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suggestions for managing cash during trip suggestions for managing cash during trip
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  #1  
Old 24 May 2006
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suggestions for managing cash during trip
Hi All,

I was wondering how you experienced guys manage your finances whilst in Central and South America?

I am going later in the year and wondered about Visa vs Mastercard, cash, vs travellers cheques (or even the American Express prepay card thingie).

Has what happened to the unfortunate Austrian couple changed your approach? I have heard of people keeping their savings in an account back home and transferring the cash when needed to another accessible one which I thought was pretty sensible.

Thanks for any pointers,

Paul
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  #2  
Old 24 May 2006
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Costa Rica
Posts: 36
Quote:
Originally Posted by paulgthomson
Hi All,

I was wondering how you experienced guys manage your finances whilst in Central and South America?

I am going later in the year and wondered about Visa vs Mastercard, cash, vs travellers cheques (or even the American Express prepay card thingie).

Has what happened to the unfortunate Austrian couple changed your approach? I have heard of people keeping their savings in an account back home and transferring the cash when needed to another accessible one which I thought was pretty sensible.

Thanks for any pointers,

Paul
Here, in Costa Rica, Travelers Cheques are time consuming to cash(only banks will do it and lines are long) and there is a charge.
Major credit cards work in higher-end establishments of course, but there may be a fee.
Consider bank cards, as they will work in many ATMs(about half)
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  #3  
Old 24 May 2006
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Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Golden, CO USA...on the road since Sept 2005
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money
In some areas the Plus cards work, in others, the Cirrus. Try to have a Visa AND a Mastercard as the same goes for them as well. AAA (American Automobile Assoc.) sells these in pre-paid form which is very handy. I tried to keep some USD hidden on myself and/or the bike. 20's and 50's are a good choice. 100's tend to be too much, and of course when you decide to use one, you'll be at a place with a poor exchange rate- or just about to cross a border! There are several countries along the way that use the USD. As far as running into trouble... I use online banking and have a seperate account- with a seperate institution- I use for savings/brokerage. In areas I felt security was an issue, I made sure my checking account (connected by a debit card) had less than $1000 in it. If I were forced to submit my PIN, my account could be emptied in a couple days. This, I hoped, and the cash I carried hidden would hopefully buy off whomever. Be creative and come up with a good place to hide your other cards. In your muggers wallet it might be wise to have a card with a low limit- you can re-charge them online with AAA I think. This would be great because you could keep less than $300 on the card. Good luck on your trip!
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Last edited by hook; 28 May 2006 at 00:26.
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  #4  
Old 24 May 2006
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managing cash
Take your own personal bank card to an account which has a limited supply of funds . I mean your BANK card , credit cards are a second option. Your BANK card will , if it contains the logos on the reverse for the systems of Cirrus, Maestro , Plus, and others, function quite handily in the automatic banking machines ( ATM or ABM = Cajero Automatico) on Mexico and Central America. You will get the local cash debited from your own bank account at a fair rate of exchange plus a fixed service fee, about $3 per transaction.
You can use credit cards too to take cash from the ABMs but there is a higher service fee and heavy interest for borrowing their money, especially if you are late paying it back.
Travelers cheques are a bygone era's technology, far too troublesome to use.
Carrying $1000 on you is way too much. A Maximum withdrawal of $300 to $500 is more than enough to last the better part of a week. What sort of trouble are you looking for that you would need $1000 cash !!??Remember Katarina and Peter!
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Old 24 May 2006
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on trouble
It so happens I rode several days with a fellow before he crashed in the Copper Canyon last year, it took cash (it happened to be only $1000 thanks to an Ibarra brother!) to get his bike out of the canyon and on to El Paso. Cash can easily be hidden in the motorcycle. If the bike is stolen, the trip is probably over anyway. As far as what kind of trouble I'd be looking for, it's the the kind of trouble that I didn't plan on- like crashing in the Copper Canyon. The Austrian's were taken for their cards and PIN codes, money was then drawn from their bank accounts. The cash they carried (or didn't) probably had nothing to do with the outcome. Carry whatever amount you're comfortable with- I'm not giving orders here, just suggestions- but I'd have some cash on reserve just in case.
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Last edited by hook; 24 May 2006 at 22:14.
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  #6  
Old 24 May 2006
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managing cash
I did't mean to offend anyone, but I do think it is a bad idea to carry too much cash , even hidden on a bike. Think of it this way: what if everybody started doing this and the crooked types got wind of it. Pretty soon it would be sport for them to simply knock off a bike tourist and pick over the corpse and bike for the sure find of a thousand bucks. Just like the old days ,people shooting a buffalo just for the tongue. What the heck there were lots of them.
I'm sure your unfortunate friend would have gottten his bike back to the states somehow even with no ready cash at hand to begin with. A few years ago my R100R driveshaft crapped out at Santa Rosalilito in Baja and I was back at the border in Tijuana the next evening with the bike after meeting the nicest Mexican businessmen who were going there anyway.
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