Traveling is a lot of fun until you encounter problems when you need to pay for goods or services. When people make travel plans, they are more focused on booking tickets, deciding which hotel to stay in, and looking for the top spots that tourists visit in that country. While all of those details are important and they make traveling more pleasurable, there is one detail that many people fail to research and consider seriously: deciding whether to pay cash or use your credit card during your travels.
Most people are used to carrying cash with them when they travel because they’re simply used to it. A long time ago, cash may be the best option since many countries did not yet accept credit cards as payment, but now that a good travel credit card is accepted almost everywhere, should you still be carrying cash? Here are good reasons why using a credit card is better when you’re traveling:
- Easy to Carry
Credit cards are small and thin, so you can simply carry them in your wallet without a hassle. Most credit cards have a starting credit limit of $1,500 CAD. Those who have been using the same credit card company for years will have a much higher credit limit. If you were to carry that in cash, it would be bulky if you keep it in your wallet.
- Can be Replaced if Stolen or if You Lose It
If you are carrying cash with you at all times, other people could definitely see it when you open your wallet. This will attract criminals. Wherever you go, there is always a chance that you could be a victim of pickpockets. If your wallet is stolen and the criminal is not apprehended, you can never get your money back.
If you use a credit card, on the other hand, you can simply report the card stolen and you will get a replacement. If you have the mobile app of your bank, you can chat with customer service or call their customer service number using your mobile phone. Most credit card companies would send you a replacement immediately when you’re traveling.
- Accurate Exchange Rates
When you travel and you carry your own currency such as Canadian Dollars, you will need to go to a currency exchange outlet in the country that you’re traveling to and convert that to the local currency. The downside to this is that not all currency exchange outlets have the same exchange rate.
Using a credit card will almost always give you accurate exchange rates. Whatever the exchange rate is in the bank will apply in your transaction. You don’t have to worry about getting the right value of your money.
- Use Credit Cards for Online Transactions
Many travellers have experienced changing hotels when they’ve reached their destination because of many different reasons, such as the hotel that they booked was unsatisfactory. They’ve also booked airline tickets because they want to explore another city or they’ve missed their flight. When these things happen, it’s much more convenient to open your mobile phone and make your transactions.
If you were traveling and only using cash, you will have to find a ticketing outlet or go to the airline office to book your tickets. This also means that you cannot make a hotel reservation until you have reached your destination, and that could be bothersome because you won’t know if they have a room for you or not.
- Get Air Miles and Reward Points
One of the perks of using a credit card is that most credit card companies give you air miles when you book a plane ticket and reward points for everything else. Most large companies give great reward points when you use your card for shopping in a foreign country. There are credit card holders who could buy a round-trip ticket to a foreign country from the points that they have earned. This is not possible when you’re spending cash all the time.
Conclusion
There are many perks of using a credit card when you’re travelling and even when you’re just shopping in your own city. There may be places that still don’t accept credit cards such as some small towns in South East Asia and Africa, so you should do a little research if you’re going to small towns. However, most major cities all over the world accept payment through credit cards, which makes it convenient for everybody. If you are planning to go to small towns, but this wasn’t in your original plan, you can always take cash out from an ATM using your credit card.
