travelers cheques?

[khewston]

Does anyone use these anymore?

[CruiserBruce]

Not very often. Much easier to get cash from other sources...commonly recommended are ATMs for excellent exchange rates.

[MJSailors]

We stopped using them several years ago.

During the last vacation that we had travelers cheques, several merchants and restaurant staff did not know what they were.

It is simple to use credit cards and ATM machines now on our vacations.

Are travelers cheques still available ?

[wheezedr]

T checks have virtually disappeared and are actually difficult to cash in many places. Between ATMs for cash withdrawal and credit cards for purchases they are essentially antiquated.

[fishywood]

If you were thinking about using them to purchase foreign currency on board the ship, many cruise lines now only exchange cash for cash. (And at the worst rate possible).

 

Cunard Line will not handle travelers cheques even as a payment on your shipboard account. I am surprised that most other lines have not followed suit.

[Jack Staff]

Pre-paid cards are popular and in many cases have replaced TCs

[GUT2407]

Does anyone use these anymore?

 

Not really.

[Ashland]

You can still cash them onboard RCI ships at guest services...no fee.

[Keith1010]

We don't use them anymore.

 

We bring cash, have multiple ATM's and use Credit Cards (not for cash but for purchases).

 

Keith

[BlueRiband]

The largest bank in the US - Chase - stopped selling them last year. In 2013 American Express closed all of their storefront offices.

 

Whenever somebody here asks about travelers checks I tell them not to buy them without being 100% certain that their ship will still cash them. To have them but no way of cashing them is the same as having no money.

 

For many the purchase of travelers checks was a cherished "getting ready to go on vacation" ritual. But worldwide ATMs and debit cards are rapidly rendering them obsolete. I too am surprised that some cruise lines still accept them given how much more difficult it has become just to buy them.

[sadoan]

I tried getting them 2 years ago for a cruise and could not find anywhere that sold them. I gave up and used cash!

[Flatbush Flyer]

Travelers Cheques are only good if you want to use them to buy a flip phone :-)

[ontheweb]

Does anyone know if you can cash them on a Carnival ship?

[DRS/NC]

I still get them at AAA. I cashed them last year on the Star Princess.

 

I hate carrying much cash so I get them & cash on board. However, my next 2 cruises will require local currency, so I may skip the T checks. I just always feel a bit safer with them. :o

[Ashland]

I still get them at AAA. I cashed them last year on the Star Princess.

 

I hate carrying much cash so I get them & cash on board. However, my next 2 cruises will require local currency, so I may skip the T checks. I just always feel a bit safer with them. :o

 

We cashed them (TC's) onboard and then had the ship (RCI) change our US$'s into the local currency we would need each night before getting into a port...this worked easy for us. I agree I would rather carry TC's instead of cash when traveling to get on a ship.

[Scrapnana]

I had a few (some in UK pounds and others US) that I had kept as my "just in case" backup since the late 90s. When I tried to use them, many places would not take them. When I was in the UK last year I went into one of the major Travel Agencies. They were able to cash them but the man I spoke with said that they were not going to accept them after March 2015 and that most of the UK banks were discontinuing cashing them.

 

Using a debit card in an ATM has become my standard way of getting local currency in a foreign country. Many of the cruise terminals have ATMs in them. You do need to do your homework in case you are docking in an out of the way spot where there is no terminal.

[navybankerteacher]

We cashed them (TC's) onboard and then had the ship (RCI) change our US$'s into the local currency we would need each night before getting into a port...this worked easy for us. I agree I would rather carry TC's instead of cash when traveling to get on a ship.

 

Granted that TC's are safer to carry than cash, but the exchange rate for them on a ship is likely to be pretty bad. I know Cunard no longer accepts them at all, and expect that other lines under the Carnival umbrella will soon follow suit. We have never had a problem finding ATM's in European ports - and since we ordinarily fly before boarding, they are ALWAYS obvious at airports, so we always have at least 100 or so until we near our last port - and keep whatever is left over for our next trip: it's not as though lost interest is significant.

[abaci]

As someone who works for bank and started as a personal banker I can say that the vast majority of people don't use them and if they do they are guaranteed to be over 60. I wonder if our bank still sells them and I now have a question to ask tomorrow. I can't believe we sold them back in 2013 when I moved up and out of the branch.

[Bizmark'sMom]

I buy some foreign currency from my bank to start off with. I like knowing I have fair for the taxi and some cash for a meal upon landing. After that, I use ATMs and credit cards.

[Ashland]

Granted that TC's are safer to carry than cash, but the exchange rate for them on a ship is likely to be pretty bad. I know Cunard no longer accepts them at all, and expect that other lines under the Carnival umbrella will soon follow suit. We have never had a problem finding ATM's in European ports - and since we ordinarily fly before boarding, they are ALWAYS obvious at airports, so we always have at least 100 or so until we near our last port - and keep whatever is left over for our next trip: it's not as though lost interest is significant.

 

There was no exchange rate when I would cash my TC's onboard...RCI gave me the exact $ amount that my TC's were for. Then I would convert a few of those US's $'s for the local currency that I was going to need in the various ports (sometimes several) onboard the night before each port. I was only exchanging just a few dollars to have some local cash so the exchange rate was minimal for me for the convenience. This may not be the case for some, but it worked out great for us and the bit of left over currency ended up being just a souvenir...any large purchase (rare for me) I would use my credit card with no foreign transaction fee. I may be alone in the fact that I prefer to not use a foreign ATM...each to their own. I also fly to reach our destinations and buy a bit of foreign currency from my bank for taxi's and airport convenience items.

Edited July 20, 2016 by Ashland

[BlueRiband]

As long as you can still buy them, and your ship still cashes them, you may have a brief reprieve. It would however pay to keep up with RCI's policy on this so you don't embark and find a bad surprise.

[Woobstr112G]

Does anyone use these anymore?

 

I'm a creature of habit and love using them. Only problem is it's getting harder and harder to find establishments that still sell them. First my credit union stopped selling them a number of years ago and now my banks has followed suit.....:(:(:(

 

Bob

[Woobstr112G]

I still get them at AAA. I cashed them last year on the Star Princess.

 

I hate carrying much cash so I get them & cash on board. However, my next 2 cruises will require local currency, so I may skip the T checks. I just always feel a bit safer with them. :o

 

Dang, I didn't even think about AAA. Calling them in the morning.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Krazy Kruizers]

Our AAA stopped selling Travelers Checks about 10 years ago.

Three years ago our Bank stopped selling them.

We just use either a credit card or ATM.

[CapeCodCruiser]

The last ones I used were to buy a dinosaur!

 

Keep your cash in the bank and use an ATM.

 

 

Pre-paid cards are popular and in many cases have replaced TCs

 

Many places (abroad) do not take those either.