Journey’s end for travelers’ checks with just one in 12 holidaymakers using them

Mail on Sunday (UK) ^ | 16:02 EST, 26 May 2013 | (Daily Mail Reporter)

[Olog-hai]

The trusty travelers’ check could be dying a death among British holidaymakers, a new study has revealed.

Just one in twelve have used them in the past year and most people now prefer cash or cards.

The survey examined the financial habits and preferences of Britons abroad, questioning more than 1,800 UK adults who had been to foreign parts in the last 12 months. Asked what kind of money they took away with them, the majority (78 percent) said hard cash, with 56 percent choosing debit or credit cards and 34 percent taking prepaid cards. Of the eight percent who said traveler’s checks, three quarters (75 percent) saw them as a more “secure” option while 13 percent said they “didn’t like” carrying cash while traveling. …

[Cronos]

they were a good idea when they started. Outdated in the world of international credit cards, but they were a very good idea for their time, served a purpose very well

[teacherwoes]

The problem with traveler’s checks is that few places really accept them anymore and those that do charge a hefty transaction fee.

They are often not worth the trouble for tourists. First, getting them from a bank (and paying a fee); then, trying to find a place that will accept them. Credit cards and money are much better for most travelers.

I use to use them but when I spent most of the day trying to find a place to accept them (and not charge a hefty fee) I gave up on them.

[Kharis13]

I was on vacation in Israel about 10 years ago and had about $600 in Traveler’s Cheques stolen. I was so thankful that I’d used them on that trip! A simple stop at their place of business and they were replaced.

[pepsionice]

I first used them in 1979, as I left a base in Germany and closed my on-base bank account. The transaction fee, I felt at that point, was a bit hefty. That was the last time that I ever used them.

[bgill]

I haven’t used them for 40 years either. What’s the point? A few years ago, my bank had a notice they were discontinuing them.

[Gay State Conservative]

Over a number of years I’ve done a bit of traveling.Way back when I always used traveler’s checks when going abroad.But for the last 30 years it’s been nothing but MasterCard and Visa (I ditched the American Express card years ago).

[urtax$@work]

We did use them on US trips with the family, but on my more
frequent trips , i found them harder to use. Usually at
gas stations with ignorant attendants who had never seen them
before.

Too much chance when im on my last gallon - i wont find a
trusting soul to take them. Maybe would take them if i
visited a ‘destination spot’ and use them to pay for hotel and or car rental.

[SamAdams76]

This is a quaint blast from the past. The last time I used traveler's checks, people were still receiving telegrams and feeding carbon paper into typewriters to make multiple copies of something.

Way back in the days of Jimmy Carter and the Bee Gees, TV ads used to run showing horror stories of tourists having their cash stolen in some third world cesspool with a solemn voice intoning that all would have been well if these hapless tourists had only thought to exchange their cash for traveler's cheques.

In the early 1980s, when I was in the military, I would diligently convert my cash into travelers cheques whenever I went home on leave. It was a bit of a hassle using them as it became clear that most merchants didn't really want to deal with them and you did seem like a dork pulling them out of your wallet to pay for everyday things like movie tickets or a restaurant meal.

As soon as I started getting my own credit cards, I never used travelers checks again and didn't even know they were still around.