I’m Going To Europe – How Will I Access My Money?
This is a guest post from Tom of ActiveBackpacker.
It’s a common question, and one I will endeavor to answer within this article. Europe may be a continent of many different cultures and languages, but it does have one thing in common – there are lots of ATM’s!
So the best way to access your money whilst over there is to bring along a bank card or credit card. The only problem here is that a lot of standard bank and travel credit cards will actually charge you LOTS of money to withdraw funds in another country.
Fees you have never heard of will start popping out of the woodwork. Foreign currency conversion fees, for example. Or cash advance fees (but don’t you withdraw cash at home and it doesn’t cost you anything?). It’s a bit of a gimmick I think, many banks will seek to make a quick buck off your European adventure.
My suggestion is that you don’t bring along a standard bank card. Bam! Problems solved. Well, not quite. You still need to find something else to bring along instead. This is where you are going to have to do a bit of research – I don’t want to recommend any actual credit cards or banks in this article, but I can give you some tips in what to look for.
For example, my credit card that I always take with me travelling has no annual fee, no cash advance fees and no foreign currency fees. It does charge me interest AS SOON as I withdraw the cash, but honestly, this is no problem if I pay my card off regularly. This is much better in the long run, I don’t actually use it for ‘credit’ – it’s just a means of access for my real savings that I have back home.
My suggestion is that you try and find something similar to what I have. Search particularly for a bank account or card that offers no foreign currency conversion fees and no fees to withdraw money at an ATM overseas (no cash advance fees).
Many people don’t even think about this before they head off on a trip, and just bring along their normal bank card. This is a big mistake, and they wear the extra costs when they return from their trip and realize what their bank has been charging them.
So don’t be a dummy! Do some research on the best method for accessing your hard earned dollars when you are next traveling overseas.
Tom is the happy editor of a traveling website he writes articles about the best places to visit in Europe among many other hot topics.
Traveling the World in Style
Backpacking generally involves traveling the world with fewer budgets and generally it involves places which are not that costly. Hence it can be said that backpacking generally does involve much of show off. It in fact is a meager exercise. But when backpacking is done in style it becomes flashpacking gear. It is better said that flashpacking does not just involve moving with lots of money and lots of technological gadget. Instead when one sets to travel the world with some fashion or flash it can be known as flashpacking. Money is always not associated with the phenomenon of flashpacking.
A person who carries a digital camera or a MP3 player cannot necessarily be called a flashpacker instead a person who moves about with the old manual camera can also be called a flashpacker because flashpacker involves a style of its own. This is because the entire exercise of traveling is an adventure and hence that needs to be done in style. But at the same time if you want to be a flashpacker instead of a backpacker it is recommended that you can carry a laptop with yourself. The laptop which you carry with yourself can be of great help. It can be far better than the guide books. With the help of laptops you can actually get updated information about every aspect of traveling.
Hence it is very clear that for flashpacking you do not need lots of money. The thing that is most important in case of flashpacking is the style and fashion that you can incorporate. As you move about the world you should have a style of your own and you need to be distinguished from others. Thus get set go for flashpacking with adequate information and at the same time you just cannot forget some of the important accessories.
