Wednesday 1 February 2017

How to make your trips abroad hassle free today?

When it comes to travelling abroad, no matter the purpose, there are several factors you need to take into consideration. Amongst the various factors, your financial investment and expenditures will be taken into consideration. While there are several options you can consider for these purposes, the travel card is one option you can consider.

Travel cards as the name suggests is a form of banking card that offers prepaid facilities providing you with a foreign currency of your choice. You can easily load a fixed amount of funds in your local currency on the card and withdraw or make transactions in a foreign currency. You can estimate your spending with these cards and invest the amount that satisfies your requirements. In this way, it makes your overseas trip hassle free and effective.

If you are planning to use the travel card for any of your upcoming trips, here are a few tip you can take into consideration:

• Before purchasing a travel card, ensure that you have sufficient knowledge about it. For example, you may not be able to use the card in certain countries to pay fuel bills or tools due to security issues. In this case, you should ensure that you have sufficient cash on your hand.

• As soon as you get the card, remember to change the default PIN before you travel abroad to prevent any misuse. Additionally, with a changed PIN you can also avoid the chance of getting a rejection overseas especially at ATM counters.

• If you need to withdraw funds, be aware of the withdrawal charges. In certain places or countries, there can be an extra fee on transactions. Look out for travel cards that offer you free withdrawals around the world to avoid these extra fees.

• Keep track of your available balance on your travel card. You can do this through the ATM, email statements or SMS updates. You can even get a mobile application downloaded to track all your transactions.

• Avoid using your travel cards for security deposits, especially if you need to clear up your hotel bills. In some cases, the balance amount in the travel card may get blocked for a certain period.

• Always check the current conversion value before proceeding with any transaction. This will help you gauge how much funds you will be actually spending with each transaction on your card

• If you have the option to pay in the local currency, avail it. In the event you don’t take advantage, your retailer may convert it into foreign currency.

• In the event, you lose your card, or it is stolen; you must block your travel cards immediately. Most cards come with a  replacement one, so you can always use this card as a backup.

• If you are planning to use this card for a long period, over different travel trips, ensure that you are aware of the expiry date of the card.

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