Choosing the right currency for your trip

CNN) -- Confused about whether you should book your hotel room with a credit or debit card? Or how much cash to exchange when you arrive overseas? While there are no steadfast rules about what types of currency to bring on your trip, travel and money experts do have recommendations on your best bets and what to avoid as you hit the road. Check out what experts have to say about the four commonly used forms of payment. CREDIT CARDS Pros  Security: Whether you lose your card or it gets stolen, your credit card company has your back, says Ben Woolsey, director of marketing and research at CreditCards.com. The company will ship a new card to you if it's lost or stolen, and they won't make you pay you for fraudulent charges, he explains. Wide acceptance: Cards have "almost universal acceptance across the globe" among restaurants, airlines, hotels and merchants, Woolsey says. They're also almost always required if you want to reserve a rental car or hotel room, Woolsey says, to cover things like incidentals or trashing the room or the car. Good exchange rates: Credit card companies have negotiating power with the banks in foreign countries to convert money at more favorable rates than an individual could, Woolsey says. Cons Foreign transaction fees: Most cards will carry fees up to 3 percent, Woolsey says. Some cards, including Capital One cards, don't charge these fees, but Woolsey warns that these cards tend to have lower credit lines. Limited use in less-traveled destinations: "If you're going to a Third World country, you most likely can't rely on credit cards and you shouldn't," Brice Gosnell, Lonely Planet's regional publisher for the Americas says. Case in point: on a recent monthlong trip to Ethiopia, Gosnell says he was restricted to using cash because "no one" uses credit cards. Before you go Find out where your card is accepted: Of the four major issuers, Visa and MasterCard are the most widely accepted cards worldwide, followed by American Express, then Discover, Woolsey says.Call your credit card companies: "It's always a good idea to take the five minutes to call your credit card company and say, 'FYI, I'm going to be out of the country for the next two weeks.' It's in their computer. That way they ... don't think your card is stolen." SOURCE OF THIS STORY