# When was the last time you used a traveler's check? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102 "2018-06-14T18:27:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/1 "2018-06-14T18:27:34Z")
For me, it was 1994 on a cruise ship. I brought a bunch of $100 US checks and cashed them at the ship’s purser’s office. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/2 "2018-06-14T18:29:21Z")
The first and last time I used them was in 2008 on a trip to Thailand. I thought it was something you were supposed to do. Turns out to just be a hassle, and it’s easier to just use the ATM there to withdraw cash. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/3 "2018-06-14T18:29:56Z")
Last time for me was 1996 in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/4 "2018-06-14T18:34:47Z")
1984, road trip across the USA. I don’t think I had ATM card in those days.(fo you youngsters, it was hard to get someone to take a personal check when you were out town) ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/5 "2018-06-14T18:38:15Z")
1. I had some left over from my 1985-87 stay in the UK that I would use for short trips, and finished them off when I went back to London and changed the last ones for pounds. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/6 "2018-06-14T18:49:09Z")
I think the last time was 1979. I had just graduated from college, was taking off on a lengthy road trip, and I didn’t have any credit cards. I had an ATM card from my bank, but ATMs were still a relatively new thing and there wasn’t any guarantee that you’d be able to find one that would accept your card. The prospect of losing my cash (or having it stolen) and being stranded somewhere with no money was not appealing. If you tried to use a traveler’s check now, people probably wouldn’t know what it was. Hell, even back then you’d occasionally have cashiers saying “What is this?” and when you said “it’s a traveler’s check,” they’d point to a NO CHECKS sign. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/7 "2018-06-14T18:54:59Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever used one. I think my mom used them once when we were on vacation in the 80s. I just bring along sufficient cash for my trip (and have never lost it), use my credit card for what I can, and exchange for cash to use when I go across the Atlantic since my cards have a large per-transaction charge for currency exchange. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/8 "2018-06-14T19:24:45Z")
1980 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/9 "2018-06-14T19:31:28Z")
I am 45 and have never used one or even seen one used despite travelling extensively. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/10 "2018-06-14T19:36:41Z")
It’s been ages. They are totally a hassle. Especially now that CC’s are so universally accepted, and ATM’s are all over the place. And I really have no problem walking around with a bunch of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/11 "2018-06-14T20:14:10Z")
I used to carry a few hundred in traveler’s checks on long or overseas trips as emergency funds (my bank would issue them for free). Probably the last time I did that was 15 years ago. Last time I actually used one was probably early 90s (my company would give you a pack of traveler’s checks before each business trip). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/12 "2018-06-14T20:36:46Z")
I’m 37 and have never used one. By the time I was traveling anywhere on my own, there was really no reason not to just use a credit card. Working in a retail store, I’ve seen them over the years, but it’s probably been 5-10 years since the last time we got one. At this point, I’m not even sure we’d take them (we stopped taking regular checks just a few months ago) and I’d be surprised if any of my high school cashiers would even know what it was (I didn’t the first time I got one back in the 90’s). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/13 "2018-06-14T21:36:39Z")
I _think_ on my first trip overseas to the UK in 1998 I had some travelers checks, and I think I ended up using them solely because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting them refunded. I figured out on the first day in London that ATM machines worked just fine for getting cash, and credit cards worked just fine as well. So there wasn’t any real need for the travelers checks once that was established. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/14 "2018-06-14T22:09:26Z")
2004 in Japan, because I wasn’t sure how accessible an ATM would be. Otherwise, I don’t think I’ve seen one in more than 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/15 "2018-06-14T22:16:26Z")
1971-ish. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/16 "2018-06-14T22:23:44Z")
Around 2000 and locally. I don’t really travel, and they were a hassle to use. There was some deal where my mom would get them from her employer and she would give them to me as gifts. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/17 "2018-06-15T00:02:06Z")
I’ve never used nor even seen one, and tbh I’m not even entirely sure how they work. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/18 "2018-06-15T00:26:59Z")
I used them in 1984 on a trip to Europe, but I don’t think since then. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/19 "2018-06-15T00:43:43Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I’ve never used nor even seen one, and tbh I’m not even entirely sure how they work. You purchased a “book” of traveler’s checks (or cheques) at a bank or [American Express.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveler%27s_cheque) They came in standard denominations like $20, 50, or 100. Each check/cheque was signed by you in the presence of the bank teller, and were serially numbered. To use one, you signed again, on another line, showing that your signatures matched. The merchant or bank could deposit them just like any other check, with a pretty good idea that they weren’t forged. Even if they were, American Express, or whoever issued them, were pretty good at guaranteeing against loss, else why would they be accepted? If they were stolen from a hotel room, as long as you kept the serial numbers safe, you could get your stolen money back, and supposedly, the thief would have a hard time converting them to cash. A small fee was often charged to the purchaser, but the advantage to the issuer was the float, i.e., the interest-free loan you were making to the bank between the time the check was issued until it was cashed, sometimes never. Although they officially never expired, I found some 20 year-old checks at the bottom of a drawer once, and had to pay 20% of the face value to redeem them, since the elapsed time was suspicious to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-was-the-last-time-you-used-a-travelers-check/816102/20 "2018-06-15T00:48:38Z")
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