[Idyllchat] AAA's Cash Card / North Tuscany

[Russ Crum]

Paul,

An excellent summary by Rick Steves! I think it answers a lot of the  
questions raised here. In the fast changing world, anyone wanting  
more information should check it out since this article is a bit  
dated (2004). At the rate at which the banking system is finding new  
ways to part customers from their money, things change fast!

One thing I noted in this article was the distinction Rick made  
between ATM cards and debit cards. The last time I switched banks,  
actually to a credit union, I found that their ATM card was also a  
debit card. That was about 2003 or 2004. I don't know if that is  
common practice in the banking system or not.


Russ Crum
rrcrum at sbcglobal.net

On Aug 8, 2007, at 1:48, Samovar9 at aol.com wrote:

> Pete, thanks for your response and that of several others.  How we  
> exchange for Euros or Pounds is obviously of great importance to  
> all travelers.  I have no particular brief for AAA Cash Passport  
> but I found it the most convenient to use and at no great cost.  It  
> is actually a pre-paid debit card of a type which Rick Steves says  
> "are the new kids on the block".  You can find his interesting  
> review of "Credit cards, debit cards and cash in Europe" at the  
> following site
> Click here: Credit Cards, Debit Cards and Cash in Europe
>
> Paul
>
> In a message dated 8/7/2007 4:04:13 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
> haggart at moscow.com writes:
> I think we were talking about the differences between "cash" cards  
> "credit" cards and "cash advances" and the relative ease at which  
> banks and other companies have been adding on fees for their use in  
> places outside the USA. The key is to find a card or service that  
> charges NO fees to the smallest fee for the services that you want  
> to perform with that card. Have no idea what the "passport" card  
> is................
>
> Pete
>
> Peter and Margaret Haggart
> haggart at moscow.com
> -------Original Message-------
>
> From: Samovar9 at aol.com
> Date: 8/7/2007 12:44:01 PM
> To: TSchlingel at aol.com;  b03b13f at verizon.net;   
> idyllchat at lists.untours.com
> Subject: Re: [Idyllchat] AAA's Cash Card / North Tuscany
>
> I'm a bit confused about the generally negative views on the "AAA  
> Cash Card".  I have been using an "AAA Cash Passport" card for  
> years and find it completely satisfactory.  Are these two the same?
>
> Paul
>
> In a message dated 7/31/2007 11:33:54 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
> TSchlingel at aol.com writes:
> I used an AAA Cash Card two years ago and found that with their  
> fees, conversion rate, etc., it was not as good as my Visa ATM  
> through my local S&L.  I would not under any circumstances use the  
> AAA card if you have access to an ATM.
> One last point, as back up on my trips, I had a "National City"  
> Visa ATM along with my S&L Visa ATM.  As an experiment, I took cash  
> within minutes using both cards in side by side banks in          
> Germany.  I did this 3 times in the course of an 18 day trip on one  
> occasion and a 16 day trip on another..  I consistently found that  
> my Visa ATM through my local S&L was about 3% cheaper than using my  
> National City ATM account.  I also find that there is not an  
> appreciable difference in the conversion rate whether I use the S&L  
> ATM to get Euros or to use the S&L ATM as a credit card to pay for  
> hotel accommodations.  As a rule, I always use Euros to pay for all  
> other purchases other than hotel accommodations.  It just seems to  
> work more smoothly.  I am more happy and so is the merchant.  I  
> also don't have to worry about a merchant making a conversion that  
> may not be to my advantage (if that makes sense to all of you).  By  
> using Euros, I'm paying menu and store prices and it is a much  
> cleaner deal.
> Tom Erdman, St. Louis
>
>
>
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>
>
>
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