Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on your debit card purchases, allowing you to get extra cash when
you make a purchase. The same is true at most U.S. Post Offices.
TRAVELER'S CHECKS
Traveler's checks are widely accepted in the U.S., but international
visitors should make sure that they're denominated in U.S. dollars;
foreign-currency checks are often difficult to exchange.
You can buy traveler's checks at most banks. Most are offered in
denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500, and sometimes $1,000.
Generally, you'll pay a service charge ranging from 1% to 4%.
The most popular traveler's checks are offered by
American
Express
(
&
800/807-6233;
&
800/221-7282
for card holders—
this number accepts collect calls, offers service in several foreign lan-
guages, and exempts Amex gold and platinum cardholders from the
1% fee.);
Visa
(
&
800/732-1322
)—AAA members can obtain Visa
checks for a $9.95 fee (for checks up to $1,500) at most AAA offices
or by calling
&
866/339-3378;
and
MasterCard
(
&
800/223-
9920
). If you choose to carry traveler's checks, keep a record of their
serial numbers separate from your checks. If they are lost or stolen,
you'll get a refund faster if you know the numbers.
7 Getting There
BY PLANE
Three major airports serve New York City:
John F. Kennedy Inter-
national Airport
(
&
718/244-4444
) in Queens, about 15 miles
(1 hr. driving time) from midtown Manhattan;
LaGuardia Airport
(
&
718/533-3400
), also in Queens, about 8 miles (30 min.) from
Midtown; and
Newark International Airport
(
&
973/961-6000
)
in nearby New Jersey, about 16 miles (45 min.) from Midtown.
Information about all three is available online at
www.panynj.gov
;
click on the “All Airports” tab.
Even though LaGuardia is the closest airport to Manhattan, it has
a bad reputation for delays and terminal chaos, in ticket-desk lines
and baggage claim. You may want to use JFK or Newark instead.
Almost every major domestic carrier serves at least one of the New
York-area airports; most serve two or all three. Among them
Ameri-
can
(
&
800/433-7300; www.aa.com),
Continental
(
&
800/525-
3273; www.continental.com),
Delta
(
&
800/221-1212; www.delta.
com),
Northwest
(
&
800/225-2525; www.nwa.com),
US Airways
(
&
800/428-4322; www.usairways.com), and
United
(
&
800/864-
8331; www.united.com).
