If you travel overseas it is always advised that you prepare more than enough money during your travels. Though there is no harm in budgeting the exact amount of money you bring, you may find something during your travels that you really want to buy but you end up short on cash because you only brought enough to cover for your travel. The good thing about traveling these days is that you can exchange your local money with the currency of the place you are going to and you can do this either by having your cash changed in advance at your local forex, change at your arrival at the airport or you can bring with you debit, credit or ATM cards with you but this depends on the country you are going to as there are places that do not accept international cards.
- The use of credit or debit cards is acceptable in foreign countries and can be done by withdrawing cash through ATM machines. You can also use your cards for purchases or payments at hotels, resorts, restaurants or at malls. The acceptance of international cards is widely accepted in most developed countries and a number of developing countries. The most widely accepted cards are those with the mark of MasterCard and VISA. Other cards include Diners' Club and American Express but it varies from one country to another. As with Shazam, MAC, Star, NYCE, JCB and Discover this is regionally accepted by not globally and they are rarely accepted by regions outside of where it is issued.
- Accessing your debit or credit cards at foreign countries is just like accessing them in your local ATM machine. You need to provide your personal PIN in order to be able withdraw cash from it.
- If you plan to travel to Japan, it is wise to have your cash changed at forex centers rather than depend on your credit or debit cards since the size of the cards are incompatible with their own and most of their ATM machines do not accept international cards.
Choosing between debit and credit cards, it may be more beneficial to use the former than the latter because of the finance charges they put to your bill with credit cards. While the charges to both cards are fixed, the exchange rates differ. Your debit card is linked directly to your bank which means that the amount withdrawn is deducted directly from your account, unlike the credit card which will be paid at a date indicated in your billing statement.