My daughter snagged a nice spring break trip this year with some other students at her school. She's in Paris, and I know for a fact that she visited the Eiffel Tower and that she went to a theatre production. How do I know this? Because she called me this morning from Paris with the news that she had purchased tickets to the Eiffel Tower and to the theatre with her credit card.

What would prompt my daughter to call me from Paris to let me know about this financial tidbit? She called because the credit card is, essentially, in my name. And, I had put the fear of something into her over the holidays over how to use that card. Obviously that little conversation we had in December had sunk in.

She was contrite, but after she explained the situation, I assured her that her decision to use the card was more than appropriate. It appears that she and her classmates never had a chance to visit a bank after their arrival in France, as their class schedule kept them from this essential task (no money for caf? or cr?me glac?e!). But, they did use a money exchange out of desparation, and she learned that the difference between a money exchange and a bank was vast when it came to currency exchange charges.

I thought about telling her to exchange some cash for Euros at her local bank before she departed, but I didn't. So, while her experiences are worth their weight in gold, I felt a twinge of guilt and some regret about omitting that information. I don't want you to commit the same error, so here's a list of everything I told my daughter, minus #1 and #2:

1. If you plan to travel overseas, take part of your spending money and exchange it for the currency that you'll need at your local bank. Although a fee may be attached to this transaction, it won't be anything like #2.
   
   
2. Don't exchange your money at an overseas money exchange. These money exchange businesses are similar to the ones here in the U.S. that will lend you money in advance on your paycheck at an exorbitant fee. In my daughter's case, she purchased a mere 25 Euros for US $60. This, when one US dollar equals .750860 Euros. She should have walked away with at least 40 Euros after a small currency exchange fee.
   
   
3. Don't exchange your money all at one time, if possible. Take only what you might need for two to three days to the bank for exchange. Don't go to the bank daily, as you might become a target for a thief.
   
   
4. Lean over the bank counter slightly so that others won't see how much money you're holding in any given bank transaction.
   
   
5. Try to avoid conspicuous behaviors and clothing so that you don't draw attention to yourself. Whether you draw attention to yourself or not, don't carry a lot of money on you and don't carry any unnecessary credit cards.
   
   
6. The place to keep any extra cash or credit cards as well as your passport is in your hotel safe (carry a copy of that passport when you leave your hotel room).
   
   
7. Despite popular opinion, Traveler's Checks only manage to point you out as a tourist and as bait for theft. Plus, exchange rates for Traveler's Checks can run seven percent or more, even at foreign banks.
   
   
8. Always call your credit card company to inform them about your trip before you leave. The company might deny your charges in a foreign country if they haven't been informed. This is just one method that a credit card company might use to help avoid misuse of your card.
   
   
9. Although most American credit card issuers won't tell you this, you may be charged with currency-conversion fees for foreign purchases made on your credit card, debit and check cards, and ATM cash withdrawals.
   
   
10. Yes, you have access to ATM machines in most countries. Just as in the U.S., be wary of any machine that isn't connected directly to a commercial bank.
    
    
11. With all this said, sometimes the exchange rates offered by credit cards are better than a cash exchange at a foreign bank, and they're definitely better than rates offered at a money exchange.

Finally, you might not be aware that your new credit card and/or passport contains what is known as RFID, or a Radio Frequency Identification chip. Banks are not required to inform you about this fact when they issue new cards. This RFID technology can be wonderful - it's basically the same technology that's used in pass cards that you wave over a reader at the gas station or in a fast-food restaurant. But its use in credit cards can be problematic.

RFID credit cards can be read (swiped like a regular credit card) with a simple RFID reader that anyone can purchase for about $200.00 at Amazon.com. And, cards can be read from up to at least four inches away, possibly more, with a scanner. So, theft of your information from RFID credit cards could be more at risk than the cards with the magnetic strip.

Although most credit card companies may reassure you that your card information has been encrypted and that little useful information is contained on that chip embedded in your credit card (which you may or may not be able to detect), the safest place for any credit card is at home or in a hotel safe when you travel. There are other options, and you can read more about them in an article about RFID credit cards.

Other than this little problem, my daughter sounded happy. When I asked her if she was having a good time, she responded with the typical teenage, "Duh?" That sound was music to my ears.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin