Best method to carry money overseas.

[StraightSoldier]

Hello all, I am making my first trip to the Phillipines and was wondering how you all handled your money. Did you all get travelers checks? Did you leave the money in the bank at home and just draw it out and convert it when needed? Or did you carry cash around and convert it from your stash when necessesary (Dont think that you did that but who knows). let me know what you all think/did.

[Kuddelz]

Usually it is the best method to draw the needed cash every couple of days at the bank machines. You get a good change rate, and you don´t have much money that can get lost / stolen.

[StraightSoldier]

Usually it is the best method to draw the needed cash every couple of days at the bank machines. You get a good change rate, and you don´t have much money that can get lost / stolen.

Thanks Kuddelz, This is what I was thinking but I just wanted to check if maybe there was a better method. I did the same thing when I was in the Bahamas, Jamaica and in some of the other islands. I guess that is the choice that I shall go with.

[Irie Man]

I take cash and I convert it in local currency at a money changer (like Western Union or FX Traders, better rates than mosts banks, quicker service). I don't like using ATM's when the bank is closed : I had some problems with hungry machines in foreign countries.
I leave all I don't need (cash, credit cards, jewels) in the safety box.

[johnsue]

I use atm's and haven't had any problems. I travel a lot with work and they have been very reliable. I haven't been to the Philipines though. I do always try and keep a stash of US$ or Euro's in the safety deposit box as well for emergencies. You can of course lose your wallet so I also try and keep a spare credit card in the deposit box too. Try and keep a copy of your passport as well.

Having said that I have never had any problems (much touching of wood....)

Cheers,

John.

[SAMMON]

I carry lot of cash. It is easily convertible and I avoid ATM fees.
I put everything in the safe deposit box and carry only local currency when I go out. This way if somebody mugged me I only loose few dollars.
Carrying credit cards has its own problems. If it is stolen and used it will be hard and time consuming to call the credit card company to report the loss and such.

[rjb007]

I too, prefer to carry cash, but never take much with me on nightly excursions. At high end hotels, the in room safe is usually secure enough. When venturing into rural or smaller hotels I will generally keep most in the hotel safe and withdraw every other day or so. I never take big money cards out of room but have several that will cause minimal damage if stolen. I also hide a few extra dollars for BG extras without opening safe. Never like to open the vault when drunk.

[Saxxon]

Last year I wore a money belt in Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar). The brand is Swiss Army and I do not believe there is any metal in it - I walked through the gate in Beijing and Shanghai and nothing went off. That may not be important, per se; but to me it is because I do not want some 3rd World sap in a uniform pawing through my $100 bills because the alarm went off.

Get a money belt for the rough countries, i.e. Laos Cambodia Myanmar; particularly if you are going to be buying anything precious i.e. gems. Make sure the belt is COMPLETELY NON-METALLIC. Good luck.

[Saxxon]

Another tip for those of us who like to go out into the hinterlands; Cambodia and Myanmar, and probably many others, prefer the U.S. Dollah to their own constantly-depreciating currency but want the bills to be UNTORN and CLEAN, whatever the dirty conditionof the change they hand back to you.

I travel again in May '07 and am already accumulating a collection of brand-new $1-100 for the trip. In Rangoon I had to repair bills with tape b/c the better hotels wanted fresh bills.

[shadows]

i use a money belt and also i have two other things i use. one is for my passport and the other is for money . they are cloth and nylon zippers. you can get them at walmart and target stores in the u.s.a. i put them around my waste and when around my waste i slip them down the front of my pants over my cock and balls lol. i also carry a cheap wallet in my front pocket with old cards in it and a very small amount of money from the country im in. if someone wants to rob me ill give them the fake wallet. also i wear no jewlery , only a watch that i will not miss if it gets taken from me. i learned my lesson in mexico - got robbed in TJ mexico and reynosa mexico. if the cops in mexico get you your screwed if you have a money belt they will ask for your belt and . some guys i know keep money in there shoe or boots. also its better not to have all your money on you in one place. good luck friends.

[shadows]

JUST BACK FROM THE PHILIPPINES LAST MONTH - SEPTEMBER. I TOOK ALL CASH WITH ME. $100.00 bills - dont take $100.00 bills with the year under 2000 there are some fake bills that are in the philippines 1996 $100.00 bills so if you have that year bills they wont cash them. get 2000 and above bills.get a money belt and the cloth money holders that go around the waste at wal mart or target stores . i had no problems with cash . i did use hotel safe at the orchid inn in AC .angeles phils balibago. also carried a fake wallet if id get robbed. i had $2,500.00 cash. changed $300.00 at manila airport. maby i did the wrong thing with cash only but thats what i did. ive used t-checks but always took a beating with those when id cash them . not a good exchange rate . it might be o.k. to have some on hand. thats my 2 cents worth. good luck.

[bleedinggums]

We had a problem converting 1996 C-notes in the PI. I told my wife to give them to her family as she planned to give them Pisos for gifts anyways, let them deal with the exchange problems. I used a money belt and carried all cash. I also have several "travelling" shirts, that are button up short sleeve that have a pocket on the inside directly opposite of the outside breast pocket and can't be seen. Worked great.

[MikeWilliams]

Hello all, I am making my first trip to the Phillipines and was wondering how you all handled your money. Did you all get travelers checks? Did you leave the money in the bank at home and just draw it out and convert it when needed? Or did you carry cash around and convert it from your stash when necessesary (Dont think that you did that but who knows). let me know what you all think/did.

I wish there was a best way, but there isn't one.

CASH: USD is king, everywhere, wherever you go, however, when you're carrying them, you're always worried. Even if you use safe deposit boxes, there will be times when you'll have no choice but carry all your cash on your person, therefore you're at a great risk of getting robbed of ALL your cash! All at once! All or nothing! And then what do you do? It's like buying call options on ONE stock, using ALL yuor money? What if that ONE stock ever goes south?

MONEY BELTS: Cloth money belts with plastic zippers work great, and most of the time they remain invisible. On one occasion I was patted down by an airport customs official at Bangkok International, and even he himself didn't seem to notice the belt. Or, was he looking for a much thicker belt? I was carrying 30 C-notes at that time, and they were not bulky at all. But, I could've been robbed, and many robbers are aware of money belts! And what if he asks for it? And then what?

HIDDEN IN CLOTHES OR ON YOU: There are many creative ways to hide money in your clothes or shoes. They tend to be superior to money belts, because they don't expect you to put anything into your shoes, for example. But, if they rob you, and if your shoes look good, chances are the robber will take your shoes, too. Or, he will methodically inspect your clothes! Additionally, if you hide anything inside your shoes, if you don't watch out, your C-notes will look terrible! And then how will you cash them?

ATM CARDS: ATM cards are supposed to be a great improvement over cash, but, despite all that advertising, they're not better than cash! What if you loose them, and you're in a country 10,000 miles from home? What if you have 2 ATM cards with you and the robber takes both them... and then what?... then you will loose your only source of cash? What if the ATM machine swallows your card? What if your card gets damaged? What if one moron in the security department of your bank cancels your card, because he's terribly paranoid and is fearing that your account is being abused by an impostor in Thailand? On the positive side, some banks will replace your card... and they also say stuff like "Don't leave without it!"

CREDIT CARDS: Same as ATM cards, but they cost a LOT more! They charge not only outrageous cash advance fees, like (4% * 3,000=) $120, and foreign currency fees like (5% * 3,000 =) $150, or a total of ($120 + 150 =) USD $270 on USD $3,000 worth of foreign currency, but what if your CC FALLS into the hands of criminals? Either through robbery, or through an accomplice? When I was in HK, I was told about a gang in HK that specialized in the counterfeiting of AMEX CCs! That means, had I used my AMEX CC, they could've racked up USD $60,000 in charges, before I got back home. And then what would I have done? I could've fought their collection department for the rest of my life! This means that USD $3,000 would've cost me ($270 + 60,000 =) USD $60,270.00. Way too expensive!

TRAVELERS CHECKS: They tend to be hard to cash, and you often get a lousy exchange rate! However, if they're lost, or if you're robbed, usually you can get them replaced without too much hassle. For some reason TCs aren't terribly popular with anyone (people complain about lack of cashing facilities, high costs, and lousy exchange rates), however, for peace of mind and safety, what else is there besides TCs?

WHAT DO YOU PREFER? Trying to decide between a sports car and a 4-door sedan? There's no ideal choice. Which do you prefer, speed OR comfort? Peace of mind OR lowest transaction costs?

FOR SAFETY & PEACE OF MIND: Choice #1 is Travelers Checks in combination with a great backup of check numbers and copies of all IDs.

FOR LOWEST TRANSACTION COSTS: Choice #1 is Cash Hidden in Clothes or on You, in combination with a fake money belt and a fake vallet.

HYBRIDS/IN BETWEEN: #1 ATM Cards (if they can be reissued easily), #2 Credit Cards (if they can be reissued easily).

Have I covered all possibilities?

I hope this helps.

Mike

[Leo Monti]

Hallo.
I use to travel a lot and my experiences teached me that when you visit a new country (specialy in South-East Asia, Africa and South America) is better to be ready for all possible situations. Usually I take with me 2 credit cards, 2 ATM Cards, some cash (USD and/or Euro, depending wich is suggested for countries I'm visiting) and some Travelers Checks.
When in place I never keep all my cards and money together to avoid the risk to lose them all and I always change enough money to make sure that even if I can not change or draw for several days I will not run out of cash.
Then problems can always occur: a friend of mine was in Burma and he ran out of local money during a trip in the country side. There were no banks, no atm machines and no money chengers. He tried to buy a soft drink with dollars but in the village where he was nobody had ever seen a dollar bill!!!

[Ghost_Recon]

I've been traveling all over the world for many, many years and have always used a leather money belt. From the outside it looks just like any regular leather belt. But there is a zipper on the inside of the belt. I usually stuff $100 bills into it. I've had as much as $2,000 in it, but usually around $1,000. In all these years, it has served me well and I have never lost or had any money stolen. I just convert the $100 bills as I need it.