Banking and paying bills over the internet

[magwun]

We will be either at the hotel in Sydney or on the cruise for 10 days and might have to pay some bills online using my bank account. Is it safe to do this using the hotel or ship Wi-Fi? We'll be gone 19 days total and I don't want to miss any bills that might come in during that time. How do people handle this?

[Keith1010]

We take care of our financials using wifi systems at hotels and on ships and feel very secure doing so. My preference though is to do this on my own computer (or other device) in my own room.

 

On a related note, we have automated our bill paying so just about every bill we have is automatically paid so when we travel I just monitor this but don't have to do much of anything.

 

Keith

[Gcto]

that really depends on what bills to pay.

 

here's what I would suggest (and I'm neither a lawyer nor a tax advisor :-)

 

1. I would not use a Hotel computer to pay bills or connect to my financial accounts. One never knows if there are key loggers or other stuff installed.

2. If I have my own laptop/tablet/computer with me, the wireless on the ship should be safe (but slow) considering that most banks use encrypted communication already.

3. If you are connecting a standard http site, be careful. If the site shows as https (secure) you are most likely fine.

 

But if it's just bills, I usually do the following.

 

1. Phone, power, water bills usually have quite some grace period. If you come back and pay them late, it should not be a problem.

2. Credit card bills. You can always pay in advance based on your current balance. If you think you have 1K in balance while you are cruising, sent in 1200 to cover things. The overpay will be applied the next period and you are fine.

 

but back to technology. Own equipment is safer than hotel provided equipment. Https and other security issues should go on top of it.

[Suite Travels]

We do the same as Keith and use our own devices and we rarely need to pay bills via the computer. Most of our bills are set up on auto pay. I would advise you to notify your banker and credit card issuers of your travel plans. Any unusual transactions will be flagged and they will e-mail you to make sure you approve any unusual charges.

[magwun]

I appreciate all your responses. I will have my own iPad and/or laptop with me, so I can do it in my room on their Wi-Fi. And I will try to make sure everything is paid up before we leave. But I can't always anticipate everything that might come in, so it's a relief to know I can do it online if I have to. Thanks a lot!

[rallydave]

I appreciate all your responses. I will have my own iPad and/or laptop with me, so I can do it in my room on their Wi-Fi. And I will try to make sure everything is paid up before we leave. But I can't always anticipate everything that might come in, so it's a relief to know I can do it online if I have to. Thanks a lot!

 

In order to cover those what if's, why don't you set up automatic payments on all of your accounts to cover those eventualities and simply cancel them once you get home.

 

Also, most accounts provide 25 days to pay after you receive the bill so you should know before you leave what will be due while you are on your cruise and anything coming in after you depart should be easily payed once you get back home. Avoids your concern completely.

[nana541]

Boy I would never never log onto any of my accounts from a public Wifi... Have been the victim of fraud and Hotels Wifi's are prime trolling territory for this type of computer fraud.

 

Nearly all my bills are set up for Autopay, and I write less than 12 checks a year. My advice is to track your bills in the 2 months prior to leaving and them follow up on the ones you have overlooked. I also do a look back to that same time frame a year ago and look for "Annual Payments" I have overlooked.

 

Just my two cents....

[ChatKat in Ca.]

The month or two before I leave where I haven't set up an automatic payment, I write a check for a double payment so it covers the next payment period

[Travelcat2]

Agree about using our own computer to pay bills. We also let our credit card companies know when and where we will be when out of the country. In fact, we are heading to our credit union this morning to give them our itinerary so there will not be an issue using our Debit card while we are away. We do not use auto pay because I'm too much of a control freak and want to pay bills when it suits me (and in the amount we choose). However, during the 3 weeks we will be gone, I will not have to pay any bills. Chase allows you to go online and pay whenever you want.

 

Checks????? What are those? Haven't seen one in a very long time.:)

[Keith1010]

We go on some very long cruises where we are on board ships for 100+ days. We check our financials everyday even though it is automated as I posted earlier. I just have a routine where I check our financial institutions. I am not at all concerned with the wifi fi. We have our computer set up so that the security settings prevent anyone on a shared network from getting into our computer. I could not imagine not checking my financial data even if we were going on for a week.

 

I am very cautious about this and most things. We have multiple monitoring services too.

 

What I won't do though is use shared computers. I will only use my own and part of that is so I can be in our room and not in public space.

 

In the end, each person needs to figure out what works for them.

 

Keith

Edited December 16, 2013 by Keith1010

[RachelG]

Agree with Keith.

 

I would not worry about using public wifi to pay bills any more than I would worry about using the wifi in my house to pay bills. It is possible, but unlikely, that either could be hacked, but I don't worry about it.

 

I definitely would not use a public computer to do any bill paying or checking my bank account though. Bring your own computer or ipad.

 

I do also try to prepay as many bills as possible before a trip.

[delraydoll]

Additionally, besides informing credit card companies of your itinerary, be sure to let your bank ATM folks know about your travel plans, at least if you expect to use an ATM in whichever country.

[Suite Travels]

Hi Delraydoll neighbor. We live on George Bush.

 

I just opened my Amex bill and it showed a charge from a hotel in Spain while we were in Africa Singita. A private reserve camp. Everything is all inclusive and was pre- paid for. Amex told me this happens from time to time. So when you travel anywhere, scrutinize your bills when you get home. The charge was for $1,230 that we did not make.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Suite Travels

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The month or two before I leave where I haven't set up an automatic payment, I write a check for a double payment so it covers the next payment period

 

I'm with Kathy. I anticipate my bills in advance, and set up delayed or automated payments. I'll be gone for a month coming up soon, and that's what we'll do.

[delraydoll]

As we travel, from time to time, I always check our credit card bills on line from time to time to be sure no unauthorized charges are made. Usually only take BOA's Trip Rewards Visa and Cap One Visa cards with us as there's no foreign transaction fees, plus the BOA visa card has a chip embedded in it. I understand Cap One has that feature now so must check on that. I believe most other cards (other types of Visa cards, Master, AmEx) have 3% foreign transaction fees. That adds up!

[cruiseej]

Usually only take BOA's Trip Rewards Visa and Cap One Visa cards with us as there's no foreign transaction fees, plus the BOA visa card has a chip embedded in it. I understand Cap One has that feature now so must check on that. I believe most other cards (other types of Visa cards, Master, AmEx) have 3% foreign transaction fees. That adds up!

 

I think it's incorrect that Cap One is offering chip cards in the US. I don't think they've even announced any future plans to begin rolling out such cards in the US yet.

 

I use a Cap One Venture Rewards Visa card, too, but in the past year, more credit card issuers have been dropping foreign transaction fees to compete for higher-spending foreign travelers. Among those cards with no foreign transaction fees in addition to all Capital One cards: Discover it, AmEx Platinum, Bank of America Travel Rewards Visa card, Barclaycard Arrival World Mastercard, Citi Thank You Premier, Marriott Rewards Premier, United Mileage Plus Explorer, and Citi HHonors Reserve, and Chase Sapphire Preferred. Most of these, except Discover and a few Cap One cards, have annual fees, though.

 

Eric

[WesW]

On our cruise/travel trips greater than three weeks we also pay our bills online using our laptop or Ipad. For added security (in the event of theft of our hardware) we use Last Pass--great tool if you have multiple pass words to remember:

 

https://lastpass.com/

 

Our credit card choice for travel/on board cruises is the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP), tho we sometimes use the Chase Ink/Bold Biz cards. The CSP, has no foreign transaction fees, also, the CSP has the EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) chip with signature feature. Some ports require your credit card have chip/pin feature (e.g., Edinburgh (small coffee shop) last year we needed to use our Chip & Pin credit card from Andrews Federal Credit union). We prefer Chase Sapphire Preferred for spends on board (excursions, et. al) since we get two points for every dollar spent. For useful credit cards advice for overseas travel, pls see links below:

 

http://travelsort.com/blog/best-emv-chip-travel-credit-cards-in-the-us

 

http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/top-credit-cards/nerdwallets-best-emv-chip-credit-cards/

[NavyHM75]

I would agree with the posts above about doing either autopay or pre-pay. I would be hesitant about the hotel Wifi since capture software could allow somebody to hack your accounts. Most also have hardwire connections available.

 

I forgot once to notify my bank about traveling and suddenly my card would not work (however gave me an excuse for not buying something I really did not need). I would contact your bank and give them your travel plans because if they are a good financial institution (like USAA) they monitor for unusual charge points. Somebody in a hotel resturant in Bangkok once stole my charge numbers and within 24 hours there were charges in Taiwan ... but my bank immediately frozen them and contacted me. I got a new card and all the suspect charges were deleted.

 

Have fun!

[Emperor Norton]

I would agree with the posts above about doing either autopay or pre-pay. I would be hesitant about the hotel Wifi since capture software could allow somebody to hack your accounts. Most also have hardwire connections available.

 

I forgot once to notify my bank about traveling and suddenly my card would not work (however gave me an excuse for not buying something I really did not need). I would contact your bank and give them your travel plans because if they are a good financial institution (like USAA) they monitor for unusual charge points. Somebody in a hotel resturant in Bangkok once stole my charge numbers and within 24 hours there were charges in Taiwan ... but my bank immediately frozen them and contacted me. I got a new card and all the suspect charges were deleted.

 

Have fun!

 

I wouldn't trust a hotels wired network anymore than its wireless network. In both cases I'd assume its been compromised.

[AWED23]

We travel an average of 100 days a year and thanks to the internet all of our finances are able to be carried out safely on line.There are many good tips given on this thread and I would like to add another one,a money maker. I carry a high limit AMEX cash back card. It has no annual fee and it redeems between 1.5 % and 5% cash back on my expendatures. I set up my recurring expenses for auto pay on this card not my bank. I put all of my cruising, air and hotels, through this card. Drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations yield a 5% rebate. All others are rebated at a 1.5% level. Like Keith and others, I monitor all credit cards, bank accounts and Financial services daily even if We are at home...It has worked wonderfully for us. We also have a cash back Master card for those places that do not accept AMEX.(There are many who do not) Amex does not charge a foreign exchange fee either. Those two cards for charging along with a bank debit card for ATM use are all we need to go anywhere...:cool: