Tips to Take the Stress out of Travel

Vacations are meant to be relaxing, but under planning and overspending can lead to financial stressors. Consider the following tips to reduce travel-related anxiety and help you make the most out of your time away—whether journeying across state lines or overseas.

1. Create a travel budget. To help you make well-informed financial decisions while away without compromising your long-term savings goals when you return.
2. Think mini getaway. Taking shorter, more frequent trips versus one big faraway bonanza not only requires less planning, and is generally less expensive, but offers more opportunities to unwind year-round.
3. Plan in advance. Trip planning can be stressful. Research destinations, make reservations, prepare itineraries, and create a budget. Create a reasonable timeline and budget and ensure you have your affairs in order (impending deadlines, medication needs, and baby-sitting, dog-sitting or house-sitting arrangements).
4. Control what you can. Unexpected surprises—flight delays, lost or stolen items, can quickly sour your vacation mindset. Travel insurance can help you recoup some of your expenses and soften the blow to help with smooth sailing. Some credit cards—especially those designed for travel—offer protections for delayed flights, lost luggage, trip cancellation, accident insurance and more.
5. Accessing accounts abroad. When traveling outside the United States, make sure to inform your trusted community banker of your plans to avoid an account freeze or declines for “suspicious activity.” Debit card fraud has the potential to cost you time and money and can completely disrupt your life! We can help to protect you and your money. Whenever you plan a trip that involves using your debit card, we can place a travel notice on your account. Simply call our customer support team at 877-788-0288, visit your local branch or send us a message through online banking. If you forget to contact us and your card is declined, ask the merchant if you can do a PIN based transaction. When your PIN is entered, the transaction should process.

As a reminder, you can protect yourself from debit card fraud as well as control other aspects of your debit card by downloading our MyCardRules app. With MyCardRules™, you decide when, where and who uses your cards. You can turn your card on or off, set spending limits and get alerts, all with a few quick taps. Should you lose your debit card, you can instantly turn it off so no further activity is authorized.

As always, remember that as your trusted community bank, we are here to help. Please consider these tips and enjoy a well-deserved vacation. Contact the team at Peoples Bank for all of your personal banking needs.