Hey,

For all those who are experienced tour goers, how do you pay for your optionals??

Thanks in Advance

Kristy

quote:

Originally posted by icequeen:
Hey,

For all those who are experienced tour goers, how do you pay for your optionals??

Thanks in Advance

Kristy

Optionals can be paid for in many ways, credit card, cash using any currency or travellers cheques, I don't know that the exchange rate will be all that great if you use travellers cheques. You can also use a combination of the above.

Thanks heaps Missie, That helps me heaps. I was planning to pay for most of my optionals using cash. Glad to know that this is actually an option!!

Thanks heaps for that!

Kristy

icequeen we paid for our optional extras on our Visa card. For food during the day, and extras we paid with euros. You will have no problem whatever way you pay.

Icequeen: I have been on 5 Trafalgar Tours and find paying for optionals by credit card the easiest way to go for several reasons. If you pay by cash that means that you have to be carring a large sum of monies around with you and that is not a good idea. Secondly if you take the funds from an ATM in the country you happen to be in at the time of payment you'll be charged the excahange rate plus a service charge from your bank for a foreign transaction. Thirdly if you put the charges for optionals on your credit card you may not have to pay until the due date for payment comes around which can if timed right be upto a month after you arrive home. I rarley use my visa card except to charge optionals on tours. Purvis

Thanks for the advice. i think we'll be planning to pay for our optionals with our Visa & probally most things during the day if we can, but I know we'll have to have some Eros to pay for the bathrooms, possibly food, (I'd like to use my Visa as much as possible)

Do any of you seasoned travelers have a suggestion for how much cash we might need to keep on hand for small purchases during thday like I described above, espcially if we plan to use our card as much as possible if we can

Thanks in advance!!!!

I calculate about 20 Euro per person per day,for gelato, water, bathroom stops, drinks with dinners, etc. (I do not drink at the bar) I pay lunches, etc with CC, I think this is more than enough, of course, sometimes street souvenir vendors would not take cards and you need cash, but other days you'll spend less. I am not sure if this is accurate now, last time in Western Europe was in 06.

Thank You, thank you Californian

We always use are credit crd for optionals and just about for any other purchases. The reason is because it is easy to use, you can always put purchases in question when using a credit card if there are any problems, And most of all for the airline miles (one frequent flyer mile for each dollar spent)!!!

I am flying myself, wife, son and his wife round-trip to London starting 27 August using some of my miles

Not that I'm advocating carrying a lot of cash around but if you do pay for optionals in cash, ask the TD if they will give you a 10% discount if you pay in cash. Many of them will do this if you ask but they don't offer or advertise it. Also be aware of what your bank limits for cash withdrawals are at ATMs. I've seen people get stuck for cash because they had already reached their limit and couldn't withdraw anymore. Banks are lowering the amount of withdrawals allowed for security reasons.

thanks heapsfor your opinions, i will take them on board and go from there.... you have all brought up some good points. i didnt think of bank withdrawal limits and carrying alot of cash around with me. i think that i will probably pay on my card now!

Thanks

Icequeen: I hope we have been a help to you in deciding how to pay for optionals. By the way Happy Traveller 2 what kind of credit card do you have that gives you one airmile for $1.00 Mine is $2.00 per 1 airmile. Can't switch to yours as you're an American and I'm living in the Great White North (Canada, Edmonton, Alberta.). Oh well that just means I'll have to travel twice as much to make up the difference. Just got back from Rome, Venice, Lucerne, Paris and London and heading to Prague, Vienna and Budapest in just over 2months. Why stay home when there's a whole world out there to discover. At my age 73 there is so much to see and so little time to see it all. Purvis

Most of the American airline cards give 1 mile for each $1...whether that will survive with what cuts have been made is always a question...

I know my citibank AA card gives 1 mile for each dollar spent but, and it's a big but, Citibank is one of those near criminal banks that impose a 2% fee on top of the mc 1% fee for foreign currency exchange.

I also have a Capital One card which, again as of this writing, not only doesn't charge a foreign currency fee but eats the 1% visa fee so I save 3% by using Capital One...the question of course becomes is 3% worth it for the miles...for the time being I've taken the 3% but it's really not an open and shut case of which is best.

I also charge everything anywhere credit cards are taken; unfortunately I've had a few discussions with some merchants when I use a credit card and they give me the bs there is a minimum amount needed to use a credit card; invariably there is no sign to this effect and I am used to our American credit card rules which prohibit merchants from setting a minimum to use a credit card (don't think this applies, unfortunately, outside the USA)..but once it is rung up and I give a cc and they say no, my usual response is I don't walk around with that much cash and I guess if you don't take the credit card, you lose the sale. Most of the time, they make a snotty comment under their breath, but take the card. Who gives a you know what, change are I'll never be back to that shop anyway.

Finally, some have reported that some TD's require a down payment for optionals in cash...I, being the arrogant person I am, always refuse and point out to the TD they are required to take credit cards for optionals. Have never been forced to pay any cash for optionals (don't know what kind of rate they use anyway)...with a credit card, the cc company takes care of the exchange.

Yes, unlike some people here who I admire for their restraint, I do not allow myself to be coerced into doing anything I think is wrong.

Our TD requested that if we were able to pay cash for optionals it would make it easier for him as he sometimes had to pay cash out. We still paid with our credit card.

quote:

Originally posted by rmcrf:
Our TD requested that if we were able to pay cash for optionals it would make it easier for him as he sometimes had to pay cash out. We still paid with our credit card.

Nothing wrong with that; as long as it remains a request not a mandate to pay a certain percentage with cash; that they can't do.