Individual traveler's checks need only one signature for redemption, similar to an individual checking account. The buyer is the only authorized user of this type of traveler's check which is a built-in protection against fraud and abuse.
Couples can buy dual signature checks meaning that both signatures are required for redemption. Since a traveler's check must be signed in the presence of the person completing the transaction, the signatories must be together when a check is changed. This can be restrictive, but it can help to keep a tighter control on the budget if both parties know exactly what has been spent and when.
The most widely accepted currency across the world is the United States dollar. While exchange rates can be more favorable for other currencies at different times, a USD traveler's check is negotiable nearly everywhere on the planet.
It is possible to buy traveler's checks in the local currency of your destination from your home country. The benefit to buying local currency checks is that you lock in one exchange rate for the whole batch rather than paying a different rate each time you use a check. Further, if you are stuck after bank hours on your vacation and you need to change a traveler's check into local currency at a restaurant or hotel, the rate can be several points above the day's spot rate for the convenience.
American Express is the most widely recognized and accepted brand of traveler's check. Others are branded with Visa or Mastercard logos and backed up by cash the same way AmEx traveler's checks are. Barclay's of London and Thomas Cook are also secure and widely accepted brands of traveler's checks.
