Do you have summer travel plans on the brain? Whether you are travelling abroad or planning a across country adventure – one reality that you will want to factor into your travel plans is how you are going to pay for all aspects of the trip. While you may choose to make purchases with cash or your debit card – one overall method of payment that can be highly beneficial is using your credit card. Many credit cards have additional services that can help you as you travel around in the summer months – let’s find out more…
Benefits of Using Your Credit Card While you Travel:
Credit Cards are Accepted Worldwide
When travelling in other countries, it is highly likely that your debit or Interac card may not be accepted. If you are expecting to make purchases at a variety of locations – while foreign banking systems can vary from country to country, most major worldwide credit cards will be accepted. Ultimately, using your credit card can be a much more convenient source of transaction when you travel as well as meaning you only have to carry a credit card or two as opposed to a lot of cash or even traveller’s cheques.
Using Credit Cards to Avoid Paying with Cash
Carrying around too much cash at any given time can place you in an unsafe situation, no matter where you are travelling. However when you travel overseas, sometimes you may be even more susceptible to theft. Tourists are often targets for pick pockets and other forms of theft, and therefore if you choose not to carrying around as much cash with you, you can avoid being placed in positions like these. By also opting to pay with credit cards and less so with cash – you are less likely to drop or misplace your bills along the way.
Another benefit to choosing credit over cash when travelling is that you have to worry less about dealing with foreign currency. Not only does this help you avoid taking out a lot of foreign currency before you travel, this can also help you avoid having to reconvert your remaining foreign currency back to your home currency when you return. In fact, the conversion value you are likely to pay when switching back to your home base currency is likely to be more than you will have to pay on the exchange rate when using your credit card in other countries.
Using your Credit Card over a Debit Card can Prevent Identity Theft
Even in the event your debt card will be accepted during travel – for example when you are travelling within Canada, there are also many drawbacks of making a debit transaction. If the should become the victim of identify fraud – and your debit card has been violated – this will mean you are out of that amount of money – even if it is only temporary. However, if do you fall victim to fraudulent charges on your credit card, this doesn’t mean you will lose that money. In this case, all you need to do is contact your credit card company as soon as possible and notify them of this fraud and they will take steps to resolve the issue. The last thing you want to be is out of money when you are travelling – even if it is only for a short amount of time. Using your credit card can help ensure you have access to you the funds you need.
Travel Rewards Credit Cards
There are many travel rewards cards on the market that can help you earn points that can be used towards a variety of purchases – including further travel perks. These can involve rental cars, hotels and other flight benefits such as lost luggage insurance that can make your trip more convenient and even more affordable. Other credit cards, such as the TD Aeroplan Visa Card can be used all year long on purchases – with the added benefit of earning a potentially high volume of points that can also then be used towards travel expenses, including airline tickets. Often these travel rewards cards also include travel medical insurance and other travel insurance coverage that can be extremely valuable in the event you have a health scare or in cur other medical expenses. Either way, if you are travelling and using your credit card, or using it in order to earn travel rewards – the advantages can go both ways.
All in all, there are many added advantages associated with credit card use while you are travelling. While you may have a variety of payment options – and you may rely on all of them to a certain extent, overall the power of credit does seem in many cases to be the most ideal and versatile transaction method. Not only will you have the potential to earn benefits and have important insurance coverage at your disposal – you can also travel with the added peace of mind that your money is being kept as safe as possible. When all is said and done, opting to use your credit card this summer may allow you to enjoy your travel plans with more freedom and less overall worry.
