Paying Online Bills

[Jaynay]

What is the best way to pay online bills and review ATM charges, or basically just monitor your bank account while away on these longer cruises?

 

I have two upcoming RCI repositioning cruises coming up in Oct/Nov. They are nearly back to back, with 4 days between them in Portugal and Spain. Departing and returning to Florida. It will be 30+ days away from the US-based Verizon network. I will be using the ships (extra-cost) VOOM (Starlink) network while on board and use Verizon Travel Pass while in port.

 

What is the best way to do online banking while on these long cruises?  The longest I've cruised before is 9 days so I've always pre-paid or scheduled my bills accordingly.  I tried loading McAfee's VPN (since its already paid for) but it wouldn't work on my phone, a known issue it indicated. But is VPN even necessary?

Edited September 17 by Jaynay

[mchell810]

7 minutes ago, Jaynay said:

What is the best way to pay online bills and review ATM charges, or basically just monitor your bank account while away on these longer cruises?

 

I have two upcoming RCI repositioning cruises coming up in Oct/Nov. They are nearly back to back, with 4 days between them in Portugal and Spain. Departing and returning to Florida. It will be 30+ days away from the US-based Verizon network. I will be using the ships (extra-cost) VOOM (Starlink) network while on board and use Verizon Travel Pass while in port.

 

What is the best way to do online banking while on these long cruises?  The longest I've cruised before is 9 days so I've always pre-paid or scheduled my bills accordingly.  I tried loading McAfee's VPN (since its already paid for) but it wouldn't work on my phone, a known issue it indicated. But is VPN even necessary?

 

I started using my bank's app specifically due to long trips.  With the app there is no issue regarding location when logging in.  My bank requires 2-factor authentication when I login via web browser but it does not with the app so the VPN wouldn't be necessary.  (I am assuming you will have ship wifi)

 

I also have all my regular bills sent to email notifications so I get the information to pay the water, electric bill, etc.  Of course, you could set these payments in advance with a bit extra to ensure you've fully covered the payment.

 

Finally, I  also set up the app for my travel credit cards so that I can easily monitor them. 

[JM0115]

Make sure you have autopay set up for your credit card. 

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, Jaynay said:

What is the best way to pay online bills and review ATM charges, or basically just monitor your bank account while away on these longer cruises?

 

I have two upcoming RCI repositioning cruises coming up in Oct/Nov. They are nearly back to back, with 4 days between them in Portugal and Spain. Departing and returning to Florida. It will be 30+ days away from the US-based Verizon network. I will be using the ships (extra-cost) VOOM (Starlink) network while on board and use Verizon Travel Pass while in port.

 

What is the best way to do online banking while on these long cruises?  The longest I've cruised before is 9 days so I've always pre-paid or scheduled my bills accordingly.  I tried loading McAfee's VPN (since its already paid for) but it wouldn't work on my phone, a known issue it indicated. But is VPN even necessary?

One of the reasons I like to cruise is that I worry less about financial transactions when I'm onboard than when I'm at home.  The fact that most cruise lines use electronic transactions for almost all items onboard, only billing for the sum total at the end, is helpful.  I suggest taking advantage as much as you are willing.

 

My fellow Critics have generally given good advice.  Auto transactions are your friends, and most companies and banking institutions make them easy to set up.  I suggest doing as many of them as you can before your cruises.  I also like to make fewer transactions on fewer cards so you don't have to check your accounts as often, and when a fraudulent transaction does show up, it will stand out like a flare in the darkness.

 

P.S.  I've never used a VPN

[Jaynay]

Thanks for the hints.

 

I've been using Bill Pay and Auto Pay for several years now, so that is not a problem. I have bill notifications sent via email and even have notifications texted to me anytime my cards or bank have charges over $1. The texts are brief so I sometimes have to log into my bank for clarification. And I seldom use ATMs but I expect I will use them for Euros as needed (though I expect most things will be purchased using credit card).

 

The AutoPay is a great tool, however, not so great for credit cards and a few others, where the total payment is not known until the bill arrives. I also like to review the statements before automatically paying. 

 

It's the accessing the account - bank or I guess even credit cards - that I wonder if you feel secure in accessing these on ship wifi or international cellular (Verizon Travel Pass for me).  I read some posts a few months ago about fears of interception of data, fraud, whether these networks are indeed secure, etc., when accessing financial accounts.  I kind of blew it off as perhaps paranoia but now that my vacation is drawing nearer...😬  I though I'd reach out to our fellow Critics here about their experience, and whether its just much ado about nothing (say yes!).

[Hlitner]

When we started taking long cruises (measured in months) about 20 years ago, we spent significant time working out how to handle bills and other financial issues.  For us, the solution was relatively simple and even more simple today.  The key is to have a bank with a decent online app that gives you the ability to access your account(s), make payments, transfer funds, etc.  For many of our recurrent monthly (or longer periods) we set-up automatic debit payments (where possible).  Most utilities and credit cards have this feature.  It is also a good idea to review your checking account(s) from the prior year, for the times you will be gone, to spot bills that you normally pay by check.  One can then look for options to cover those kind of bills.

 

There are other issues for longer trips.  How to handle mail will require some planning if you are gone for more than a month (the normal maximum time the post office will hold mail).  If you lack any good solution, it is possible to simply rent a mail box and have all your mail forwarded to that box.   Our other issue, and a major concern, is having back-up plans for cash access.  A single ATM account.card does not provide a good option if your account gets frozen (this can happen for many reasons), your card gets lost, compromised, etc.  The solution is to have a 2nd (and even a third) separate ATM/Debit card which is preferably tied to an account in a different bank.  Credit Unions and some smaller banks will often have decent deals with no or low fee ATMs.  It is also nice to deal with banks/credit cards that do not charge extra foreign exchange fees.  Some cards with no foreign exchange fees are AMEX Gold or Platinum, Chase Sapphire cards, and some CapitalOne cards (some of which have no annual fees).

 

Keep in mind that the first time you set all this up, it is a minor pain.  But once you have it all done, you are good to go for future trips...no matter how long.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Hank

[Host Kat]

3 hours ago, Jaynay said:

... It's the accessing the account - bank or I guess even credit cards - that I wonder if you feel secure in accessing these on ship wifi or international cellular (Verizon Travel Pass for me).  I read some posts a few months ago about fears of interception of data, fraud, whether these networks are indeed secure, etc., when accessing financial accounts.  I kind of blew it off as perhaps paranoia but now that my vacation is drawing nearer...😬  I though I'd reach out to our fellow Critics here about their experience, and whether its just much ado about nothing (say yes!).

 

Hello @Jaynay

 

I suggest you also research our Cruising Technology forum. Browse through the thread titles looking for threads of interest. You may find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[Hlitner]

43 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

 

Hello @Jaynay

 

I suggest you also research our Cruising Technology forum. Browse through the thread titles looking for threads of interest. You may find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

Kat,

The thread you referenced is good stuff, but does not deal with the "resistance" from many folks (many of them in my own older crowd, with the various techniques to deal with longer cruises.  I will give you a very simple example of what we have heard from too many, including on our recent Seabourn cruise (for which I posted a live thread).  To take advantage of the technology related to online banking, one must first trust the apps.  Many folks do not!  Another interesting issue is that folks tell me they will not give out their account numbers to public utilities and other entities in order to activate direct debit!  When I point out to these folks that all that information is already on the bottom of every check (these folks love checks) they are somewhat shocked and will tell me, "we never thought of that."  It is amazing at how many smart folks do not "get it" that account and routing numbers are on every check.  They will mail a check to an entity but refuse to give them the same info (for direct debit) that is already on that check.  

 

A big problem with my generation (we will be kind and call us seniors) is that many of us are slow to accept new technology.  Another growing problem are all the warnings and problems with phishing.  Today, I had some minor surgery and that practice gave me a hard copy printed document asking that I respond to online surveys from a third part (their name was on the document).  They told me they give out that document because most folks (mostly seniors) will not deal with those legit surveys because they are afraid, they are not legit :).  

 

We live in a scary world with all the phishing, spoofing, scams, etc.  Who can blame anyone who has become overly cautious (there is no such thing) to take advantage of the legitimate options that make our lives easier, and also contribute a lot of convenience to those of us who take longer international cruises/trips.

 

One irony is that Princess still refunds unused refundable onboard credit with mailed checks from a third-party company (Paymode-X), Apparently, many folks get these checks and simply toss them out thinking they are some kind of junk mail.  You would think that Princess would simply refund the money to one's credit card (which is done by other CCL companies such as Seabourn).   Princess is paying good money to use old technology (mailed checks) which are still a problem.

 

Hank

[CDNPolar]

I hear all of what you are saying, but...

 

For us, primarily me, because I am the one that does all the budgeting and bills, I have automated 99% of my banking and every bill that I can.

 

I know that some folks may not be able to do this, but on longer trips, if there is a manual bill that I pay, I just overpay it before I leave to cover the number of bills that will come in.

 

I have for instance my cell bill charges to my credit card so we get points.  Most other bills are auto-debit from my chequeing account.

 

Then I use my banks App which is completely secure to do transfers etc perhaps once every two weeks.

 

I think that the one saving grace for me was deciding to look at the time we were going to be away and pre-paying to a credit balance anything that was going to come up while away.