A corollary to my post on packing tips last week, that should help you keep a few things in mind to prepare before you come so you won’t be stranded without some necessary things when you arrive.
- Figure out what you’re going to do for a credit card/bank account. Get a no foreign transaction fee credit card (I’m currently using Chase Sapphire and I know Bank of America and Capital One are other good options.) You don’t need a chip credit card but it can get annoying (some automated machines, like at Tube refill stations, don’t take swipe cards so you have to wait for a person to process it for you at the counter and there’s not always someone there). I hear there’s currently a Bank of America travel card that actually has a chip, which seems pretty smart and now I wonder why all travel cards don’t have this feature. Get a bank account that won’t charge you ATM fees. Bank of America doesn’t charge you ATM fees if you use any bank in the Global ATM Alliance (e.g. Barclays in the UK, BNP Paribas in France, Deutsche Bank in Germany; but note there isn’t an alliance bank in every country and it also doesn’t apply to Barclays in France for example or BNP in the UK). Capital One is another option you can check out. I have friends who have to pay $5 every time they use the ATM with their regular bank card so figure this out beforehand!
- The rate for exchanging currency in cash before you leave the US is terrible (not to your advantage compared to actual market rates) so just bring a little. Once you get here you can withdraw local currency for a much better rate at ATMs (assuming you followed my last tip). I would also have a small amount of Euros ready, assuming you want to travel (I haven’t figured out what the cheapest option will be for me yet since I didn’t think about this beforehand and now don’t have access to any of my regular banks.)
- Figure out how you’re going to get from the airport to your dorm, or just find someone to share a pre-booked cab with like I did. I knew I wouldn’t able to take the Tube with all my luggage and figured enough people would have booked cabs already that I wouldn’t need to. It worked out for me and I suggest you definitely share since it’s pretty pricey and a cab definitely fits at least 2 people with a full load of luggage. However, where I saw people run into problems is when they had planned to share a cab with a friend who was getting in on a different flight. Usually there’s no way to contact your friend when you land since no one has a phone yet.
Tales from Study Abroad 