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Email this1:06 am
December 17, 2016
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YIKES ... the next thing we're going to hear is just how fantastic pre-loaded credit cards are for travel, that Travelex Kiosks/ATMs are where you should buy all of your foreign currencies and, that Dynamic Currency Conversion is the greatest thing to happen for travellers since the introduction of jet-engined travel.
4:16 am
May 21, 2016
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TCs can still be used effectively to move cash, in near cash form, to foreign jurisdictions. The trick, as always, is to ensure you pay no fees in the process.
For example, I've used TCs for trips to foreign casinos. I don't like to carry thousands in cash, fees and interest to borrow funds on site are pricey and I don't like setting up local bank accounts to wire funds. Daily bank machine limits are problematic. Since TCs were free under my bank plan and the casinos didn't charge fees to cash them, why not use them instead of cash.
I've also used them on cruise ships or other vacation hotels where no fees are applied to convert them to cash (call to confirm). In some foreign locations I prefer to deal in cash only because I don't trust the local merchants (outside of the hotel) with my credit or debit information.
4:48 am
December 17, 2016
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You know when you're being led into the wilderness when someone says
- it's easier to find places to cash TCs than it is to find ATMs ... really?
- ATM limits are problematic ... really? CBIC offers $3,000 per day CDN equivalent ... but I guess if you're a high roller ...
5:07 am
May 21, 2016
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lol...in the middle of editing my post. But, I never said they are easier in most situations, but yes, TCs can still be convenient to use at certain locations.
And, 3000?? Obviously, not a craps player. lol.
6:23 am
October 27, 2013
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There are many media articles saying why traveller's cheques are very hard to cash almost anywhere these days. They are extremely easy to counterfeit and merchants get stuck with useless paper. I suspect they will be gone forever in the not too distant future. I haven't used TC's for at least 20 years. I carry at least one Visa and one MC card in CAD, one Visa in USD, and my ATM cards to get cash. I have never had a problem using one or the other.
9:43 am
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
YIKES ... the next thing we're going to hear is just how fantastic pre-loaded credit cards are for travel and that Travelex Kiosks/ATMS are where you should buy all your foreign currencies.
I'll be very honest with you, I'm not a fan of credit cards and one thing I can assure you is that I'll never have a debit card. If you wish to live in a cashless society, then fine for you. But convenience always come at a price and I don't mean just money.
I value my privacy and my safety.
9:57 am
December 17, 2016
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JustMe2016 said
I value my privacy and my safety.
It is impossible to travel these days without using a CC to book airlines and hotels (hotels swipe your card on checking in and most, if not all, put a hold on some money on your CC credit limit). And part of some or all of those bookings involve providing personal information to some degree along with stuff like Passport information ... just NO getting around it.
9:59 am
October 21, 2016
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AltaRed said
There are many media articles saying why traveller's cheques are very hard to cash almost anywhere these days. They are extremely easy to counterfeit and merchants get stuck with useless paper. I suspect they will be gone forever in the not too distant future. I haven't used TC's for at least 20 years. I carry at least one Visa and one MC card in CAD, one Visa in USD, and my ATM cards to get cash. I have never had a problem using one or the other.
It is much easier to illegally use someone else's CC than someone else's TC. CC fraud in Canada is in the hundreds of million dollars ever year.
2:04 pm
October 21, 2016
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Top It Up said
It is impossible to travel these days without using a CC to book airlines and hotels (hotels swipe your card on checking in and most, if not all, put a hold on some money on your CC credit limit). And part of some or all of those bookings involve providing personal information to some degree along with stuff like Passport information ... just NO getting around it.
I have no problem using my CC with reputable hotels and airlines. It is the small business/store that concerns me. In particular those overseas, as well as those in 'questionable locations' or involved in 'questionable activities" in North America.
Another aspect of using CC/debit cards/Apple pay is that it leaves a digital fingerprint every time you use it. So gov., as well as other 'agencies' can follow you wherever you go, whatever you do and possibly, whoever you are with. Like I said before, I am not a little toy for gov. and businesses to play with. Very often, convenience will involve giving up some aspects of your privacy. No thank you.
Also, you should read the cases of people who had to deal with identity theft. It can be a nightmare that lasts years and years. I do not wish to complicate my life. So I take reasonable measures in order to protect myself.
P.S. I spent a few years in the Security dept. of a very large company. Part of my work involved dealing with the LEA (Law Enforcement Agencies) at all three levels (municipal, provincial and federal).
2:19 pm
December 17, 2016
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Yeah, no, so like I don't spend a lot of time pondering coincidences, neuroses, or the paranormal. Hell, you're monitored everyday in department stores, grocery stores, streets, malls, stop lights, neighbour's cameras.
I like and use Apple Pay almost exclusively because the merchant doesn't actually see you digitally, they only see a Device Activation Number (DAN) - not your name or your actual card numbers - the DAN is correlated at the financial institution level AND it takes Touch ID to activate the Apple Pay. I used it throughout quite a bit of Europe, the last 2 trips, and I'm really happy with the anonymity it provides.
3:35 pm
September 11, 2013
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My wife has a Tangerine MC and she's picked Groceries as one of her 2% cashback categories. She claims if she goes to a Walmart Superstore (i.e. where they sell groceries too) that she gets 2% on all her purchases, not just groceries. Looking at her statements it appears to be so. Anyone else know?
P.S. My view is if anybody today thinks they can regularly transact and participate in the economy and society at large and still safeguard their privacy and anonymity they're not being realistic.
3:50 pm
October 21, 2016
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Bill said
My wife has a Tangerine MC and she's picked Groceries as one of her 2% cashback categories. She claims if she goes to a Walmart Superstore (i.e. where they sell groceries too) that she gets 2% on all her purchases, not just groceries. Looking at her statements it appears to be so. Anyone else know?
It makes sense since Tangerine has no way of knowing what percentage of the purchases is not food. They have to apply the 2% to the whole amount.
4:47 pm
April 7, 2016
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Yup, I get 2% as well. It must be a Superstore, not just a smaller store.
6:58 pm
April 6, 2013
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Bill said
My wife has a Tangerine MC and she's picked Groceries as one of her 2% cashback categories. She claims if she goes to a Walmart Superstore (i.e. where they sell groceries too) that she gets 2% on all her purchases, not just groceries. Looking at her statements it appears to be so. Anyone else know?…
Your wife is correct. 
We found earlier that regular Walmart stores have MCC 5310 (Discount Stores). But, the Walmart Superstores have MCC 5411 (Grocery Stores, Supermarkets).
7:02 pm
October 21, 2013
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The Walmart rebate has nothing to do with what you actually buy. It's the store itself that matters. Stores are all given four digit code numbers which correspond to certain categories. The WalMart Superstores are all coded as Grocery. A WalMart store that is not a Superstore will not get the Grocery category.
This was discussed at length a year or two ago in another thread.
7:49 am
September 11, 2013
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Norman1 & Loonie, you say it's all about the store's coding category and that all WalMart Superstores are coded as Grocery. So why when I go to the same Superstore with my VISA card, which gets me 4% on groceries, do I get the Visa card's non-grocery rate of 1% (no matter what I buy)? My experience goes against what you're saying. (If this was covered in another thread, can you provide the link? Thanks.)
8:01 am
December 17, 2016
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Bill said
My view is if anybody today thinks they can regularly transact and participate in the economy and society at large and still safeguard their privacy and anonymity they're not being realistic.
Precisely
9:08 am
October 15, 2015
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I think its a choice as to how much you value your privacy versus more return/convenience. If people valued their privacy, they wouldn't be opening multiple accounts at different institutions and opening themselves up to more privacy breaches. I'll bet its better from a privacy perspective to limit your digital footprint but people don't want to lose dollars. Similarly with credit cards there are ways you can protect yourself. For example, my understanding is you are supposed to only use 1 of your credit cards for online purchases. If I did some digging, i'll bet I could find more privacy tips. Yes, some might require some inconvenience or loss of interest. Its a choice.
11:26 am
September 11, 2013
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Often people complaining about lack of privacy are the same ones using social media to broadcast (to what they seem to think is a world waiting with bated breath) every micro-move/feeling/thought they make/have. 
12:33 pm
October 21, 2016
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Bill said
Often people complaining about lack of privacy are the same ones using social media to broadcast (to what they seem to think is a world waiting with bated breath) every micro-move/feeling/thought they make/have.
Just so you know, I don't have an account on Facebook, or Twitter. Nor will I ever have one.
To each his own.
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