banking cards

[gravy4601]

i'm about to start a new bank account and waa wanting to no what banks are found along the trail so that i will be able to cary a bsank card and not have much trouble useing it also a credit card is kinda out of the question seems how i don't have very good credit any advice would be helpfull
also what is youir thoughts on travelers checks

[Survivor Dave]

i'm about to start a new bank account and waa wanting to no what banks are found along the trail so that i will be able to cary a bsank card and not have much trouble useing it also a credit card is kinda out of the question seems how i don't have very good credit any advice would be helpfull
also what is youir thoughts on travelers checks

When you start your hike, notify the bank of when and where you will be using your card. Sometimes when the security department at the bank sees charges not made from your town/state, they reject the charge until you contact them. It's a total pain.

[healthymom]

or perhaps clarification of OP's question.
I will have saved what I think we'll need for our thru. I am not opposed to closing the acct where it is now and moving funds to a different bank.
My question is: which banking system has the greatest representation in towns up the trail. The point being the fewer 'foreign transaction' fees I have, the more of our money we'll be able to spend on what we actually need for the trip.
Thanks!
Dee
healthymom

[mrhughes1982]

I think Wal-mart has pre-paid money cards for students. You could have someone take care of your money and then load it onto your card from the primary card. This way you don't have one card loaded with a whole bunch of cash. I always cash my checks at walmart and have the money put onto a Wal-Mart money card. It's Visa and works like a debit. May want to check into it. You have to pay the service fee at ATM's everywhere that's the only downfall.

[turtle fast]

The fact is you are going to have to pay fees at many ATMs...its unavoidable no matter who you bank with. You have to figure that it is part of the cost of doing business (hiking) to access cash. Travelers checks are not likely to be accepted or be a hassle in these small towns. You obviously don't want to have wads of cash on you either, but taking out a hundred or two here and there from ATMs will help cut down on the number of ATM transactions needed and save some $. This I think is the way to go.

[sliderule]

The fact is you are going to have to pay fees at many ATMs...its unavoidable no matter who you bank with.

It might not be as unavoidable as you think:

https://us.etrade.com/e/t/banking/noatmfees

[BigFoot2002]

I used a debit card on my hikes and paid very few fees.

Get cash back from stores when you resupply. Pay as many things you can with the card.

You can also get up to fifty dollars cash back at any post office with any purchase, like a postcard stamp for your mom.