海角大神

As we discussed yesterday, practicing a little bit of care with your money when traveling abroad can save you a pretty penny. Currency exchange can really cost a person if they鈥檙e not prepared.

One of the tactics I suggested in that article is to use an ATM card if you need currency when you actually arrive overseas before turning to a currency exchange desk. Although an ATM will charge you some fees and you won鈥檛 get a great exchange rate, it鈥檚 often better than what you鈥檒l get at your typical currency exchange while traveling abroad.

That means you should reasonably expect to use your ATM at some point when traveling overseas. What do you need to know before using it?

贵颈谤蝉迟,听does your card work overseas?聽For the most part, any ATM card with a Visa or Mastercard logo on it should be fine for use in international ATMs, but the real barrier is the policies of the bank that issued your card.聽

So, the next step is to聽contact your bank and learn about their policies for international use.聽Can their card be used in machines in your destination country? Are there any additional fees? Are there certain ATMs that you can鈥檛 use overseas?

Also, make sure you聽know the location of usable ATMs near your hotel(s) on your trip.聽This is easy if there aren鈥檛 any limitations on overseas ATM use, but if there are limits, you鈥檒l want to make sure you know where the ATMs that you can actually ue are located.

Another step you should take is to聽keep your basic banking information 鈥� your ATM card number, your account number, and your bank鈥檚 phone number 鈥� in a secure place when you travel.聽That way, if you lose your ATM card or find that it鈥檚 stolen, you don鈥檛 have to go to expensive lengths to fix the situation. You can just call the number and get things straightened out.

A tip:聽if you travel internationally, it is really useful to have an account with a large international bank.For example, Chase and Wells Fargo banks have branches in many different countries, so having checking accounts with these banks can be very, very useful if you travel overseas very often.

Why should you be mindful of these things? Simply put,聽these tactics can save you a lot of money.

Knowing ATM usage rules can save you a聽lot聽of money on international ATM withdrawals. Using an out-of-network ATM overseas can result in some huge fees, some very bad exchange rates, or even a denial of usage.

Having a plan in case you lose your ATM card can save you tremendously if you happen to lose your card while abroad. Knowing how to contact your bank makes it much easier to resolve such issues quickly, before identity theft or other problems can kick in, and they might also be able to help you continue to access your account while abroad.

All of these factors equal money in your pocket.

This post is part of a yearlong series called 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),鈥� in which I鈥檓 revisiting the entries from my book 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap,鈥� which is available聽at Amazon聽and at bookstores everywhere.聽