Travellers'' Cheques and The Visa Travelmoney Card
Travellers' cheques are one of the safest ways of carrying your money. Worldwide, they're available from almost any major bank (in most cases whether you have an account there or not), and from special American Express or Thomas Cook offices, usually for a service charge of 1 percent on the amount purchased. Banks may charge more to purchase, but check first with your own establishment as some offer cheques free of charge to customers meeting certain criteria. The most widely recognized brands of travellers' cheques are Visa, Thomas Cook and American Express, which most banks will change, and there are American Express and Thomas Cook offices in France; American Express travellers' cheques can also be cashed at post offices. French franc travellers' cheques can be worthwhile: they may often be used as cash, and you should get the face value of the cheques when you change them, so commission is only paid on purchase. Banks being banks, however, this is not always the case. The latest way of carrying your money abroad is with a Visa TravelMoney Card , a sort of electronic travellers' cheque. The temporary disposable debit card is "loaded up" with an amount between GBP100 and GBP5000 and can then be used (in conjunction with a PIN number) in any ATM carrying the Visa sign in France (and 112 other countries). When your funds are depleted, you simply throw the card away. It's recommended you buy at least a second card as back-up in case your first is lost or stolen, though like travellers' cheques the cards can be replaced if such mishaps occur. Up to nine cards can be bought to access the same funds - useful for couples/families travelling together. Charges are 2 percent commission with a minimum charge of GBP3. The card is available from, among other places, Colombus Bank in the US and Thomas Cook in the UK. For further information, call Visa's 24-hour toll-free customer services line on tel 1-410/581-9091 or check out their Web site at www.visa.com .
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