Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the costs of an accident, repatriation,
or death. See “Travel Insurance” in
chapter 3 for more information. Pack-
ages such as
Europ Assistance's
“Worldwide Healthcare Plan”
are
sold by European automobile clubs
and travel agencies at attractive rates.
Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc.
(
&
800/821-2828;
www.worldwide
assistance.com) is the agent for Europ
Assistance in the United States.
Though lack of health insurance
may prevent you from being admitted
to a hospital in nonemergencies, don't
worry about being left on a street cor-
ner to die: The American way is to fix
you now and bill the living daylights
out of you later.
INSURANCE FOR BRITISH TRAV-
ELERS
Most big travel agents offer
their own insurance and will probably
try to sell you their package when you
book a holiday. Think before you sign.
Britain's Consumers' Association
rec-
ommends that you insist on seeing the
policy and reading the fine print before
buying travel insurance.
The Associa-
tion of British Insurers
(
&
020/
7600-3333;
www.abi.org.uk) gives
advice by phone and publishes
Holiday
Insurance,
a free guide to policy provi-
sions and prices. You might also shop
around for better deals: Try
Columbus
Direct
(
&
020/7375-0011;
www.
columbusdirect.net).
INSURANCE FOR CANADIAN
TRAVELERS
Canadians should
check with their provincial health plan
offices or call
Health Canada
(
&
613/
957-2991;
www.hc-sc.gc.ca) to find
out the extent of their coverage and
what documentation and receipts they
must take home in case they are treated
in the United States.
MONEY
CURRENCY
The U.S. monetary
system is very simple: The most com-
mon
bills
are the $1 (colloquially, a
“buck”), $5, $10, and $20 denomina-
tions. There are also $2 bills (seldom
encountered), $50 bills, and $100
bills (the last two are usually not wel-
come as payment for small purchases).
All the paper money was recently
redesigned, making the famous faces
adorning them disproportionately
large. The old-style bills are still legal
tender.
There are seven denominations of
coins: 1¢ (1 cent, or a penny); 5¢ (5
cents, or a nickel); 10¢ (10 cents, or a
dime); 25¢ (25 cents, or a quarter);
50¢ (50 cents, or a half dollar); the
new gold-colored “Sacagawea” coin
worth $1; and, prized by collectors,
the rare, older silver dollar.
Note:
The “foreign-exchange
bureaus” so common in Europe are rare
even at airports in the United States,
and nonexistent outside major cities.
It's best not to change foreign money
(or traveler's checks denominated in a
currency other than U.S. dollars) at a
small-town bank, or even a branch in a
big city; in fact, leave any currency
other than U.S. dollars at home—it
may prove a greater nuisance to you
than it's worth.
TRAVELER'S CHECKS
Though
traveler's checks are widely accepted,
make sure that they're denominated in
U.S. dollars, as foreign-currency checks
are often difficult to exchange. The
three traveler's checks that are most
widely recognized—and least likely
to be denied—are
Visa, American
Express,
and
Thomas Cook.
Be sure
to record the numbers of the checks,
and keep that information in a separate
place in case they get lost or stolen.
Most businesses are pretty good about
taking traveler's checks, but you're bet-
ter off cashing them in at a bank (in
small amounts, of course) and paying
in cash.
Remember:
You'll need identi-
fication, such as a driver's license or
passport, to change a traveler's check.
CREDIT CARDS & ATMs
Credit
cards are the most widely used form of
payment in the United States:
Visa
(Barclaycard in Britain),
MasterCard
