Monday’s Money Saving Tips
Here are today’s Money Saving Travel Tips:
- If international travel is in your plans, check with your credit card companies before you go to see what their policies are about foreign transactions fees and money conversion rates. You don’t want to have all your savings from a favorable exchange rate eaten up by a large transaction fee. Travel Guide for Your Finances provides a good chart and listing of most major credit cards and terms.
- Help to reduce the cost of visiting one of the National Parks by purchasing an annual pass, at a cost of $50 for the entire year. While a typical entry fee is around $20, this annual pass will allow you to visit any, and all, of the parks for the annual fee. If you’ll be going to a park more than twice a year, you’ll save money with the annual pass.
- Check your restaurant bill to see if a service charge has automatically been added. This is fairly customary in Europe, and I’m starting to see it more often here at home. If there is a service charge, it covers the server’s tip. Feel free to add a little extra if your server has gone above and beyond, though.
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4 opinions for Monday’s Money Saving Tips
samh_
Jul 31, 2006 at 8:55 am
When using a credit card internationally, I would also encourage travelers to keep a watchful eye out for DCC fees. When compounded with the fees that the credit card company may charge, they can add 5% or more to your bill.
Thanks for the shout-out and keep up the good work!
Mary Jo Manzanares
Jul 31, 2006 at 3:06 pm
It all gets so complicated!
That’s why it’s better to figure it all out before you leave home, rather than be surprised when the bill comes in.
Mary Emma Allen
Aug 2, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Regarding visiting National Parks…If you’re a Senior Citizen (62 years of age in this case), you can purchase a one time pass, a Golden Age Passport, that will admit you and the persons accompanying you in a private vehicle. The one my husband got for a small fee (don’t recall just now what it was) is a “lifetime admission permit.”
Mary Jo Manzanares
Aug 2, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Thanks for the tip, Mary Emma. There is some benefit to getting older!
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