hi

[garlandk9]

i go on holiday about 3 times a year and i've never got the hang of using travelers cheques. i'm off to new york in july and i'm wondering if anyone can teach me how to use them?
thanks
keith!

[tigersam258]

basicaly they are a secure way of carrying cash. if they are stolen or you lose them you can claim the value from your bank as long as you have the issue document.

to use a travellers cheque it is the same as a normal cheque except they are for a marked value. the cheques should be signed initially at the time of issue by the bank and then second signed at the time of payment to the retailer.the retailer will usually want to see photo/signed ID as proof of identity.

if the value of the goods is less than the value of the cheque, the retailer should then give you change.

[JonnyBoy12]

I think that these are a thing of the past, garland. I know quite a few people who practically live in New York (OK, they go on holiday quite often then) and all they take with them is their major credit card. I think that you can use the major ones at most countries, and if that gets stolen then you cancel the cards at once.

[tigersam258]

Johnnyboy is correct that the use of these has reduced however they are still quite prevalent as many people do not like or have credit cards. also the value of credit card transactions can and generally are higher than paying in cash (travellers cheques are considered to be cash) as there is a service fee applied by VISA (or equivalent) on top of the currency exchange rate.

so I would still recommend using t cheques as if they are lost or stolen you can generally get replacements within 24 hours whereas a credit card you would not.