We are leaving for Italy in July and I am beginning to think of any preliminary steps that we should take before we go.
What questions should I ask my bank before we leave? I should probably find out any fees that I may be charged by using ATMs. Any thing else?
What should I ask my Credit Cards? I want to know about travel insurance, anything else?
Anything else you feel we should know or anyone else we should ask questions to before we go?
Thanks!
Yes, always check with your bank about ATM fees in the countries you will visit. Ask for specific banks where your fees will be lowest.
Notify your credit card company of the countries you will visit so they don't get nervous and close your account to further charges.
I never buy insurance; so I can't advise you.
I agree with Carl. Notify your credit card and ATM card providers. Let them know that you are in Europe and provide the date range. They don't need to know exactly where you are; they just need to know you are in Europe during a certain period of time so that they don't suspect fraud. Next, you might want to request your ATM bank to increase your daily withdrawl limit so that you are not limited to about $150/day.
I'm sure that you will let your family members and certain neighbors know that you will be away. If you have a burglar alarm on your house, you will want to notify your provider on the dates that you will be away and what they are to do if they receive an alarm.
Finally, Do I have the passports? Do I have the tickets? Which way to the airport?
if you use the search function (box at the top right of the screen) you can find plenty of recent discussions about travel insurance.
Do as Carl suggested, that is what I did last Sept. I went to my bank and told them the dates I would be away in Italy. I asked them to increase my withdrawal limit to $500 a day. I had them change my pin from 4 letters to 4 numbers that I knew I would remember. There are no letters on Europe ATM's. You should leave a copy of you credit card number and a contact number for your bank with someone you trust at home in case your card is lost or stolen, so you can contact you bank. If you are traveling with someone else, make copies of each others passport for the other person to carry in case your card is lost or stolen. My husband's wallet was stollen a few years ago in Zurich. Luckily he had his credit card numbers memorized. I don't think most people do. The Zurich police let him use their phone to contact the credit card companies and bank. When we contacted his bank somehow someone had already withdrawn from his checking account, but we were not responsible. We did lose the cash he had just withdrawn at the airport ATM.
Ooh yes make sure your pin is 4 digits long and that you remember it by numbers.
My parents took me to Venice last week, and when they went to take out cash, neither of them remembered what numbers they had, luckily I used to peek at my moms card when she would pay for things (bad I know), and becuase I always do numbers I was able to remember so we could take out money.
If you have time, I would open a bank account that is not linked to your personal one. That way if you lose your ATM it won't compromise your personal money. I use a credit union who gives me 5 free non-CU withdraws a month... so the last few times I went overseas, I got zero fees.
As for trip insurance: check your credit card company to see what covreage they provide for you. Chances are, you can add just supplemental insurance, like luggage lost, or flight delay.
I also made an Excel spreadsheet of my trip, breaking down the date, the destination, and confirmation numbers. I also emailed a copy to a friend, as well as to myself. That way if I were to lose my paper copy I have a back up.
Also I gave a copy of my cards to my friend, as well as an email copy of my passport.
On other threads, people have mentioned having difficulty accessing funds from saving accounts while in Europe. While I don't have personal experience with this since my main account is a checking account, you might want to ensure that the account you will be accessing from an ATM is a checking account.
Liza -
We actually have two checking accounts. One is our personal account and one is our "trip" account. We do not plan on dipping into the personal on our trip.
Tennille, we let the local police know if our house was to be 'home alone' when we were away for a long period. A suggestion...before an OS trip, I email to myself a photcopy/scan of my passport, tickets, insurance, bank phone numbers and anything else relevent. I was extremely glad to have that when the ATM rejected my card in Lipari.
We never used to buy trip insurance, but now we do.
In 2005, while on vacation for a month in Playa Del Carmen we got a message that my father had suffered a massive heart attack. We did not have insurance! The condo owner would not give any part of the rent back, and there was a lot of hassles and loss of money besides the loss of my father in the end.
Don't leave home without it! You just never know what could happen. It's another lump sum to put out, but so much better to have piece of mind.
I would check with your current medical/dental insurance company and make sure you aren't already covered before you spend the extra money to buy travel insurance. My company provides coverage, so I just copied off the pages in my manual that cover overseas medical along with a copy of my insurance card and put it in my suitcase. So if I need it, I have all the information with me, including phone numbers, etc.
Operating off of a checklist is very helpful. There are some good ones found on the web that you can customize as needed. There is even one that starts at day one of planning your trip and gives you email reminders. Does anyone know the site?
I agree with notifying your CC Company. I personally do not do this before every trip. I did call and remind them that I travel for a living and to expect weekly charges from Europe.
Therefore, European charges would not be out of the norm. So they flagged my file and so far I haven't had any problems.
I can't imagine travelling without Insurance. As EMS, I've met many travellers "by accident" who didn't bother with insurance and had to make that unexpected 911 call...It really leaves a lasting impression to hear someone crying b/c they didn't have insurance. Don't let this happen to you!
I don't work at Expedia, but just had much luck with them and like what they have to offer. When you book a trip through them, for $75 a person you get travel insurance that included some medical insurance too.
My Mom is elderly, so I never know what can happen even though she's still very healthy for someone her age.
You never can know what will happen. Something could even happen to me, or my son! I never leave home without insurance either. Most likely nothing bad will happen, but does give you some peace of mind.
