Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
34
to $1,500) at most AAA offices or b y call-
ing
&
866/339-3378.
MasterCard
also
offers traveler's checks. Call
&
800/223-
9920
for a location near y ou.
Foreign-currency traveler's checks
are
useful if y ou're trav eling to one countr y;
they're accepted at locations, such as bed-
and-breakfasts, wher e dollar checks may
not be, and they minimiz e the amount of
math you have to do at y our destination.
American Express, Thomas Cook, Visa,
and
M asterCard
offer for eign-currency
traveler's checks. You'll pay the rate of
exchange at the time of y our purchase (so
it's a good idea to monitor the rate befor e
you take the plunge), and most companies
charge a transaction fee per or der (and a
shipping fee if you order online).
If you choose to carr y traveler's checks,
be sur e to keep a r ecord of their serial
numbers separate from your checks, in the
event that they are stolen or lost. You'll get
a refund faster if you know the numbers.
CREDIT CARDS
Visa, American E xpress, MasterCard, and
Diners Club ar e commonly accepted.
However some establishments—especially
smaller businesses—will giv e you a better
price if y ou pay cash or may r efuse credit
cards altogether. Credit cards are accepted
at most hotels and the mor e expensiv e
restaurants. But note that y ou cannot use
credit car ds in many taxis or at most
attractions (museums, trams, and so on).
Like ATM cards, many credit card compa-
nies are also now applying fees to interna-
tional transactions, often as high as 3%. If
you hav e mor e than one cr edit car d and
expect to charge a lot, call the cr edit card
companies before you leave on your trip to
find out which charges the lo west, if any,
fee. U sing the wr ong car d can make a
bargain not such a bargain anymor e.
You can get
cash adv ances
off y our
credit card at any bank, and you don't even
need to go to a teller; y ou can get a cash
advance at the A TM if y ou kno w y our
The
Cirrus
(
&
800/424-7787;
www.
mastercard.com) and
PLUS
(
&
800/843-
7587;
www.visa.com) networ ks span the
globe; look at the back of y our bank card
to see which networ k you're on, and then
call or check online for A TM locations at
your destination. B e sure you know your
personal identification number (P IN)
before you leave home and be sure to find
out your daily withdrawal limit before you
depart, though this is slightly irr elevant if
the Argentine networ k imposes its o wn
limits. Also keep in mind that many banks
impose a fee every time a card is used at a
different bank's ATM, and that fee can be
higher for international transactions (up
to $5 or more) than for domestic ones. On
top of this, the bank from which you with-
draw cash may charge its o wn fee. To
compare banks' ATM fees within the U.S.,
use
www.bankrate.com
. For international
withdrawal fees, ask your bank.
TRAVELER'S CHECKS
Traveler's checks ar e something of an
3
anachronism fr om the days befor e the
ATM made cash accessible at any time.
Within the Pampas and rural areas of Bue-
nos Air es P rovince, ho wever, they 're still
welcomed by many establishments.
You can get trav eler's checks at almost
any bank.
American E xpress
offers
denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500,
and (for car dholders only) $1,000. You'll
pay a ser vice charge ranging fr om 1% to
4%. You can also get American E xpress
traveler's checks over the phone b y calling
&
800/221-7282;
Amex gold and plati-
num cardholders who use this number are
exempt from the 1% fee.
Visa
offers traveler's checks at Citibank
locations nationwide, as w ell as at sev eral
other banks. The ser vice charge ranges
between 1.5% and 2%; checks come in
denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500,
and $1,000. Call
&
800/732-1322
for
information. AAA members can obtain
Visa checks for a $9.95 fee (for checks up
