How to travel with debit cards

There seems to be a myth that debit cards won't work while traveling. The truth is that debit cards work just as easily as credit cards and you won't have to endure the high interest rate of a credit card when the statement arrives a few weeks later. If you must fly, all major airlines and travel agents take debit cards and it's easy to book a trip. You can use your debit card at hotels, AirBNBs, and most eateries. Some hotels will place a temporary hold on your account for the amount of the bill to cover incidentals. You can avoid actual incidentals by avoiding parties in your hotel room. To be sure, you'll want to keep some extra money in your account and ask your specific hotel if they'll be putting a hold on your debit card during your stay. That's usually easy to do if you plan ahead.

Renting a vehicle? Debit cards are no problem. Similar to hotels, many car rental places will temporarily put a hold on your account ($100-$500) because they don't know how good of a driver you may or may not be. If you still believe that you can't use a debit card to rent a vehicle, you've bought into the old myth. If you're not going to be driving much on your trip, consider public transportation. That way, you don't have to deal with a rental or parking costs. Of course you can dine, fuel up, adventure, and shop most anywhere with a debit card. The key is to be aware of how much money you have in your account before you travel to cover your costs.

Make sure you contact greenpenny before your travels verify your daily limit. This can be temporarily raised during traveling. It's also a great idea to have a back up plan in case your cards or mobile wallet is lost or stolen. If you have specific questions about international travel and the use of ATMs, contact us, we're happy to help you. Let's break the myth, it's really easy to travel the world with a debit card.