Cash or Traveler's Checks?

[Lorene3]

Should we carry cash or travelers checks in the parks?
Our first trip ever starts Friday, Nov. 30!!

Thanks!

 

[tonilea]

We used a combination last year, TC, Cash and CC. This year I think we will take cash out of the ATM and use CC (paying them off when we get home). I would avoid keeping large amounts of cash.

Just my take on things!
Toni

BTW we will arrive on the 29th as well... wear your lime green ribbon!!!

 

[cbrfan]

I primarily use a credit card. But I always carry a limited amount of cash and traveler's checks to replenish the cash supply as needed. I've found that $100 travelers checks work best for me at WDW. You can pay for whatever your getting and have enough of a cash reload.

 

[Debi]

I too use traveler's checks. As a rule, it's safer to carry TC's than cash - most TC companies will issue you new ones if your TC's are stolen; if your cash is stolen, it is gone. I carry about $20/day on me in cash for small stuff (i.e. sodas, inexpensive souviners, etc.), then use either TC's or a credit card for the rest. It works out well!

 

[cindala]

We use mostly $100 TC and a small amount of cash. I also make a large payment on our CC before we leave to cover the cost of the balance at the resort and a few meals and souvenirs.

 

[Always_leah]

We deposited cash into our checking acct. before leaving home and then used our debit card (which has the mastercard and visa logo on it). We even gave the debit card # to the front desk when we signed in to the hotel and that way when we charged to the room - in the end it came right out of the debit (checking acct). We brought a little cash to have on hand and ended up hitting the atm one time during the 8 days. Charging to the room was extremely fast and we did that most of the time.

have a great trip !

 

[Golter]

We also use Visa Check Card, and carry $100.00 cash and replenish if that runs out. Travelers Check seem to be such a hassle, buying them and keeping up with the copies you need to have them replaced. And the credit card is not an option for us....We are going on two years with no balances on any card, and only have one for extreme emergencies, haven't had one yet.

 

[tonilea]

A funny (NOT) thing happened while we were in Disney. Our ATM card would not work in WDW park ATM's..... It spit out a receipt with something about an error and to call our bank.... of course this happened after hours. Well to make a long story short we used it at SeaWorld and our hotel (Off site) with no problems. It certainly had me worried for a bit!

 

[catwho]

American Express Traveller's checks and Disney $$ (for the kids) Why? Simple, WDW has an AE service on site and you can get your checks replaced in an hour rather than within 24. We get them from our bank at no charge to us, so why not? We are taking a weird combination of checks this time as they were totally out of hundreds. We 've got lots of 50's and 20's. My dh and I were signing checks forever the other day! It was rather funny though. The lady said that they had been waiting on the checks to come in and were running low, but managed to fill our request.

We pay for our room ahead of time and use our debit card for things like gas and when we run out of traveller's checks! LOL!! We don't use credit cards at all.


45 more days!!!

 

[DixieDreamer]

We use Travelers Checks for the bulk of our spending money when there. I bring some cash - about $100, and travelers checks. We use our credit card to cover the room charges and any larger purchases we may make (souvenirs). We use the TC's for food, and small items, tips, etc. A $100 denomination is ideal. Usually I would use one for dinner - and the change would be sufficient to handle the majority of the next morning/afternoon cash needs. Using a credit card is not a problem - as we always pay our entire balance - and it is much more convenient than packing so much cash or travelers checks around.

 

[AF Brenda]

During lunch on the next to last day of our last trip, DH commented that he didn't want to do traveler's checks anymore. Too much hassle, etc. Later that afternoon, we had over $700 (in traveler's checks) stolen from our car (we were switching hotels). Went to Epcot, and I had the money back in less than 45 minutes. DH is now a stalwart supporter of TCs!!

 

[jmminarik]

Howdy,

Just got back from a long two week trip which included 3 days in orlando and a week at VB.
We used both Cash, AMEX TC and CC's. Most of the stuff went on our CC's, as we have a very good tendency to pay them off. Cash was used for most incidentals and places that didn't take CC's.

This trip I chose to take TC's over an ATM card. A single ATM transaction fee would have cost more than our TC's, and to be honest, I'd rather AMEX get the money for the TC's than pay usurous fees that ATM's now have.

You can cash TC's at the VB and BW main desks without a purchase. Just don't expect to do $1000.00 at a time, as they don't have tons of currency on hand.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[Tartan Tigger]

I always take Travellers Cheques. I've also charged things back to the room ( found that very convenient).

 

[blewett]

American Express is the only way to go. Some discounts are up to 20%!

 

[M.K. Poppins]

I would recommend a mix of cash and TCs. Having worked at a bank, I've seen all too many times the trouble that ATM and debit cards can get involved with, and do you really want to take that chance on vacation? TCs can be replaced if lost (as long as you have your receipt) and don't depend on machines.

 

[KaraJade]

Last September, I used my checkcard almost the whole time... think I took maybe $200 in cash for the places we wouldn't be able to use my card. BF used a combination of cash, TCs, and Disney dollars (which I thought was a bit confusing, trying to keep track of how much was left). Personally I really liked using my checkcard, because I had a reciept for just about everything I spent money on, and adding those up when i got home helped me have a much clearer idea of what kind of $$ I'd need for the trip this year.

 

[KCritter]

If you use a debit or checking card rather than a credit card, be careful where you use it!

If you use a credit card and someone steals your number, you write a letter to your credit card company and don't pay for any unauthorized charges until the matter is resolved.

If some steals your checking card number and charges things to it, the money comes straight out of your checking account and that money is GONE until the issue is resolved. IF it gets resolved.

Bottom line don't hand over a checking card to someone you don't trust. Do I trust Disney? Yes, for the most part, but even they can make mistakes. There have been several reports on the Resort board where people were charged too much for their room or other people's charges showed up on their account. Bottom line: Don't use a debit card if you don't trust the person, and always check what you are signing for!

 

[zurgswife]

We use credit cards or mostly charge to room keys. Hate the worry of the chance we could lose cash. We do carry a little though

 

[CarolA]

Just a note. If you are AAA member you can get traveler's checks for free!

 

[catwho]

Not all Debit Cards are the same. Our bank's debit card has "Visa Protection." If there our card is stolen, we call a 1-800 number immediately and only authorized charges are allowed through. When the problem is resolved, new cards are issued. We were concerned about that and so talked to our bank. They said more and more banks are offering this sort of protection. Also, my dh has a seperate bank card number so if one of our cards is stolen or lost, the other can still use his card. This was also a concern as we don't use any credit cards. Haven't even owned one for 8 years!

The main reason we are using traveller's checks this year is because we had the money and we were afraid if we deposited it, we would end up spending it, so it made sense to just go ahead and buy traveller's checks. Our money was set aside and safe and there for our trip! And since our room is pre-paid (monthly payments over a 3 month period) we have no need of charging anything to our debit cards.


Only 3 more days until we leave for the Magic!!!