More tips on travel spending options

CNN Travel is a pretty good location for reliable travel tips. The information here offers the pros and cons of traveling with various types of currency forms. On our trip, you will need access to some cash, so while pre-paid credit cards or bank check cards are safest, you will have to plan ahead and have some cash.

Most students on my previous trip found the best option was to have a combination of credit/debit/check cards for larger souvenir and food purchases, and cash for smaller purchases like in-hotel purchases, vending, water, extra fees at sites, etc...

You can bring U.S. currency to Europe and change it there (for a fee), or you can buy Euros from your bank (for a fee) before we leave. Since you'll be losing money either way, I recommend hanging on to U.S. dollars as long as possible, so that in the airports and on the plane you'll be using fee-free money still. When you do change your cash, try to plan ahead so that you only have to do it once to avoid extra fees.

Using ATMs in Italy and Spain will work, but there may be a pretty high fee - talk to your bank for details. Again, try to limit to one or two uses once we're overseas to reduce the fees you pay.

Next meeting: Feb. 29 during PRIDE