O/T Travel to Brazil
Lars/J. Robert Scott
7 years ago
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Lars/J. Robert Scott
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
Traveling w/o a credit card
Comments (40)Either you trust yourself to handle money/credit responsibly, or you don't. It's hard to develop that self-discipline of not buying something just because you want it. That feeling of instant gratification is alluring and addictive, and some folks can't step away from it. Many do it by reducing the temptation to begin with, which is what cutting up cards does. Some tips on traveling abroad: - Find out how much your card charges in transaction fees on foreign purchases. Capital One, for example, doesn't charge any extra fees. There are others; if you are doing a lot of overseas travel, apply for one. - Make sure whatever card you use has the new CHIP AND PIN technology. Most US cards only use Chip and Signature tech, which is very outmoded by global standards. Both American Express and Diners Club use CaP tech, but one traveler reported having to wait two hours in line at ORLY because almost an entire planeload of US travelers were queued up to use the only train ticket window with a human teller. The automated ticket kiosk only took exact change or a CaP card. The traveler said he couldn't even get his airline, Air France, to change a 20-Euro note. From a Liz Pulliam Weston/MSN Money article last year: "....It's not that your credit cards are useless overseas. Most merchants and travel providers in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Canada -- the areas that have adopted the smart-card technology -- still accept U.S. credit cards, says Odysseas Papadimitriou, who travels to Europe a few times a year and is the chief executive of credit card comparison site Card Hub. But U.S. cards, which rely on older magnetic-strip technology, simply won't work in machines that require users to punch in a personal identification number, or PIN, that's matched against a computer chip embedded in the card. U.S. debit cards won't work in these machines either, because they lack the all-important chip. You could find yourself: • Trapped in a parking lot that relies on automated kiosks to exit. • Unable to buy gas at a pay-at-the-pump station. • Prevented from buying bus, subway or rail tickets. • Stopped at toll booths that require chip-and-PIN cards. Some travelers report they've also encountered problems with clerks who don't know how to process a swipe-card transaction or merchants who refuse to accept U.S. cards, believing they're less secure. Such problems seem to be more common as time passes and fewer people are familiar with the older technology, especially in Europe, said Dan Ray, the editor-in-chief of CreditCards.com. "The odds are greater now that you'll have some trouble," Ray said. "Europeans are less likely to have the machinery or the people who are eager to process your card." Your debit card will work in overseas ATMs, but you may want to shorten your PIN if it's longer than four digits. Many foreign ATMs don't accept longer PINs. Also, foreign ATM keypads often don't have letters. If the only way you remember your PIN is by typing in a word into the keypad (say your password is 9-6-7-3, but you remember it by typing in the corresponding letters W-O-R-D), you should memorize the digits before you go." ========== HTH!...See MoreAlitalia airlines - good or not? (somewhat O/T)
Comments (51)I consider this forum to be a community - at least that was how it started out. It is certainly not meant to be as narrowly defined as TripAdvisor, which is larger and varied enough to have many specific subforums. Gardenweb also has a travel forum, but it has very few posts, and so it is rather pointless to expect to get much information there. We used to have a dedicated "conversations" section in this forum, but it did not survive the transition from Gardenweb to Houzz, even though many people still wanted it. Since we no longer have that section and many of us still feel like a community, we occasionally have O/T threads - none of which are meant to offend. As for Alitatlia, I will say that I had a very good experience with that airline, but that was two years ago, and I would think that you would prefer to read more recent reviews, since the airline has experienced labor problems lately. I hope it survives, one way or another, as I intend to go back to Italy in the fairly near future, and it had the only non-stop flights from LAX to Rome. I posted the question on this forum because I am familiar with many people who regularly post here, I value their opinions, and I know that many have been to Italy in the past. If I post on TripAdvisor, I have to rely on the kindness of strangers, but I have gotten good advice there as well, especially for Fiji, and I learned about the Fiji forums on TripAdvisor on this forum. By the way, I did a Google search for Alitalia and did not find this thread or forum at all, and so I'm not sure how you found this!...See MoreO/T... best wishes for Tuesday...
Comments (524)There is a lot of passion here. Rightfully so. Rose gardeners are especially passionate people. We attempt to learn, are not afraid to act, and enjoy doing. What I have found, in this antique rose forum, is that I am able to learn from others here, read their perspectives, then take action in my own garden in order to create my own experience. Conversations about roses within this forum are wonderful, but the magic happens in my own yard when I apply what I learned in the conversation. I believe the same can be said for this particular thread. Talking about our different political perspectives is interesting. But the real magic happens through our actions, regardless of where we stand on the left or on the right. This can be something as simple as supporting a news organization that aligns with your own perspective or signing petitions. It can also be more involved and personal, such as volunteering your time and expertise. Regardless of where you stand politically, you can see an area of need within this current political climate and choose fill it. Even being just one person, we can each make a difference. That is obvious within each of our gardens, as we cultivate the soil. We can also cultivate change in other areas of life too. I said this previously, but I volunteer at the VA hospital, at community kitchens, at an elder life program at a local hospital, and also by speaking to youth and women's groups about health and fitness. I do this because I see areas of need within populations of the elderly, veterans, and women and children... areas I have skills and knowledge in. Even though I was a single parent for many years, even though I work, and even though I am going back to school. I find the time because it is important to me... and each time I volunteer I leave feeling as though I have gained more than I could ever give. I also feel as though I am taking actions based on my beliefs and making a real difference. I volunteer side by side with other democrats and republicans with many different political views. But we each saw an area of need and chose to fill it. There is common ground. Regardless of my own political views, regardless of the political climate, regardless of the political choices being made in our country and others, I choose to be the change I personally want to see in the world. I am only one person, but my actions matter. I believe each of yours do too. The people within this forum are absolute do-ers. I completely believe in each of your abilities, because I have seen what you can each do in your gardens... and I personally believe the same life skills from gardening translate over into so many other areas. Action for change can be small. It doesn't have to be something that burdens you. It can be uplifting. Here's a quick article with ideas of different ways you can be politically active. I especially like #18-25. http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/15/politics/ways-to-be-more-politically-active-trnd/...See Moreo/t... if you live in Pennsylvania....American Gardens t.v. series..
Comments (19)...just to say... part 2 of this series has just been shown here... it may be on youtube very shortly... I'm sure someone will put it up, they usually do.. ..it's mostly about early days of Independence gardens... visiting Monticello.. but I loved the segment on Charleston.. the Magnolia gardens and others there... then he went to Miami to Vizcaya and New Orleans... ..made me laugh... lady in Charleston told Monty her roses are 'annuals'... he said he hadn't heard that term used for roses before.... well, he better come see me - please keep up Monty, I've been doing it for years..... youtube link...See Moredcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
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