Travelers checks in Scotland

[ASinclair]

Aso this may sound really dumb, but make sure to notify your bank that you'll be travelling as your card may be declined / swallowed at an atm and they wont be able to give you your card back, we've had a few people caught out by this.

Cheers xD

Not dumb at all.
My mum had her credit card blocked when she tried to buy tickets online what a hassle.

Good advice. When I used my debit card online to purchase tartan from a mill in Scotland, my bank called me the next day to verify that it was okay. Just recently I used my debit card to buy something from Scotweb and the transaction was on hold and I had to go to my bank and get them to un-block my card! What a hassle.

[creagdhubh]

Should we get them?

We have upgraded our credit cards to "chip and pin" and Joan has acquired a Schwab card/account which should allow us to use ATM machines more or less anywhere we can find one. Has anybody used Travelers Checks in Scotland in the past few years?

Yes, I have. However, I always have my bank issue me Travellers Cheques in Pounds Sterling for convenient cashing at any bank or post office (I recommend the latter - better rates). ATM cards are great too for local currency, especially since most offer a very decent exchange rate. I would let your finanical institution know that you will be traveling overseas and will be using your ATM card. That way they don't temporarily freeze, or put a hold on your card due to the foreign transactions. The good thing about having Travellers Cheques (if only for backup/a contingency plan) is for the simple fact they are replaceable if lost or stolen. If you lose your ATM card, or God forbid it's stolen, well...uh, you may have a problem.

[imrichmond]

I wouldn't bother with travellers' cheques. There is a charge for buying them and a charge for cashing them. Also, you need to have your passport with you as proof of identity when cashing them. I last travelled in Scotland in 2012 and had no problem using my Visa card anywhere in shops and restaurants and my bank client card worked just fine when withdrawing cash from my bank account at ATMs. In fact, I haven't used travellers' cheques in any country since the early 1980s. When travelling these days, I tend to carry only a minimal amount of cash. I'm leaving for Scotland again next week and will have only my credit and bank cards and a small amount of cash in sterling, mostly left over from my previous trip.

[Alan H]

OK, no travelers checques.

The advice to let the card companies know that we're travelling is very good, Joan is taking care of that, today.

Thanks, team!!

[sydnie7]

Now. . . What are you doing about a cell phone? Either add int'l coverage to your current plan (my carrier lets me do this for a set number of days) or buy a cheap pre-paid when you arrive in UK and fill with minutes along the way. Just remember to turn off data usage as it's outrageously pricey!

[TheOfficialBren]

I went to Mexico with my family last year. I had an embarrassing incident at a Starbucks (the local coffee was not to be found, oddly enough) with my card being declined because I forgot to notify my credit union (do you guys have those outwith the US?) that I was travelling out of the country. Luckily my father had his with him and saved the day. Lesson learned.

I've never used traveller's cheques for the same reason I don't use cheques at all...redundancy.

Plus, plus one about cash conversion. In some countries our USD goes far. In the UK, your dollar will snap in a second (I believe the current exchange rate is around £0.58 to $1.00)!

Enjoy your trip, sir!

[Dundonian.on.Islay]

I went to Mexico with my family last year. I had an embarrassing incident at a Starbucks (the local coffee was not to be found, oddly enough) with my card being declined because I forgot to notify my credit union (do you guys have those outwith the US?) that I was travelling out of the country. Luckily my father had his with him and saved the day. Lesson learned.

I've never used traveller's cheques for the same reason I don't use cheques at all...redundancy.

Plus, plus one about cash conversion. In some countries our USD goes far. In the UK, your dollar will snap in a second (I believe the current exchange rate is around £0.58 to $1.00)!

Enjoy your trip, sir!

In the uk we have credit unions but as far as I'm aware they're used mostly for savings and lending and not so much cards?

And today £99 GBP came to $185 USD, the rates change daily but give or take this is roughly what it sits at, how much is a coffee in the states? Sorry just my own curiosity haha!

[Carlo]

Now. . . What are you doing about a cell phone? Either add int'l coverage to your current plan (my carrier lets me do this for a set number of days) or buy a cheap pre-paid when you arrive in UK and fill with minutes along the way. Just remember to turn off data usage as it's outrageously pricey!

I used to buy the cheapest "pay as you go" phone in the UK. That way you get a phone for about $10 and you don't need an adapter to charge it.

[unixken]

Now. . . What are you doing about a cell phone? Either add int'l coverage to your current plan (my carrier lets me do this for a set number of days) or buy a cheap pre-paid when you arrive in UK and fill with minutes along the way. Just remember to turn off data usage as it's outrageously pricey!

Another option, if you have an iPhone or Android-based phone, is to download the "MagicJack" app, which will allow you to make voice calls anywhere that your American-market smartphone has WiFi connectivity.

A friend of mine is an airline pilot for Continental, and regularly flies between the States and the UK. When he lands in the UK he can use his iPhone, along with the airport's public WiFi and "MagicJack", to call his wife back home, to let her know his schedule.

[Ron Abbott]

One of the amusing things I encountered was just a few years back in the north west highlands.

I went into a petrol station and filled the rental car tank up to the brim.

Went inside to pay with a credit card (all of which were swipe type cards) but the petrol station's electronic machines wouldn't accept them as they would only take chip cards!

I only had a few GBP in cash on me. Nothing like enough to even pay for a tenth of the petrol I'd just poured into the tank.

The attendant realised that it was a catch 22 situation.

She then asked if I'd look after her shop for a few minutes whilst she got into her car and drove to her home where she had one of the old 1980s style manual type swipe machines that used the three copies of paper!!