# What way to have money for holiday



## dodo (14 May 2013)

Going to Florida for 3 weeks, family of 5 not sure what way to sort money, all tickets bought for theme parks, should we bring $1000 cash and use laser card when over there for rest of stay, should I set up dollar account wth Ptsb before we go, any advice,
Also what is typical budget for family of 5 gong to Florida, we thinking around $7K total,


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## Boyd (14 May 2013)

I dont think carrying 1K in cash is a very good idea, you're only asking for it to be stolen. 

I would try to pay for as much stuff as possible with credit card, save withdrawing cash.

You could try pre-loading your credit card and withdraw from ATMs using that. Youd need to check with PTSB, but usually that saves the cash advance fee, and you just pay the cross border fee.


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## Negotiator (14 May 2013)

username123 said:


> I dont think carrying 1K in cash is a very good idea



I totally agree with you.......you'd want to be bringing a lot more than that......cash is king, particularly in America!


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## TarfHead (14 May 2013)

dodo said:


> Going to Florida for 3 weeks, family of 5 ..
> Also what is typical budget for family of 5 gong to Florida, we thinking around $7K total,


 
If you're just talking about meals, groceries, petrol, etc., then 7K seems very high. If you're including all costs, like shopping & park tickets, then it seem low for 3 weeks.

We (family of 4) were there for around 10 days last year. In terms of cash, we didn't spend that much. We used credit cards as much as possible, using cash for low value transactions and the ubiquitous tips.  When we needed more cash we used an ATM. Can't remember if the rate was nasty, but there was a seperate charge for using it, and a cross-border currency charge for credit card transactions.

We brought around 1000 cash, and wife managed to lose a significant chunk of it, plus her purse, on the flight on the way over .


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## Guns N Roses (14 May 2013)

username123 said:


> You could try pre-loading your credit card and withdraw from ATMs


 
It's worth bearing in mind that American ATM's tend to have a lower daily withdrawal limit than Irish ATM's. (approx $200 per day from what I can remember from my last trip)


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## shesells (14 May 2013)

You really only need cash for tips, taxis and small item purchases (bottled water etc). I never ever carry more than $200 in cash in the US. Cards are accepted everywhere and for as little as a cup of coffee. Pre-load credit cards as advised above.


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## dewdrop (15 May 2013)

When bringing cash/credit cards i always try and split it up among those travelling with me so that in case of robbery/loss at least we would not be totally penniless.


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## Boyd (15 May 2013)

TarfHead said:


> We brought around 1000 cash, and wife managed to lose a significant chunk of it, plus her purse, on the flight on the way over .



My God


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## delgirl (15 May 2013)

It's a good idea to get the currency of the country you are travelling to before you leave home!

We've just had a visitor come over from Switzerland and try to change Swiss Francs into Euro in a large Bank in Dublin only to be told that you have to have an account with this particular bank to exchange the Francs into Euro.

Never heard of this before.  How are tourists supposed to change their cash?


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## shesells (15 May 2013)

delgirl said:


> I
> Never heard of this before.  How are tourists supposed to change their cash?



Don't bring cash, withdraw from an ATM.

OP in clarification of my previous post - beware that pre-loaded credit cards are not insured for the pre-loaded amount. It might be safer to have the money at home and to pay off the card on return. You will be hit with small fees for withdrawals but it's safer.


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## Wahaay (16 May 2013)

Seven grand seems a lot for three week's holiday although it depends on what you plan to do.
I always take a few grand in cash and then use cards for most big purchases like hotels and car hire.
All hotels have safes in the room but unless you plan on visiting ghettoes the chances of robbery are very slim and considerably less than in Dublin.
If you're really worried invest in one of these and try to get as big denomination notes as you can ( 50 dollar are much smaller than €50 notes. )

www.amazon.co.uk/Go-Travel-Secret-M...TF8&qid=1368712312&sr=8-4&keywords=money+belt

More importantly take with you a photocopy of your passport details in case they get stolen.


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## Boyd (16 May 2013)

Wahaay said:


> All hotels have safes in the room but unless you plan on visiting ghettoes the chances of robbery are very slim and considerably less than in Dublin.
> 
> More importantly take with you a photocopy of your passport details in case they get stolen.



Good idea to photocopy the passport but if you think that the passport could be stolen I dont see why you think cash wouldnt be....


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## adox (16 May 2013)

I`d also advise you ringing your credit card company to let them know what dates you will be away and what country you will be in. I always do.
The last thing you want is your bank freezing your credit card because of suspicious activity.

Anytime I travel to the States I bring some dollars with me and pre-load the credit card before leaving. Withdraw cash when need and use the card as much as possible. It has always worked well for me.


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## SparkRite (16 May 2013)

dodo said:


> Going to Florida for 3 weeks, family of 5 not sure what way to sort money, all tickets bought for theme parks, should we bring $1000 cash and use laser card when over there for rest of stay, should I set up dollar account wth Ptsb before we go, any advice,
> Also what is typical budget for family of 5 gong to Florida, we thinking around $7K total,




Dodo, just to clarify things, when you say "laser card" do you actually mean the debit card, that has almost totally been phased out now and was only used in Ireland, or do you use the term as a generic term for a credit card?

Big difference between the two.


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## AlbacoreA (16 May 2013)

To also note there is a Visa Debit card that replacing the AIB laser

[broken link removed]

A different thing to a Visa Credit Card.


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## Wahaay (17 May 2013)

username123 said:


> Good idea to photocopy the passport but if you think that the passport could be stolen I dont see why you think cash wouldnt be....




That's easy. 
Most people tend to leave their passports in their bags but carry their money and credit cards on them, where there is less chance of them being stolen.

I suppose it all depends on how confident a person is walking around with a few grand on them. As I said in the earlier post the chances of being mugged in most tourist areas of Florida are remote. And even though _you _might know you're carrying a few grand how does anyone else ?

One other tip is always carry around a small amount of cash, say a hundred bucks, in a separate pocket so if you are mugged hand over that rather than your stash.

The bottom line is the States are really very safe unless you live in or plan on visiting a 'hood. Fortunately attacks on tourists are extremely rare but leave your bling at home anyway.


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## aido71 (17 May 2013)

very similar to OP we spending 3 weeks in Florida in June. All hotels/car/theme park tickets etc sorted so our expenses will be food/drink sundries etc. Been before and took about $1000 in cash which worked out fine. split it up between us and it worked out fine. even if you have half on  you it is 'only' about €350/400 which is not an exceptionally massive sum of money.....(unless of course you lose it!).......i guess it whatever you feel comfortable with.....oh and 7K does seem very high!.....i'm hoping our entire holiday will come in at around the 6k mark...though not including any shopping in that!


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## sunflower3 (17 May 2013)

Hi

I am also lucky enough to be going to Florida for 3 weeks in July. 

I am looking at An PostFX™ prepaid MasterCard® which you can pre-load with all your holiday money and withdraw over there. Credit cards could be used for back up.

I think $7K is huge!! We are hoping to get by on about $4,500 for 2 adult 3 (young) children. We have our park tickets and are staying in a villa. Shopping would be extra.

Hope this helps and enjoy the holiday!


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## shesells (17 May 2013)

Check the insurance situation with the pre-paid credit card, it will most likely be treated as cash for travel insurance purposes and the cash cover tends to be low.

Similarly if you pre-load a credit card with say 2k, and it's lost/stolen and used. The credit card insurance only covers debt run up on the card, not pre-loaded cash spent.


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## orka (28 May 2013)

shesells said:


> Don't bring cash, withdraw from an ATM.


I usually do this but I've started looking at the charges and they are quite high - 3%/3.5% of the amount withdrawn (plus sometimes the ATM operators have their own $2/$3 charge on top - sometimes avoidable by going to a different bank's ATM but sometimes when you are captive inside a theme park there is no option). I know it's safer to withdraw there but on €1,000 cash it could be €30 in charges. I'm going to get some commission-free cash from An Post to at least minimise withdrawal charges in the US.





sunflower3 said:


> I am looking at An PostFX™ prepaid MasterCard® which you can pre-load with all your holiday money and withdraw over there. Credit cards could be used for back up.


I'm also going to get one of these - but only for purchases, not for ATM withdrawals as there is a charge ($2.50) for each ATM transaction. The card has €2.50 annual govt stamp duty if only used for purchases plus an extra €2.50 annual charge if used even once at an ATM.

So I think overall from a purely value point of view (obviously need to consider security issue), bring some commission-free cash, use An Post's card for purchases (no commission), credit/debit card for other purchases if necessary (1.75%/2% commission) and withdraw at ATM (3% commission) as last option. If anyone has other suggestions to minimise commission, they would be appreciated.

EDIT: Also important to check the exchange rates...  My credit card (Ulster Bank) has a much better rate than An Post (1.29 vs 1.25) which wipes out the commission-free benefit of An Post's offering compared to paying by credit card.  So check your own bank's debit and credit card exchange rates (there is usually a better rate for the credit card as they seem to be set internationally by Visa/Mastercard).


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