Fair FX
 

Fair FX have a 'Anywhere Card' that you can use, erm... anywhere in the world.

The only fee is a 1.5% transaction fee (ATM, shop transaction etc). This compares favourably with the platinum type bank accounts (for HSBC 2.75% fees + monthly charges for the service) and is also better than the Claxton FX card, which I believe is 2.5% (Ted: you may want to check it out!). The exchange rates are apparently good too.

I think the best option for managing money from a purley financial point of view is to use a good credit card. But I cant be arsed with credit cards - I hate em.

I will be in the Americas, so I have got the Fair FX anywhere card and am applying to get another 'normal' FX card for the N America portion of the trip as this has absolutely no charges for transactions in Europe and the US (the anywhere card will charge 1.5% even if you use it in your home country).

If you load it with £500, you even get £5 free! Here's where I found it:

Cheap Travel Money: NEW top card for spending abroad...

Ta

Posty office travel cards only work in countries using the EURO £ and US$. I'd imagine, that since we are in the latin america section, this would present a slight problem for most people!

True for a lot of other cards and services also - check before you order.

(Lets hope that someone reads this and saves themselves 1.5 hours of queing up at a post office on a saturday morning only to be very disappointed! doh)

Nat West
 

From what I've been told, Nat West have a very good & free account, and they don't charge any fees if you use your debit/credit card.

Other than that: the only countries I've been where I couldnt use my card were Iran and Uzbekistan (though there is one city/hotel in Uzbekistan where you can withdraw over the counter via visa).

Every now & then I went through a country where I could get US$ from a cash machine: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bolivia, Peru for example (in other words: even the so-called "less travelled" places)

All good suggestions worthy of further investigation :thumbup1:

Another challenge when trying to manage money on an extended trip is what do you do when your debit/credit cards expire? Are there any issues/gotchas with the banks/credit card providers sending cards to a relative in order for them to forward on? Will they even do thi? Any experiences or advice much appreciated.

Steve

Charles Scwabb?
 

I just opened a high yield checking account with Charles Schwabb and they say that all ATM fees are reimbursed. I bet other investment groups may do the same. I am from Alaska and will be leaving sept 6 to TDF me and a friend are both on 08 KLRs. I would be intrested to hear of anyone else with an account from Charles Swchabb.

Just phone your bank a couple weeks before you go and ask for a new card (you may have to claim that you lost it if they're a bit picky about it). They'll most likely stop the current card, so take some cash out to tide you over before the new card arrives. I think a card is valid for 3 years. If your extended trip is longer than this, your on your own!

One of the best sites I've found for up to date info on cards and loads of other cash saving is moneysavingexpert dot com.

As stated, ATM's are now almost everywhere.

I carry a few travelers checks stashed about in case of an emergency. Robbed, card failure, lost card etc. I bring a few copies of my VISA debit/ATM card & stash them all in different places. I have a secondary account with my bank that I use only for travel. I transfer money to this account in small increments so that I never have more than a hundred or two in that account. I also keep a $100 carefully hidden in each bag and a $50 under my boot insole.

I never use my card as a VISA card.