Budgeting and Payments

Budgeting

There isn't a real overall budget section to this trip since I am not budgeting for it. I've always been painfully frugal and saved up enough to allow for the time off. I've come around a bit on being frugal and my prevailing point of view is that if I'm going to do something at all I should do it right. If I can't afford the expense I figure I should focus on something that's inherently less expensive, like mopeds or bicycles. At least I'm not into cars or boats or planes, I tell myself.

I decided that I needed to take a trip this summer and in round numbers figured I could afford a used WR250R and bits and set about prepping. As for expenses on the road, we'll see. I'll try to save money by camping, I don't have extravagant tastes so food costs and such should be modest, and I'm in no hurry so I expect good gas mileage.

How and When to Use Debit and Credit (So You Don't Get Your Shit Stolen)

It is worth talking about the mechanics of paying for things on the road, especially outside the US. Since I made it through college without student loans, I've never had much interest in credit cards except to build my credit score. I was planning to pay for my trip as I went using cash and debit. Unfortunately, I got my debit card number stolen as I was getting ready to go and it took a while to dispute the fraudulent charge, get the funds back, and get replacement cards. If I had been using a credit card the dispute process would have been simpler.

On the upside, I learned a lot. Since modern debit cards function as both debit and credit, your PIN code is not needed to make a transaction. All a crook needs is your debit card number. Some banks issue old-style PIN-only debit cards, but I don't know of any that do so without exhorbitant fees when not used at their ATM machines. So don't use a debit card for anything except cash withdrawals; use credit cards with online merchants and at point of sale. It's also a good idea to have more than one debit card at your disposal in case one is stolen. In any case, I ended up replacing my debit card and searching for a second one. I realized very quickly that I didn't need to settle for the 3% transaction fees of my existing cards.

Best Debit Card for Travel: Charles Schwab "Bank High Yield Investor Checking"

I discovered that Charles Schwab "Bank High Yield Investor Checking" offers a debit card with no ATM fees internationally. That means that they reimburse ATM owner fees, and they also do not charge the usual 1-3% international transaction fee assessed by MasterCard or VISA. Despite the intimidating name, there was no minimum to sign up, and no annual fee, but they do hit up two credit bureaus with a hard pull so beware if you have a lot of those in the past 12 months. This account was a huge win for me since I can now get any currency in the world for only the exchange rate. I was also extremely impressed with the call center reps at Schwab, who were based in the US, quick to answer the phone, and responded to my questions competently.

Edit: They will not "enable automatic fraud protection" for the first 6 months of having an account, meaning that you will have to call each time they "detect fraud" and block a transaction outside of your home area. Make sense? No? I don't get it either, but this card is for cash withdrawals only so no big deal.

Best Credit Card for Travel: Chase Sapphire Preferred

I also applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. Despite the $95/year fee, it has a massive 25,000 point signing bonus that can be applied to planes or hotels, a flexibility that is the key feature of the card. Like the Schwab debit card, it has zero international transaction fees. An alternative is CapitalOne, which has no international transaction fees on any of its cards, with no annual fee. However, I have heard from FlyerTalk.com forums that CapitalOne generally offers low credit limits and has poorer customer service. For people who fly alot, particularly on business, the Chase British Airways and Chase Continental Presidential Plus cards are also worth considering. I did not look at the APR on any of these cards since I do not run a balance. FlyerTalk.com forums are a fantastic resource for anyone looking to get the most out of their credit cards.