| Show 6T The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday April 15 1990 Should you exchange money at curbside? By Barbara Shea LOS ANGELES Newsday Writer He looked about as much like a banker as "Wiseguy" Ken Wahl Nevertheless when a New York couple arrived in a small Spanish town at lunchtime with only a porketful of Portuguese bills he efficiently swapped their escudos for pesetas so they could buy a meal without waiting several hours for the banks to reopen after siesta The deal took place in the local town square but the curbside entrepreneur offered what turned out to be the best exchange rate the travelers found in the country Changing money abroad is not usually a traumatic affair but many tourists agonize over how to do it most expeditiously Should you get at least some foreign cash before you leave home? Is it smart to carry traveler's checks in the currency of the countries you are planning to visit? Where is the best place to change dollars while touring abroad? Should to all you try put purchases on your credit card? And what about "black dealing with the market"? In a number of countries especially in Eastern Europe the Middle East and Lalin America the black (or "gray" or "parallel") market is a thriving — if illegal — business Although it is probably not as risky to change dollars in a Moscow alley as to buy a Kolex watch on the corner of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street handing cash over to a surreptitious ruble salesman is unwise unless you are armed with two facts: the official exchange rate and any monetary restrictions Rates fluctuate daily and are listed in newspapers or posted at foreign exchange centers and banks Travelers normally arc notified upon entering a country how much local currency can be taken out Customs agents enforce such regulations by scrutinizing exchange receipts when you accept American dollars or even personal checks at no extra charge — As for carrying traveler's checks issued in foreign currency it can make sense if you are heading for a country where the dollar has been lagging so your buying power will not drop during your trip Conversely it usually pays to use credit cards to the hilt in nations with declining economies By the time your charge is processed you could end up paying much less than you expected at the time you looked at the price tag — Do not overlook automatic teller machines which are cropping up in major cities worldwide But be careful about tapping your line of credit for too big a loan It could bring you to your limit before you have spotted the Oriental rug of your dreams New BEST BUY: Icelandair's leave If you cannot produce any they will wonder how you managed to get along there without any local cash Penalties vary As for more customary ways of changing money abroad here are some tips on how to get top dollar: — When you shop for traveler's checks — commission-fre- e ones of course — ask where you can cash them at no charge too Where national laws do not mandate a fee for such transactions all American Express offices will exchange any amount in their own traveler's checks and Thomas Cook offices will cash their own or MasterCard checks up to any amount — If you cannot find a freebie affiliate note that banks usually give better rates than hotels or shops but airport branches often levy higher offices service charges than There is a caveat to that generality however: Large stores occasionally n UPI Business Writer spending the night at the Ritz Carlton in Washington DC the Punch In travel information service company said recently Free car rental as perk By Barbara Shea Newsdav Writer Little brought than car Tour on the vacation front has more to cheer about lately rentals packages throw in free wheels for up to a week at numerous destinations and competing rental each companies keep other with freebies upgrades and other perks galore: Hertz has just started offering unlimited free mileage everywhere Budget is passing out coupons in Southern California it says are worth up to $900 and Alamo recently launched a "frequent rentone-uppin- g er" program Best of all for budget-minde- trav- d elers though has been the decline of the notorious collision damage waiver an add-othat routinely jacked up the rental bills of nervous drivers to the tune of about $10 a day However now that merelv charging a rental car on most credit cards covers anv damage that mav occur the loss of such easy money has sent rental firms scurrying to try to recoup — which means that travelers almost need a sixth sense to hang onto their gains One favorite new gimmick is the rental price that ties the waiver with liability and property damage insurance — all or nothing Add up package components when if your credit comparison-shoppincard already covers one or more Clerks at rental counters also have been known to bully wheedle or especially abroad simply shrug off your attempts to decline their waiver When an agent in Istanbul replied with an ominous "Not in Turkey" 1 caved in and accepted what American Express later told me was unnecessary coverage At the airport in Hilo Hawaii a supersaleswoman at one of the Big Three car rental firms claimed that in the event of an accident I would have to pay for any damage on the spot I'd then have to try to get the money from the credit card company she said in a "lots of luck" tone This time I w as w iser and insisted it w asn't so What usually happens if you damage a rental car is this according to credit-car- d and outlets: You're asked to fill out an accident n g report and to designate a method of payment such as credit card However legal experts advise reading the fine print of any rental agreement because policies differ A few further suggestions for happy motoring: — Always look the car over carefully before you drive away Not only might you discover a safety defect horn or headlights like your inspection will head off problems when you return the car Some companies hand you a sketch of an auto along with the keys asking you to circle the location of existing dents or scrapes At any rate insist that any flaws regardless how minor be noted on your contract — Find out if your credit card offers primary or secondary coverage The latter kicks in only after vour personal auto policy pays the bulk of an accident bill — perhaps raising your premiums Also if your car is a subcompact be sure vour policy will cover a new Rolls-koyc- e convertible rented on the French Riviera — Ask as many other questions as you can think of since some perks aren't repeatedly advertised When I sought genera) advice about rentals in Spain an Iberia ticket agent casually mentioned that a free car awaits everyone heading there on Iberia rentals are also free to anyone taking SAS to Scandinavia until Oct 31 By then no doubt there w ill be countless other ways to drive a bargain g One-wee- k Im OPEN I BRIDGE 3 DAYS APRIL 27 LAS VEGASNESOUmi 4 DAYS WAY 1 ELKO JACKPOT WAY 9 absolute best in dining to a limited number of restaurants mostly serving French cuisine The best tables in the world are to be found at New York's Le Cirque "absolutely the best" in North America: Jamin in Paris "small select and unsensational but one of the best restaurants in the world" and in London at La Taunte Claire and at L'Arlequin "two of the best small restaurants in the world not equaled in America and rarely in France" Punch In said in its regularly updated survey Also winning an ranking are Scaletta in Milan Italy which spearheads the "Italian Nouvelle Cuisine" movement San Domenico in New York dubbed "America's best Italian restaurant" the restaurant of Paul Bocuse the chef of international fame who put Lyon France on the map as the home of "one of the world's best" and Louis XV in Monte Carlo where chef Alain Ducasse is described as "a genius" Only one restaurant on the list combines great taste and affordabi-lity- : Lee Hamilton's Steak House in Caracas Venezuela where $15 recently bought lunch for two the survey said In the hotel category Switzerland lives up to its tradition of meticulous hospitality with two hotels earning the grade: the Suvretta House in St Moritz "perhaps the world's IS - SPECIAL 7 DAY CRUISE WESTERN CARIBBEAN pp dtn occup' FREE AIR FARE $19900 ill Outside Cabins $4200 292-223- Uofwr DMmori Cntgonn 8 Twwi Houm 1& Swtt "BkmJ on Aviliafilihy (raw "2 ftv ilf coupon ptven 01 8 7394 iS7 Soulfi 800 tost Bountiful Uiofi S4CH0 Hydes Encore $22500 or BA5EDON ROUND TRIP (Add $1000 for one way) HAWAII COMPLETE PACKAGE Round trip airfare and 7 nights accommodations INCLUDES: APRiL 21 fo MAY 31 RENOTAHOEi90 $439 $469 Round trip airfare from SLC 3 day car rental based on double occupancy Includes: All taxes Round trip airfare from SLC & 3 nights hotel accommodations Includes: All taxes ORLANDO 359 FROM FROM $2 fit6$Q0K nights accommodations ppdo (718) SS8-129- 5 (800) 828-797- 0 580 CALGARY STAMPEDE & NATIONAL PARKS TOUR JULY 8TH - $589 Ask about our 490 ($157500 ppdoublei DISNEYBAHAMAS CRUISE Departing April 26 1990! ! ANCHORAGE J (mm GETAWAY S3 79 FROM Round Trip Airfare Weekly Departures beginning May 25 1990 COMPLETE PACKAGE from $489 NOVEMBER 8TM - 4TM90 ITTH'90 CANCUN CALL O R WRITE 5259 Soctfe 2200 Vest Silt UJfcs City UtkL S4118 963-424- S?QQ S S 2 42 asat FROM Round trip airfare when in purchas-e- NON-STO- P conjunction with land package COMPLETE PACKAGE from $379 People INCLUDES Round-tri- and transfers Arfare 7 nights accommodations p RESERVATIONS: NEED classified Non-Sto- p HAWAIIAN CRUISE 17THS0 'BO & INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT INCLUDES:Round trip airfare and 7 nights accommodations AMTRAK TOUR AUGUST Hotel d CRUISE MEDITERRANEAN OCTOBER 2CTM - NOVEMBER 14TH - fully-escorte- OCTOBER STH - 16TH90 PALMYRA TOUR - 28TH90 JULY 1STH AUG COMPLETE cruise 4 nights Orlando Round trip airfare NEW ENGLAND & EASTERN CANADIAN COLOR TOUR 16TH90 YELLOWSTONE EPCOT DISNEY CRUISE SEPTEMBER 4TH - 11TH90 FALL FOLIAGE & AMERICANA DISCOVERY TOUR SEPTEMBER 18TH - OCTOBER STHBO ALASKA CRUISE TOUR 14 DAY CRUISES FROM 512 - 92990 ENGLISH THREE MEALS DAILY INCLUDES: 4 DAYS IN MOSCOW SPEAKING TOUR GUIDES AT PORTS OF CALL (AIRFARE NOT INCLUDED) FOR INFORMATION JUNE JUNE 14 - JULY COMPLETE INCLUDES: Round trip airfare and 7 VIA PACIFIC NORTHWEST TEMPLE TOUR GETAWAY - MAY 28 DAY 4 FLY-DRIV-E DEEP SOUTH HERITAGE TOUR CRUISE $549 FROM TOURS AND TRAVEL 2 00-548-642 EACH WAY ALASKA $2800 PHONE 485-12O- 0 Toll Fro 1 $89 tours FjCv Guided and Escorted Hwy W KSL MOM only plus pod m booking $39500 FROM - CELEBRATION 7 DAYS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT OAKLAND VIA - ACTION SPECIALS COLORADO ROCKIES 5 Days Jury 1Aug 19 WYOMING ROCKIES 5 Days July 8 Aug 5 $fi4Q00 J B SAN FRANCISCO TC TOURS Tours The Do NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS 10 Days Aug 26 "June Plus an additional 22 Southern California cities from $89 each way INCLUDES: Things SENfOS SPECIALS 7 our van connecting service to the following airports: Orange County from $89 each way Burbank from $89 each way Long Beach from $89 each way Ontario from $99 each way via our new connecting service Try SOUTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAINS 10 Days Jury 22 Sept 16 AN CANYON CIRCLE TOURS AY 21 4 DAY- S- car-rent- For railroads American European Express offers the "finest train service ever experienced in the United States including fine cuisine wines and service" Punch In ranks travel facilities hotels and restaurants from A for excellent to F for failing Its regularly updated listings are available worldwide through electronic delivery and through syndication in the United States CRUISE DIRECTOR UN niFfiAni£HrVllMBTAi MAY Transatlantic" THE 1 $12500 TOUR 3 DAYS GOLDEN SPIKE ANNIVERSARY MAY 10 DAY I and travel facilities worldwide granted a rare grade for the ROAD TOURS LAM POWELLRAINBOW best run resort hotel" and the Noga Hilton in Geneva which together with its Le Cygne dining room "proves that modern and Hilton can add up to Geneva's best restaurant and hotel experience" Another Hilton hotel the Nile in Cairo Egypt is "one of the first and remains one of the best" with its romantic view over the world's longest river In Washington DC the Ritz Carlton hotel a favorite spot of former First Lady Nancy Reagan is described as "real class all the way" and ranks among the world's best hotels together with Montreal's Four Seasons "a name that has become synonymous with the word upscale" while "splendid in every way" is One Devonshire Garden in Gloscow Scotland To travel in style Singapore Airlines ranks No 1 with its "fantastic business and first class" which earn an grade One notch below are Virgin Atlantic and Pan Am "on its Latin runs and its First Class The electronic information service which surveys restaurants hotels ou1y 2r- Phantom of the Opera tour £ May Convenient Schedules and Lowest Air Fares through June stopover benefit By Isabelle Clary EACH WAY BASED ON ROUND TRIP (Add $1 000 for one way) $399 round trip York-Londo- Only the best for Punch In travel service NEW YORK — The very best in life includes traveling from Chicago by the American European Express eating at Le Cirque in New York and $79 FROM AAsk about Z- California Alaska Hawaii Mexico Orlando FREE TRAVEL SEMINARS Hear about the exciting future of the $313 billion international travel industry Learn how you can own your own agency without prior experience Find out why UNIGLOBE has become the North America with over 775 agencies 1 Thurs April 19 2 pm travel franchise & 7 8 am to 5 pm DO am E DO am-- 6 DO 00 5 Sat 9 00 pi Dm Sat am-- 9 DO am-- OTHER UTAH TICKET OUTLETS: 1 Downtown Bnanam City 734-212Provo 373-202Heber City 654-348Bountiful Spanish Fork 798-987521-061- 1 9 in pm UNITES SEAT1N3! 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