Whats the best way to bring money when traveling to OZ?

Question

Should I carry travelers checks, can I deposit it in any bank I open account with?

Answer 1

Get a Visa Debit card and use it like you would at home.

Its useful internationally but its your own cash you are using.

Answer 2

Mostly good answers, Visa or Mastercard debit is the best and cheapest way. Mel is not quite correct in the amount you can bring in. You can bring in more than $A10,000 but you MUST declare it. You will also have to convince immigration you have enough to live on, so have a current statement of your accounts to show them. You will need to show that you have at least $A1,000 for each week you stay.

Answer 3

Ask the Wizard- He'll know!  :)

Answer 4

Visa or Master card, even our taxis (cabs) take American Express, unlike the Cabbies in New York, irronic ha!

Answer 5

i find travellers cheques a pain in the backside but obviously they are safer than carrying cash. if you are opening an account over there then just do a foreign transfer from your other bank account. when i went travelling there I just used cash machines to take cash out as i dont get charged by my bank for cash withdrawals abroad. it depends how much you will need at any one time though because of daily withdrawal limits etc.

Answer 6

VISA and Mastercard are accepted worldwide, also any bank account cards with the cirus maestro logo will work in Australia. So that's you're best bet, just to use a regular bank account.

You can also get a Travelex card, which is much like a debit card but designed for travelling. It is relativly new and I'm not sure about the security features.

Don't forget to bring cash also. You will need cash for taxi's, transfers, food, etc. So allow around $100 a day in cash but limit it to a couple of grand. Also customs won't let you bring in cash in excess of $10,000.

EDIT- Not everywhere takes American Express and alot of places charge fee's to use it. Try and get a VISA or Mastercard, it would make your trip alot easier.

Answer 7

Most places accept credit cards from Visa and such companies. Traveller cheques are OK as well but the fee you have to pay is a pain.

I used American Express cheques in AUD 50 and AUD 100 and changed them at American Express counters for free. Some post offices change them too (up to 10 cheques) for AUD 7.50 (in 2007).

NEVER   EVER   change them at these tourist money exchange counters in the city. They rip you off with the fees. So it happened to me that such a guy charged me AUD 18.50 for 400 bucks of cash. And before he touched my cheques I told him that THIS was far too much and took my cheques back again and walked a little further to an American Express place.

Before you leave for Australia I recommend to get yourself a list with the American Express banks in these cities you're visiting.