I'm off on a RTW trip in October for 12 months, taking in Asia, Australia, NZ and the USA.

But I have no idea what is the best way to deal with Bank Accounts ? has anybody got any good advise, ie - which UK Bank to go with, what accounts, cheapest travel exchange etc ?????

I travelled through Australia and found ant card with Cirrus was accepted by most banks ( mine was Royal Bank of Scotland ). Also Visa was handy through most of the world.

Rich,

I think all the major UK banks are much the same (despite what their advertising might suggest) so I'd stick with whichever bank you've already got an account with. If you can get a trusted relative or friend to manage your finances for you whilst you're away (eg checking your bank statements and credit card bills) then it's a great help - my father did this for me when I went RTW.

ATM (cashpoint machines)are everywhere these days, so take a suitable card that's affiliated with the Maestro or Cirrus networks (see the symbols on the back of the card). Also at least one credit card - you'll need one to rent a car in the USA, for example. Additionally, get US dollar travellers cheques - American Express seems to be the most widely recognised brand. A small amount of US dollar cash is also useful.

Have a good trip!
Pet

Rich

Smile: the internet bank is good for keeping track of your finances whilst you are abroad as it is all online. The only problem we´ve found is that they charge 2% each time we use an ATM, but we´ve decided that that seems to be the safest way to access money over a long period of time, rather than carrying travellers cheques and still paying to cash them in.

Happy travelling.

I am going to Oz for 8 months and having spoken to the bank i am in (Barclays) I can draw out cash from most bank machines in Oz but will get charged a 1.5% fee each time. I do not want to wate all my hard earned savings in processing fees so have figured oput that the best choice is to open an Oz bank account (pretty easy with correct ID) when i get there and i have signed my mum to access my account here while i am away and when the Oz account is sorted they will send over my cash for a fee of £20.
I think all banks will have similar policies so i would recommend local bank accounts and that way if your cards are lost/stolen you can get replacements quicker and can get easier access to your money without service charges.
Hope this helps!

I would agree that opening a local bank account is a sensible option if you're staying in one country for a considerable length of time, as the above traveller intends to do - particularly if you're working in that country.

However, I'm not sure that it's a practical option for the average RTW traveller visiting many countries and spending perhaps a couple of months at most in each.

But, Rich, the choice is yours!

Pete

If you're going through different countries on different continents, you'll need to be prepared with a combination of ways to access your money.

Make sure that your bank has online banking, and learn how to clear your cache and quit a browser in a public internet cafe. Don't use online banking in a seriously dodgy internet cafe.

Take:
-as much cash as you are comfortable losing (in US dollars is the best way)
-lots of backup traveler's checks (Amex or Thomas Cook)
-an ATM card with a 4-digit code (some machines don't accept longer codes)
-a Visa card (some countries accept only Visa and not Mastercard)
-an American Express card if you can. Good for getting traveler's checks, cashing a personal check (take just a few) at any Amex office, and receiving mail (see Amex website for addresses).

www.MariesWorldTour.com

Nationwide Building Society is the best UK bank account when travelling. easy to use internet banking and no charges for cash withdrawal worldwide.

agree, nationwide tis good. internet banking is the way to go, so easy!

but i ave heard that HSBC is a good bank to go wiv, did try to create a account but didn't do it in time.. but there supposed to be good (and based in asia!!)