In all of 2010, the one time I left the US was to Puerto Rico… a US territory. Does that even count as leaving the country? It seems as though I’m now trying to (over)compensate for lost times, and it’s safe to say that I’ve been hit hard by the travel bug.
I’ve decided to share a few of my travel learnings from my recent trips to Canada and Mexico here.
AIRFARE: These are the top three websites I use for searching for the best or cheapest airfares. Get to know them well, sometimes they can make a great difference!
1. Hipmunk.com
2. Bing.com/travel (previously known as Farecast.com)
3. Kayak.com
MONIES:
- Credit Card: Apply for a CC that does not have international fees. An example of one would be: Capital One (Capital One does not charge a fee for using your credit card for foreign currency transactions. Foreign purchases will be converted at the foreign exchange rate in effect at the time of posting the charge.) Check cardratings.com to see what your CC companies charge and which don’t charge at all!
- ATM: I prefer to use ATMs instead of exchanging money at the airport. Oftentimes, it won’t be at the best rate if you do the latter. So it’s best to research which banks your “home” bank partners with. For mine, Bank of America, I used Scotiabank (Banque Scotia) in Canada and Banco Santander in Mexico. Using partnered banks minimizes the transaction fees.
- DEBIT: If you intend to use your Debit card when traveling abroad, make sure to call your bank ahead of time to inform them of future transactions. You run the risk of them freezing your account and then you’ll have to call them to settle the issue anyway. This is the toll-free number for Bank of America: 1.877.833.5617 or internationally by calling collect 1.602.597.2395. If you have a wifi-capable phone and access, you can also use a Google Voice account to call your bank for free. Curiously, when I went to Montreal, I informed them of my travel plans and when I tried to withdraw $200 from the ATM, it didn’t work. I had to call BofA to clear up the transactions (this may have been because of a daily limit that is sometimes placed on accounts). What is most curious about this is that when I went to Mexico, I forgot to call BofA and yet nothing happened when I made two ATM transactions. What the eff, BofA?!
CELLPHONES:
- Check with your cellphone carrier if you want to enable international text messaging or calling. Rates and options are very specific to your own plan. While in Montreal, we thought it would be important to be able to msg each other so I added on an international text messaging plan (I have AT&T). It cost me $10 for 50 texts; all incoming texts were free. It was pretty worth it to not only be able to contact one another, but also to contact those back in the US.
- Remember, you can use your Google Voice account if you have wifi access! This way, you won’t have to worry about finding a phone to use in case of an emergency.
Montreal, Canada
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Happy and safe travels! Can’t wait to tell you what’s in store for me next!!