Before embarking upon our trip and blogging about our future (mis)adventures, we thought it would be helpful to list some of the useful nuggets we've acquired in preparation for our time away. While some of these may seem rather pedestrian, they may prove far more helpful to the general traveller than say, descriptions of sea iguanas or missives about Guatemalan cuisine.
While I (Wilson) have been known to offer copious amounts of unsolicited advice, much of it going unheeded, I really think some of this is really quite helpful and I wish I'd been aware of it on previous trips abroad.
Firstly, I'd always assumed those pesky foreign transaction costs charged by banks and credit cards for international use were unavoidable nuisances. I now know this is not so. The usual credit cards I use from Citibank and BofA charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases abroad, while my usual ATM card charges $5.00 plus 1% for use of ATMs outside the US. Even AMEX charges 1% for foreign purchases. While this doesn't sound like much, it can add up over time. I now know that Capital One credit cards do not charge any foreign transaction fee (Discover Card doesn't either - but who accepts Discover?). While I've always enjoyed Capital One commercials (I'm a big fan of college mascots and rampaging Goths), I can't believe they don't market this feature. Also, Etrade Bank allows use of foreign ATMs without any service charges (other than those imposed by the foreign bank). I imagine many banks without extensive ATM networks may have similar programs.
Another happy discovery was something called a Hash Pass. Agnes and I will have to manage many of our accounts and payments remotely by using public internet cafes and the like. So obviously security is a big concern since any one of these could be using a host of key loggers or screenshot loggers to nab our passwords. Hash Pass is a program that generates a password based off a series of keystrokes and moused in code typed into the program. You then paste the resulting code (which are blacked out) into the appropriate location before logging on. The resulting password can be up to 128 characters long. You need to change all your passwords to match the one created by the program, hopefully from home. You can then transfer the program onto a USB key and use it to log onto your sensitive sites. Since your actual password is never typed in and never shows up on the computer, there is no way for key loggers or screenshot loggers to snatch your passwords. Hash Pass can be found here:
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/hashpass.htm
I believe it is a $10 program.
I originally thought that I might be able to manage our accounts on an iphone, thinking erroneously that the Global Data plan offered by AT&T would suffice. However, this plan is designed primarily for use in Europe. And the plan is not valid in most Latin American countries so downloading web pages could be incredibly expensive. For instance, at the $.02/kb rate, my one week's worth of browsing in Germany would have cost $900 in Central America (equal to one month's worth of Spanish tutoring, including room and board).
In prepping for the trip, we have also discovered two helpful airline websites, kayak.com and vayama.com. I imagine a lot of folks have heard of kayak. It's one of those sites that fetches airline ticket prices from a bunch of other sources (orbitz, expedia, priceline, etc.). Vayama, which can also can be included in the kayak search, is a site devoted to international travel only. It offers cheaper fares I suspect by buying buckets of discounted tickets from the airlines in advance. I don't know if it will always provide the best fares, but I do know that our initial flight to Guatemala on United was $420 on Vayama, and close to $600 on orbitz and on the United website. It's worth checking out next time you need a ticket out of the US.
Last but not least, I have to offer something unrelated to travel: if you've never had chicken pox, get vaccinated. Getting chicken pox as an adult was one of the most miserable (avoidable) experiences of my life.
I hope the above is useful.
While I (Wilson) have been known to offer copious amounts of unsolicited advice, much of it going unheeded, I really think some of this is really quite helpful and I wish I'd been aware of it on previous trips abroad.
Firstly, I'd always assumed those pesky foreign transaction costs charged by banks and credit cards for international use were unavoidable nuisances. I now know this is not so. The usual credit cards I use from Citibank and BofA charge a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases abroad, while my usual ATM card charges $5.00 plus 1% for use of ATMs outside the US. Even AMEX charges 1% for foreign purchases. While this doesn't sound like much, it can add up over time. I now know that Capital One credit cards do not charge any foreign transaction fee (Discover Card doesn't either - but who accepts Discover?). While I've always enjoyed Capital One commercials (I'm a big fan of college mascots and rampaging Goths), I can't believe they don't market this feature. Also, Etrade Bank allows use of foreign ATMs without any service charges (other than those imposed by the foreign bank). I imagine many banks without extensive ATM networks may have similar programs.
Another happy discovery was something called a Hash Pass. Agnes and I will have to manage many of our accounts and payments remotely by using public internet cafes and the like. So obviously security is a big concern since any one of these could be using a host of key loggers or screenshot loggers to nab our passwords. Hash Pass is a program that generates a password based off a series of keystrokes and moused in code typed into the program. You then paste the resulting code (which are blacked out) into the appropriate location before logging on. The resulting password can be up to 128 characters long. You need to change all your passwords to match the one created by the program, hopefully from home. You can then transfer the program onto a USB key and use it to log onto your sensitive sites. Since your actual password is never typed in and never shows up on the computer, there is no way for key loggers or screenshot loggers to snatch your passwords. Hash Pass can be found here:
http://www.sharewareconnection.com/hashpass.htm
I believe it is a $10 program.
I originally thought that I might be able to manage our accounts on an iphone, thinking erroneously that the Global Data plan offered by AT&T would suffice. However, this plan is designed primarily for use in Europe. And the plan is not valid in most Latin American countries so downloading web pages could be incredibly expensive. For instance, at the $.02/kb rate, my one week's worth of browsing in Germany would have cost $900 in Central America (equal to one month's worth of Spanish tutoring, including room and board).
In prepping for the trip, we have also discovered two helpful airline websites, kayak.com and vayama.com. I imagine a lot of folks have heard of kayak. It's one of those sites that fetches airline ticket prices from a bunch of other sources (orbitz, expedia, priceline, etc.). Vayama, which can also can be included in the kayak search, is a site devoted to international travel only. It offers cheaper fares I suspect by buying buckets of discounted tickets from the airlines in advance. I don't know if it will always provide the best fares, but I do know that our initial flight to Guatemala on United was $420 on Vayama, and close to $600 on orbitz and on the United website. It's worth checking out next time you need a ticket out of the US.
Last but not least, I have to offer something unrelated to travel: if you've never had chicken pox, get vaccinated. Getting chicken pox as an adult was one of the most miserable (avoidable) experiences of my life.
I hope the above is useful.
1 comment:
Hello Agnes & Wilson,
Thanks for your kind words about vayama.com, and congratulations on your upcoming sabbatical. It sounds like you're in for both a fun and educational trip.
Enjoy Guatemala and wherever else your travels take you.
Thanks again and bon voyage,
Matt R
vayama.com
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