your PIN number. You can get a list of U.S. retailers using the ACCEL® network by going to http://www.accelexchange.com/participatingRetailers.aspx. The Credit Union does charge a fee for POS/Debit Card transactions. To check our service fees, click here.