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Travellers Checks/Money

Portland, OR
8 posts
Travellers Checks/Money
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Does anyone have a recommedation for travelling with travellers checks, or cash? Which of the two is better? Also, we have ATM cards - are they accepted down there?

Thanks!

Praia da Vitoria...
Destination Expert
for Rio de Janeiro
Level Contributor
1,145 posts
15 reviews
69 helpful votes
1. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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Greetings,

When I travel to Brazil and indeed to most other destinations, I usually have a mixture of Travelers Cheques, US Dollars and local currency.

I generally settle my hotel bill with the Travelers Cheques, I hold the US Dollars back for unforseen items or issues that arise and I always like to have a good amount of the local cash even before I land at my destination.

Though if you go to Rio de Janeiro, once you have passed through Immigration, retrieved your luggage and made your way pass Customs, one of the first things you will see is the Taxi company booths and a money exchange counter. So you will have an opportunity to get your local currency before you bundle into a taxi.

Better to exchange your money there at the airport or at a Banco du Brasil as opposed to the hotel. Hotels tend to give very poor exchange rates compared to Banco du Brasil or even many of the currency exchange booths you will find in the shopping malls.

As for ATM cards, I do not recommend them as my personal experience trying to use them has been somewhat negative. Much better to either use your Visa or MasterCard or even one of the Travel Funds cards you can get through American Express.

As far as the Travelers Cheques versus cash argument goes, I only use Traveler Cheques to pay my hotel. I would never keep an amount of that size in cash while traveling and afterall Travelers Cheques are protected and you can get them replaced very quickly in Rio. I had a friend whose American Express Travelers cheques went missing (stolen..lost?) in Rio and he called the local American Express office and within 24 hours they not only replaced the checks but had them delivered to him at his hotel.

That said, many places will not accept Traveler Cheques (Hotels always seem to welcome them) either because they don't know how to handle them or they just don't want to bother with sending them in to American Express to get their merchant credit. The big jewelry stores (e.g. H. Stern) will take them but you will be hard pressed to find a smaller store in Rio Sul or Shopping Barra malls that will accept them.

Better to just figure what your hotel will cost (with all the potential extras such as room service, Internet and phone calls) and have that much in Travelers Cheques. Then take 200 to 400 hundred in US Dollars (set aside for emergencies or special purchases) and then depending on how many days you will be in Rio de Janeiro, calculate 50 to 75 dollars per day (and that's on the high side) that you should change into local currency.

Finally, having one or two Visa bank cards with a couple hundred dollars worth of flexibility is always a good idea.

Of course, this is just my humble opinion. I hope you find it of some help in making your decision.

George Browne

Rio de Janeiro, RJ...
Level Contributor
82 posts
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
2. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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Hi ! In your place I wouldn���t bring any travelers check. Here most of the places accept credit cards and you have many places where you can cash money on ATM machines. Bring cash with you, as a back up money.

Usually you will get better exchange rates on ATM machine, like Citibank.

If you have more questions about Rio, you will find a link to my page at:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Resources-g303506-Maps-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html

Have a great trip to Rio.

Luciano Sampaio

Rio VIP Tour

Miami, Florida
Destination Expert
for San Diego
Level Contributor
8,242 posts
170 reviews
151 helpful votes
3. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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Travelers checks are dinosaurs....most places no longer accept them or it is very difficult to find a place...couple pieces of advise: (2) use your regular ATM card.....in fact, it might not be bad to get a second one if you have only one....there are plenty of Citibank and HSBC branches around town in case you are thinking of opening a new account (I think HSBC was not charging withdrawal fees). (3) ATM machines close at 10;00PM, so plan accordingly.....(4) bring only $ 200 - 300 as emergency backup, just in case....I just returned and had no problems using my ATM card and credit cards....one final piece of advice: call your credit card companies before you leave to let them know when you will be in Rio so that they remove any potential fraud blocks from your credit card and you can use it....my experience, AMEX no problems at all....Visa/MC can sometimes still be a pain in the rear.

San Francisco...
1 post
4. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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I travelled to Brasil from the U.S. for a month and here are some of the money issues I had.

Granted, ATM machines are abundant but there is a catch.

The card you use most likely has to be a VISA or MasterCard issued card. It can be a check card, pre-paid card, or credit.

Definitely notify your card issuer.

THEY WILL SHUT YOUR CARD OFF UNTIL THEY HEAR FROM YOU.

Going from U.S. transactions to Foreign transactions is an automatic fraud alert.

Get your cash during daylight hours ONLY! Plan ahead for the evening. It's just common sense.

The exchange rate is almost 3-1, so there's no need to carry large amounts of cash. At the most, I carried 60 HEALS unless I knew I was making a major purchase. Most nights I came home with change after drinking, eating and partying all night. Keep everything else in your hotel room safe.

And since we're on the topic of safes. Don't lose the key!

For Security reasons, most hotels give you the only copy!

My friend had to pay $100 U.S. for a locksmith to come

open the safe.

And lastly, the best way to hold on to your money, is to blend in.

Locals wear T-shirts, shorts, sandals/sneakers for the most part.

Leave the jewelry, expensive watches, etc. at home!

Chicago, IL
Level Contributor
20 posts
5. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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This was the first time that I traveled without traveler's checks and it was much easier. Brazil does not welcome the American Express card as much as they love Visa or Mastercard.

I used my Citibank Citicard with absolutely no problem. They have excellent protection on the card (Identify theft, secured charges in case of theft). The card was shut down once while in Brazil when Citibank noticed a large purchase on my card. I simply called and they released the card minutes late.

Banking is universal to the point where you can find a bank anywhere to access your account. Citibank, Banco Real (ABN-AMRO) and HBSC are located all over the city. I carried very small amounts of cash. We're talking $20USD max each day. If I needed more, I went back to the hotel safe. Whoever said that you should exchange at the airport is right or else go to a major international bank like the three mentioned above.

Santa Cruz...
Level Contributor
11 posts
8 reviews
60 helpful votes
6. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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When traveling down there, best to carry your cash in a money belt. Samsonite makes a comfortable one. Re travelers checks, I found many merchants unfamiliar with it. Best to carry cash - VISA and/or Mastercard is widely accepted as well.

London, UK
Level Contributor
4 posts
24 reviews
9 helpful votes
7. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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I have to say that worst customer service I have ever experienced was AM EX by the Copacabana palace. It was terrible. Having th e cheques are safer but it is a difficult issue. I also found my UK ATM card would only work in a few ATMs not all of them (even if they have a VISA sign on them). Beware.

cape cod
3 posts
8. Re: Travellers Checks/Money
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we visited brasil two years ago, used our ATM card to

get cash, and found that our Master Card was accepted all

over and we got very good exchange rates using that. We did

not use travellers checks at all.

We are returning to Brasil next month, and trying to figure out where to go, after we leave our plane in Rio. Want to do one week in the north, one week in the State of Rio. Any ideas on air passes?

Audrey

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