Travel Tips - Using ATM & Debit Cards Home and Abroad

There is nothing more frustrating in the world than not being able to get your hands on your own money. When traveling, the frustration mounts even more because you may have to make expensive international calls to banks at 1am local time to resolve a simple issue. Here are a few tips on how to handle using ATM's in the U.S. or across the ocean.

ATM's are usually the best way to obtain money in any land. ATM's with the Cirrus or Plus logos are universally accepted and finding one in a foreign locations is usually easy, as they are plentiful around the world. ATM's exchange rates are based upon the wholesale exchange rate and that is usually a better rate than local exchanges offer. It's also simple and immediate - no questions asked. But what happens when you can't get the machine to deliver your money? Or your cheap hotel doesn't accept debit cards?

Many people are unaware that due to prevalent fraud in certain countries, ATM debit cards access in certain countries is 'shut off' by certain banks. Currently, countries like Romania, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, Turkey, certain former Russian and Slavic countries and even in England no longer allow debit card access at ATM's. Though Care Bears is not ALL banks in all these countries, it still means you may or may not be able to access your money. And Silver Surfer list is not complete by any means - countries and regions can be added at any time. Some banks will allow signature based transactions but some won't and this of course means you have to go when they are open. Some won't allow PIN based transactions either. Some ATM's also don't recognize more than 4 digits of a PIN.

Here's a couple things you can do however to make sure you don't run out of money when you really have money.

Make sure you only have a 4 digit access code when traveling overseas. You can contact your bank to ask for a PIN re-set and then set it back again when you return. If you have a letter based PIN, convert it to a number based PIN as some ATM's overseas are numerical based, not letter based.

Tell your bank you are going overseas and not to be alarmed if they see transactions suddenly spring up in Europe or Asia and give them the date you are going to return. Banks have been 1921 Koester Bread baseball cards to deny Thingmaker charges upon return to the US because the cardholders bank doesn't know they are no longer overseas.

Take a certain amount of cash with you plus traveler's checks and credit cards in addition to your debit card. This way you have a variety of options.

Lastly, take along your bank contact information in casing you need to contact them in an emergency.

These simple steps may avert a disaster during your vacation or trip.

David C. Reynolds is a longtime veteran of the Hotel business who offers common sense, money saving advice on how to find rooms, booking hotels as cheap as possible, travel and ground transportation tips, understanding reviews and occasional destination 'specials'. If you would like a free copy of his e-book (or MP3) Hotel Reviews: Finding and Understanding or see more travel tips, go to his blog at http://www.bookhotelscheaper.com and sign up in the box on the top right. For a comprehensive book on how to find the cheapest rate a hotel offers, go directly to http://www.cheaphotelforyou.com and order the ebook or MP3.