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Old 08-12-2015, 01:52 AM   #21
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I highly recommend sewing in a hidden pocket into your pants or shorts. The pockets are more comfortable than wearing something around your waist or your neck. Just do a google search for "Amazon hidden pockets".
I did this on two pairs of pants/shorts for our current vacation. Sewed hidden pockets to the inside of the waistband. I had balances due at vacation rentals that were larger than I felt comfortable having in my wallet. One, especially, involved carrying more than 1K Euros for more than a week because we had a week in between that was outside the Euro zone (went to London the week before our week in Paris.)

On the whole I haven't had any issues with security. We saw some potential pick pockets on the Paris metro but we were very cautious with how we wore our backpacks and did not allow opportunities.
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Old 08-12-2015, 10:13 AM   #22
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions. You guys rock!
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Old 08-12-2015, 02:04 PM   #23
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I like this Eagle Creek money holder with loops that your belt fits through. This way you don't have to dig down into your pants, or do some embarrassing maneuver to get to your money.

RFID Blocker Hidden Pocket - Money Belts & Neck Wallets | Eagle Creek
I have one similar to this and it worked very well. Easy for me to use but virtually impossible for a pickpocket to get at.
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Old 08-13-2015, 09:20 AM   #24
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We are leaving for Greece later this month and will be take a lot of euros.

What I have done in the past for travelling in Asia, Africa, etc is use a neck pounch. Hangs around my neck, enough room for money, credit cards, even a passport. Then I keep a little walking around money in my pocket
I much prefer this to a money belt...but everyone has their preferences.
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Old 08-13-2015, 01:41 PM   #25
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How about American Express Traveler Cheques? You can get them in euros and they are safe and "may be refunded if lost or stolen". You can keep some on your person and some in your hotel safe or hotel room.

I assume that any bank and many merchants would honor them or most hotels will cash them for guests. I admit, I haven't used them for decades, but Greece may be a special situation where they are worth the cost.


https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...s-cheques.html
+1 This was my first thought too. I used to be able to get them from AAA for free here in the past.

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Old 08-13-2015, 02:05 PM   #26
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You will have a difficult time finding a place that takes travellers cheques. And if you do, there will be a service charge attached. The only exception may be in some of the international 5 star hotels. Most banks will charge a hefty service charge. Handling paper is expensive.
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Old 08-13-2015, 09:11 PM   #27
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I like this Eagle Creek money holder with loops that your belt fits through. This way you don't have to dig down into your pants, or do some embarrassing maneuver to get to your money.

RFID Blocker Hidden Pocket - Money Belts & Neck Wallets | Eagle Creek
That's the exact same one I use - works well for me.
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Old 08-13-2015, 10:25 PM   #28
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How about American Express Traveler Cheques? You can get them in euros and they are safe and "may be refunded if lost or stolen". You can keep some on your person and some in your hotel safe or hotel room.

I assume that any bank and many merchants would honor them or most hotels will cash them for guests. I admit, I haven't used them for decades, but Greece may be a special situation where they are worth the cost.


https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...s-cheques.html
No one will take them. Really. Thing of the past.
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Old 08-14-2015, 12:17 AM   #29
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I like this Eagle Creek money holder with loops that your belt fits through. This way you don't have to dig down into your pants, or do some embarrassing maneuver to get to your money.

RFID Blocker Hidden Pocket - Money Belts & Neck Wallets | Eagle Creek
My husband has one of these. He likes to say "There is no safer place than near the crotch of a 63 year old man." LOL.
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Old 08-14-2015, 07:10 AM   #30
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I'm just curious... don't Greek merchants accept credit cards? If not, then why not? From the merchant's perspective they get their money in their bank right away at a small discount so what is not to like about that? Plus, it is a convenience for customers so they'll get more business.

The only "bad" thing is there is a record of the sale so it makes it harder to cheat on income taxes than cash, so perhaps that is their reason for not taking credit cards? That between the CC fees and the taxes that they have to pay because they can't cheat the cost is high so they won't take them?

If so, then they deserve what they get. I personally would be very hesitant to travel with a lot of cash on my person, even in the US, not to mention a financially troubled country with high unemployment.
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Old 08-14-2015, 08:18 AM   #31
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Many of the smaller family hotels do not accept credit cards. They want cash. Same with some restaurants. Also, not at all unusual to find those that do accept credit cards will not accept Amex because of Amex high vendor fees. This trip we are taking about $2500. Partly because of the situation in Greece (everyone wants cash) and partly because of the exchange rate. Our currency has been dropping and the euro now costs about eight percent more that what we paid.

And for those that do, it is not unusual to obtain a discount by paying in cash-as much as 10 percent.

Alternatively, some of those that do accept credit cards do so with the addition of a 3 percent service charge.


We just booked/paid for five nights in an island hotel in Sept. We did pay in advance and we did use our credit card. We received a twenty percent discount but we had to pay a 2 percent fee for using the card-so net 18 points.


It is not uncommon for us to travel with as much as $1200 in cash when we are in countries like Italy or Thailand. Never an issue but we are careful. Would we do this in US or Canada? NO, because there is no advantage. When we are travelling we typically withdraw the largest amount of cash we can from an ATM-sometimes simply to pay for a hotel stay. We pay prevailing FX fees (no admin upcharge), walk back to our hotel, and score a 10 percent discount.
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Old 08-14-2015, 08:39 AM   #32
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I'm just curious... don't Greek merchants accept credit cards? If not, then why not?
Tax evasion.

Same reason many folks want tips in cash.

Here's a reference

Greece Struggles to Get Citizens to Pay Their Taxes - WSJ
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Old 08-14-2015, 08:42 AM   #33
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That is sort of what I figured. Then like I said before, they deserve whatever they get.

While I would like to visit there, no way until I can do so without carrying a wad of cash with me.
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Old 08-14-2015, 08:51 AM   #34
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While I would like to visit there, no way until I can do so without carrying a wad of cash with me.
I agree. There are plenty of wonderful places to visit, many of which make it easy for tourists to feel safe.
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Old 08-14-2015, 09:37 AM   #35
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Why be all touristy with all these gadgets. Just do what you normally do with your money and be aware of your surroundings.
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Old 08-14-2015, 02:34 PM   #36
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I really is not like a big wad of cash in our wallets. I wear a neck pouch and keep the money there, along with my credit cards.

We never, ever flash money or credit cards about. We see tourists doing this sometimes and just shake our heads. They may as well have a big red flashing S sign on top of their head.
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Old 08-14-2015, 03:01 PM   #37
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I once was the victim of a pickpocket at the foot of an escalator going into the Paris subway system. A man tripped, and people started falling on top of him in a pile. And the pickpockets went into a frenzy.

When in Europe, we use credit cards anytime we can. We don't carry many Euros, and then it's in a pouch around our waist under our clothes. We go with 2 ATM cards with enough $ to get us through our trip.

Greece is not in normal times, and everyone's going in there with a pocket full of Euros.
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Old 08-14-2015, 03:26 PM   #38
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A friend went to Greece in April, before all the drama. She reported that nobody would accept credit cards. She used hers only twice, in the airport. It was common knowledge that cash purchases were used to avoid taxes.
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Old 08-14-2015, 04:08 PM   #39
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The person who did the bathroom renovations in our last home was paid in cash...this was part of the deal. Lots of cash deals where I live in Canada.

One result...over the past number of years there has been a huge increase in the number of $50. and $100. bill denominations that are in circulation. Cleary not as bad as Greece or Italy but still fare from uncommon.
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Old 08-14-2015, 04:26 PM   #40
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I once was the victim of a pickpocket at the foot of an escalator going into the Paris subway system. A man tripped, and people started falling on top of him in a pile. And the pickpockets went into a frenzy.
This is half of the problem, IMHO. European pickpockets are not only more prevalent, but far more skilled (due to constant practice) than their US counterparts.

The other part of the problem is that credit card fraud (theft, copying, skimming, bogus charges, etc.) is at least as common over there as in the US.

So whatever you do will be some sort of compromise. Personally, I prefer to use cash as much as possible to avoid being locked out of my credit cards while traveling. But instead of carrying a lot of cash, I get new infusions of local currency from ATMs on a regular basis. My Schwab debit card has no fees of any kind and gives me a good conversion rate, and I try to only use ATMs that are inside a bank building.
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