{"id":312,"date":"2023-03-07T16:01:44","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T22:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/?p=312"},"modified":"2023-10-12T21:30:41","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T02:30:41","slug":"international-travel-and-credit-cards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/07\/international-travel-and-credit-cards\/","title":{"rendered":"International Travel and Credit Cards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With Covid in the rear-view mirror, a lot of us are looking to travel far and wide\u2014including two of my friends: Yvonne and Kathy. Yvonne is more widely traveled than Kathy. They are going to Israel in just a matter of days. One week before their trip, a group of us were playing dominoes. Of course, the topic of the trip came up. At least one of our group had already been to Israel. Amidst the chatter, Kathy asked how much cash she should bring. That morphed into a discussion about credit cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversation was helpful for Kathy. So, I thought I\u2019d expand on it a bit and share it here. She\u2019s likely not the only person taking an international trip who has questions about cash and credit cards while traveling internationally. After all, we are in the place in life where we can, and should, travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Regarding cash, for their eleven-day tour which included most meals, Kathy was advised to bring about $500 in smaller denominations\u2014especially ones for tipping. Obviously for a longer trip, or one where you are paying for everything yourself, you\u2019d need more. U.S. dollars are generally accepted and appreciated. Others suggest bringing your debit card as well in case you need more cash\u2014though using it overseas will give the currency of the country in which you are when using the ATM. Conversion fees from the ATM are usually less than the charge to convert U.S. dollars to the local currency. But don\u2019t use your debit card for purchases as it doesn\u2019t offer the same fraud protection as a credit card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credit Cards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kathy only has and uses a Discover card. We all advised her to get a more-widely accepted Visa or MasterCard\u2014even if she cancels the card after she gets home. In Kathy\u2019s case, her trip was coming up so quickly, she didn\u2019t have time to get a new card before her departure. (Apply for the new card 3-5 weeks before you leave.) Plus, Kathy checked and found out that Discover is accepted in Israel. However, according to my research, that is not true for most of Europe. In response to my Facebook query<\/a> about the topic, I got this response: \u201cDiscover is totally not useful in Australia. No one accepts it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if Discover is not a good card to use internationally, which one is? I was amazed at our domino table conversation. All of us responded: \u201cCapital One!\u201d The Capital One Venture card was the one most suggested in my limited research<\/a>. It does not have foreign transaction fees and it currently has a generous bonus for new applications<\/a>. Those joining in on the discussion on Facebook, generally agreed on Capital One. There was some comment that if you have an issue, Capital One has bad customer service. Those folks liked American Express\u2014though, it, too, has acceptability problems. Personally, I also like the Chase Southwest Airlines Visa<\/a>. I also have two Capital One cards\u2014one for each business. Capital One allows you to accrue points that can be used on any airline. I have found their travel department to be very helpful in booking and\/or changing flights. When traveling, it is advisable to have a back-up credit card in case any happens to the first one. Different cards are different. Check them out<\/a> to determine which set of pro and cons will work the best for your individual situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Tips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of which card you choose, it is helpful to advise them of your travel plans so your card is not denied when you try to use it in a foreign country. Also, check with your cell-service provider. They may have a short-term international package, such as Verizon\u2019s Travel Pass<\/a>, that will keep you in touch at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be aware that Medicare doesn\u2019t cover expenses outside the U.S. and U.S.V.I. Check with your supplemental provider to verify if it covers international travel. If not, there are plans specifically for medical expenses outside the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have photos on your phone, and printouts of the photos, of your passport, insurance cards, and Covid vaccine card for reference. Store the printouts in your luggage rather than carrying them with you so that if you somehow lose your purse, you still have records elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have an international trip planned in the future, apply for Global Entry<\/a>. It takes a few months to get it and you may have to travel a few hours away to sign up for it, but my friends who have say it is well worth the time and expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have friends and\/or grandchildren to whom you will want to send postcards, take a sheet of pre-printed address labels. This is helpful as you will not have to look up their addresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What tips and\/or suggestions do you have for others who are planning to take advantage of living their best life now? After all, if you have time, your health, and resources, get out there and enjoy life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All this travel talk is making me want to go somewhere. Oh, wait! I am going to New Mexico next week and it is kind of like a foreign country (teasing, I lived there for 20 years). Then, in April, I am using my Chase Southwest miles (which never expire) for a trip to see friends and family in California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marita Littauer Tedder<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Marita has spent the majority of her adult life working with women\u2014helping them improve relationships, achieve their speaking and writing dreams, and being the best version of themselves they can possibly be. The author of 20 books, this Living Our Best Life Project is her newest effort\u2014through which she hopes to challenge women to be fulfilled where they are.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When traveling, it is advisable to have a back-up credit card in case any happens to the first one. Different cards are different. Check them out to determine which set of pro and cons will work the best for your individual situation. Regardless of which card you choose, it is helpful to advise them of your travel plans so your card is not denied when you try to use it in a foreign country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,12],"tags":[80,79,78],"class_list":["post-312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","category-travel","tag-best-life-2","tag-credit-cards","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312\/revisions\/835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}