The Ultimate Boys Trip...

This week I’m travelling to Omaha, Nebraska.

It’s time for my annual pilgrimage to Warren Buffett’s ‘Woodstock for Capitalists’ shareholder meeting.

Even better, this year I’m taking my old man.

It’s the ultimate boys’ trip … organised this year by my mother, a self-confessed ‘details’ person.

We have printouts. Stapled. Highlighted. In plastic pockets.

Seriously, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the old man rocks up to the airport with one of those hidden bum-bag travel wallets, just in case he encounters trouble on the mean streets … or cornfields ... of Omaha.

It also means we booked the trip through Mum’s local travel agent, Carol.In the age of the interwebs you’d be forgiven for thinking a travel agent is about as relevant as Clive Palmer's political career.

Not so.

Carol managed to get Dad a seriously cheap fare that was exclusive to her agency, which I couldn’t replicate over the web (I tried).

“It comes with a few conditions” announced my mother.

“Here we go” I grumbled.Ignoring me, she continued, “you have to fly out on Wednesday...and stay in Los Angeles… and you have to be away for a minimum ten days”.

I could see what was happening here. My diary has interviews and meetings backed up to the hour before I leave (and more while I’m away). Dad’s diary? “April is clear … and so is May”. (Retirement is a relaxing time of life. Then again, he always seems to be busy).

Anyway, I relented. We’re staying in Los Angeles. I’m secretly hoping that thirty years on he’ll make good on his promise of taking me to Disneyland … instead of camping at the Murray River.

So with travel on my mind, let’s go Barefoot and talk about how you can cut two big costs from your next overseas trip.

How Not to Get Screwed on Travel Money

I’ve long recommended overseas travellers sign up for a GE Money 28 Degrees MasterCard.

And that’s despite the fact that I hold GE Money in the same regard as Tigerair, where on my last flight I was wedged between a rotund Greek man and the dunnies (each time I’d hear the flush and the opening of the door, I was hit with a waft of … recycled airline food).

Anyways, the 28 Degrees has no annual fees and no currency conversion fees. Yet they’ve now managed to balls it up by introducing a 3.3 per cent charge on cash advances.“Buh-Buh GE Money”, as Bill Clinton would say.

The other cards I’ve recommended in the past are pre-loaded travel money cards from the banks -- however I’ve now ditched them as well.

The idea is attractive: you pay $15 or thereabouts for the card, and preload your travel currency and lock in the rate (the banks will screw you a few percent on the exchange, just so you remember who’s in charge).

There are no ATM fees, and you’ve got the security of having a separate card to your daily banking.

The problem occurs when you return.

It seems the banks have taken a leaf out of the gift card market. See, the reason that retailers push gift cards so heavily is that they get paid upfront, and they know a certain percentage of the cards will end up in a sock draw and never be redeemed.

In late 2014 ASIC slapped the Commonwealth Bank over the fact that 45,000 of its customers had $2.2 million sitting in expired Commbank Travel Money cards.And with the deft touch of arrogance that embodies Australia’s biggest bank, they flatly refused to get in touch with their customers and offer them refunds of their own money.

Instead, any leftover money has to be claimed by customers within three years, otherwise it goes into the government’s consolidated revenue fund, and can only be claimed by searching ASIC’s MoneySmart unclaimed money website.

So what card do I recommend these days?

The Citibank Plus Transaction Account.

It’s got no annual fees, no overseas ATM fees, and no currency conversion fees.

However, like opening any new bank account, it’s initially a pain in the rump, and it takes longer than you expect. So my suggestion would be to open it now, and keep it in your sock draw for the next trip.

One more tip I’ll give you is if you’re paying for something by card, and you’re given the option to pay in Aussie dollars -- never do it. It’s called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), and it’s an absolute rort that will slug you an additional 5 per cent on your transaction.

The bottom line is that you can’t control the direction of the Aussie dollar, but you can control how much you get slugged when you’re overseas.A Golden Era of TravelIt’s seriously cheap to fly overseas right now. Data from the International Air Transport Association shows that international airfares are the lowest they’ve been in three decades.

I called up Skroo Turner, the founder of Flight Centre, who has been a pioneer in the travel industry for four decades. He reckons we’re in a Golden Age of travel:

When Qantas’ first flight to London took off 68 years ago, it was only the very well-heeled who could afford to step onboard. Passengers were paying the equivalent of about 85 weeks’ pay. So, based on what people are making now, a 1947 flight would set you back $130,000.By the early 1980s, the Flying Kangaroo had started a price war - and flights to London were down to $1800 return. Today you can pick up a return flight to London from $1063 - less than an average week’s salary.

The other thing that will keep Skroo happy is that I’ve found the process of booking through a travel agent -- like Carol -- to be worthwhile: they can often get better deals than what’s on the web, they cop the same commissions on hotels as Expedia and Wotif (about 10 per cent), plus they do all the legwork, and are a central, single contact if things go wrong when you’re overseas.

Think of your travel agent as a pretty good substitute for a details-oriented mum.

Tread Your Own Path!