Money Management

Trains are a convenient way to travel around Europe. Read these tips before you go to learn about luggage rules, how early to arrive, and more. 

Trains are a comfortable and convenient way to travel around Europe. They’re perfect for day trips from one town to another, as you can hop on a quick train instead of renting a car. They’re also a good alternative to flying when traveling between major cities, such as Paris to Nice or Barcelona to Madrid. Prices are usually affordable, plus you can earn bonus rewards on train tickets with certain travel credit cards.

If you haven’t done much train travel before, it’s normal to have some questions. How early should you arrive? Can you bring heavy luggage? It’s not always easy to find answers to everything, especially since some train company websites are tricky to navigate.

My wife and I spent the summer in Europe, and we took trains often. Here’s what we learned along the way.

1. Search on Trainline, and book at least a few days in advance for longer trips

Europe has quite a few train companies. I recommend using Trainline to compare options. You can see which train companies provide service on the route you want to book, travel times, and prices. Once you’ve found tickets, you can book through Trainline or go to the train company’s website to do it.

Although you can also get tickets at the station, it’s better to book in advance for longer trips. If it’s a popular route, ticket availability could be limited. You may need to book a more expensive ticket if nothing else is available.

On shorter day trips, getting tickets at the station isn’t normally a problem. You also can be flexible about when you head back if you haven’t booked tickets in advance. Whether you book online or at the station, train companies normally accept credit cards. Just make sure to use one with no foreign transaction fees.

2. Always double check the train stations when booking

Many cities have multiple train stations. Paris, for example, has six of them. If one station is right next to your hotel, you’ll want to make sure you arrive there, and not at the station all the way across town.

Keep this in mind when you book tickets so you know where your departure and arrival stations are. I made this mistake when traveling from Montpellier to Paris. We had already taken trains in Montpellier before, so I assumed the train to Paris would depart from the station five minutes from our apartment. The morning of our trip, I realized it was actually departing from a station 30 minutes away. Fortunately, we made it in time, but it was a close call.

3. The luggage rules are flexible, but there isn’t always much space available

Traveling light is always more convenient, but sometimes, it’s not feasible. Since we were spending months in Europe, and we’re the farthest thing from backpackers, we had some large, heavy luggage. I tried researching luggage rules before each trip, but not all train companies provided much information.

Here’s what I learned from experience: Train companies aren’t strict at all about luggage. I never saw anyone being forced to weigh their luggage or told that they couldn’t bring it on board. The unwritten rule seems to be that if you can lift it yourself, you’re good to go. I’d still recommend seeing if you can find the train company’s luggage rules to play it safe. But if you just have typical luggage, even a large checked bag, you can most likely bring it on board without issue.

However, there’s not always a lot of space to put your luggage. This depends on the train and how busy it is. On most trains, there were luggage racks with enough space for our bags. But there were also trains without luggage racks, or where all the space was already taken. In this situation, you just need to put your luggage on the floor, ideally somewhere it isn’t blocking a walkway.

4. You can reserve premium seats and even an entire compartment

Just like when you fly, there are premium seats available on trains. The exact options depend on the train. Smaller trains may have one or two types of seats. Others offer several, sometimes including private compartments with seating for four passengers.

If you’re going to be on the train for hours, I’d suggest getting a premium seat if it works for your budget. They’re more comfortable, and they usually aren’t that much more expensive. It’s nothing like the price difference between flying economy and flying business class.

The private compartments are great if you’re traveling with friends or family. You can also reserve these if you don’t have four people, but make sure to check if you’ll still have the whole compartment to yourself. Some train companies let you reserve the whole compartment and charge you a higher price per ticket if you have fewer than four people. Others charge the same ticket price, but there’s the possibility someone else could also book the remaining seats, and you end up sharing the compartment with strangers (it’s as awkward as it sounds).

5. You don’t need to arrive too early — 30 minutes is more than enough

An advantage of taking the train instead of flying is that you don’t need to arrive early. There’s no lengthy security check where you take off your shoes and take your laptop out of your bag. At the station, you walk to the platform where your train is, scan your ticket along the way, and board.

There’s no need to arrive an hour before departure time. Waiting around at train stations isn’t that enjoyable, either. Train stations can be hectic, with travelers everywhere and nowhere to sit. Some train companies have lounges available if you book a premium seat. But to be honest, the lounges I’ve seen are nothing special. It’s not like the airport lounge access available through many credit cards.

If you’re there 15 minutes to 30 minutes before departure, that’s fine. I’d suggest arriving 30 minutes early if you’re unfamiliar with the station. It’s occasionally tricky to find the train platform, especially in large stations, so it’s nice to have a little breathing room.

If you get the chance, taking the train while you travel Europe is well worth it. It’s a travel method that’s not available in much of the United States, it’s relaxing, and the views can be spectacular.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Lyle Daly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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The SEC accused crypto exchange Kraken of selling unregistered securities. Learn more about the charges and what they mean for crypto investors. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to crack down on crypto. This week, it brought charges against Kraken, accusing the popular crypto exchange of acting as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency. It also claims Kraken commingled customer funds with its own cash, creating significant risks for its customers. Kraken denies any wrongdoing and says it will defend itself in court.

Here’s what crypto investors need to know about the charges, as well as what steps they might take to protect their investments.

The SEC’s accusations against Kraken

Putting aside the commingling of funds, the main thrust of the SEC’s charges against Kraken is very similar to those levied against Coinbase in June. It centers on the question of whether certain cryptocurrencies are actually securities.

Currently, most cryptocurrencies are considered to be commodities and come under the remit of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). If cryptocurrencies are in fact securities, they need to be registered with the SEC, which has strict rules on how they report information and how they can be traded.

In its charges against Kraken, the SEC lists the following 11 cryptocurrencies as unregistered securities:

Cardano (ADA)Algorand (ALGO)Cosmos (ATOM)Filecoin (FIL)Flow (FLOW)Internet Computer (ICP)Decentraland (MANA)Polygon (MATIC)NEAR Protocol (NEAR)OMG Network (OMG)Solana (SOL)

Why the SEC says many cryptos should be treated as securities

The SEC claims that many cryptocurrencies qualify as investment contracts under something called the Howey test. This test comes from a 1946 ruling that says an investment contract exists “when there is the investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the efforts of others.”

Many crypto advocates argue that the decentralized nature of these projects mean the “common enterprise” box is not checked. Even so, if the SEC can win that argument in court, it would mean Kraken, Coinbase, and many other cryptocurrency exchanges have been operating illegally by letting people buy and sell those assets.

Why Kraken says the SEC is wrong

Kraken hit back at the charges and says it intends to vigorously defend its position in court. It says the SEC’s complaint is based on a technical argument about what constitutes an investment contract. “This is incorrect as a matter of law, false as a matter of fact, and disastrous as a matter of policy,” the exchange wrote in a blog post.

It points out that the charges don’t reflect any failure on its part to safeguard customer funds. “The complaint against Kraken alleges no fraud, no market manipulation, no customer losses due to hacking or compromised security, and no breaches of fiduciary duty,” says the exchange. “This so-called ‘commingling’ is no more than Kraken spending fees it has already earned.”

Finally, Kraken accuses the SEC of “regulation via enforcement” — a common complaint about the SEC’s crypto cases. Crypto insiders want to see clear regulation rather than case-by-case charges that attempt to use existing laws to set precedent. Kraken argues that the various bills on the table in Congress are a better way to create a comprehensive framework for crypto.

Are any U.S. crypto exchanges safe? Take these steps to protect your crypto

It’s going to take a while for the SEC’s charges against platforms like Kraken and Coinbase to play out in court. Even so, there are a couple of steps investors might take in the wake of the SEC’s continued crypto crusade.

Use a secure crypto exchange

Unfortunately, the SEC’s actions don’t help us much in terms of identifying which platforms are safe to use. By the SEC logic, almost every crypto platform in the U.S. has broken the rules: There are very few crypto exchanges that haven’t listed popular cryptocurrencies like Cardano, Cosmos, Polygon, or Solana. Allowing people to trade those cryptos doesn’t speak to a platform’s safety (or lack of it).

A better way? Do your own due diligence. That means looking at how an exchange will store your assets, whether it has third-party audits, and how transparent it is about its activities. I’m a big fan of New York’s BitLicense. Exchanges have to submit detailed information about their finances and compliance procedures to qualify. It’s controversial, but in the absence of a wider framework, it’s a good way for investors to find solid ground.

Re-evaluate your crypto portfolio

Now may be a good time to decide if you want to hold the cryptos the SEC has labeled as unregistered securities. There are two considerations here. Firstly, if the courts decide a specific coin or token is actually a security, it will almost certainly impact its price in the short term. It could also impact its long-term potential, as it could affect its operations in the U.S.

Secondly, you may have trouble selling your holdings. When the SEC brought charges against Ripple (XRP) for trading unregistered securities, many top U.S. crypto exchanges delisted the token. Several platforms (such as Robinhood) have already removed the coins and tokens on the SEC’s hit list. Others may follow suit. There’s a risk you find yourself holding crypto assets that you can’t easily sell.

Bottom line

Crypto regulation and enforcement is complicated and messy. The collapse of platforms like FTX and cryptocurrencies like Terra’s LUNA highlight a need for increased regulation and investor protection. But there’s very little consensus on what shape that protection should take. Crypto investors would be wise to brace for more volatility in this shifting regulatory environment.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Emma Newbery has positions in Algorand, Cardano, Cosmos, Decentraland, Filecoin, Near Protocol, OMG Network, Polygon, and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cardano, Cosmos, Polygon, and Solana. The Motley Fool recommends Flow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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High-yield savings accounts are all the rage, and this writer is a big fan. But read on to learn why she’s hanging onto her old savings account, too. 

Thanks to multiple successive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve last year and this year, it is a great time to have cash in the bank. A higher federal funds rate doesn’t directly mean higher rates on savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. However, consumer rates are impacted by it, and this goes in both directions — it’s more expensive to have variable-rate debt (such as that on credit cards), and it’s more lucrative to have a deposit account.

Consequently, we’ve found ourselves in a veritable golden age of high-yield savings accounts — while the average annual percentage yield (APY) on a savings account lingers at 0.46%, per the FDIC’s data, you can find accounts offered by online-only banks that pay 10 times that, or even more. Under these circumstances, why would a personal finance writer who follows the economy pretty closely hang onto an account paying a measly 0.01% APY? Well, let me tell you.

I also have a high-yield savings account

Lest you wonder why I would leave all my savings in an account with such a low yield, I should clarify — it’s not my only savings account. The bulk of my savings is in a high-yield savings account with an online-only bank, and that’s to take advantage of those higher rates. Online banks don’t have the overhead costs associated with a traditional brick-and-mortar bank, so they can offer higher APYs on deposit accounts. In exchange for those rates (and often fewer fees), you’re giving up easy access to your money in many cases, as well as the ability to deposit cash in a straightforward manner.

If I want to deposit cash in my online savings account, I’d have to deposit it with the brick-and-mortar bank I also use, wait for it to clear, then transfer it over. Getting access to cash is slightly easier, but it also involves a workaround. I opened a checking account linked to my online savings so I could have an ATM/debit card. My online bank has a network of ATMs, and thankfully, there is one in a drugstore in my neighborhood, so if I need cash from my savings, I can transfer it to the checking and take it out via that ATM.

All of this rigamarole is worth it, though — I’ve earned over $1,000 in free money on my savings this year, thanks to that high APY. That low-yield traditional savings account is still worth having, though.

Overdraft protection is important

I spent a lot of years living paycheck to paycheck, and often worrying about overdrafting my checking account — overdraft fees aren’t cheap. So the brick-and-mortar savings account’s main purpose these days is just that. I keep the minimum amount deposited to avoid incurring a monthly maintenance fee (I was lax about this last year and lost $50 as a result), and it’s nice to have that little bit of extra cash that could get me out of a checking account overdraft jam.

It’s also not a bad idea to diversify your savings

Another reason I’ve kept my old savings account is because I like the idea of having money available with different financial institutions. My old brick-and-mortar bank has a lot of branches, and if I ever couldn’t access cash from my online savings account, having a little in this account could also be helpful. In fact, I’m considering opening accounts with a third bank in 2024; I’m strongly leaning toward getting a mortgage loan from a local bank in my area, and if I’m also a banking customer, I should be able to pay my mortgage online, rather than having to mail a check.

Yes, we are in something of a high-yield savings account renaissance, but this doesn’t necessarily mean you should rush to close your old low-yield savings account, especially if it offers banking benefits that you rely on. Consider keeping it, and moving some of your savings to an account where you’ll earn more interest — it’ll be the best of both worlds.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Not used to online banking? Read on to see why it pays to get on board. 

Certain habits are hard to break. If you’re someone who loves to stop for coffee on the way to work, it can be difficult to get into the habit of brewing your own at home and sticking it in a to-go mug. And if you’re used to sleeping on a certain side of the bed, it can be difficult to compromise on that if you partner up.

Similarly, you may find that certain financial habits of yours are hard to break — even if they’re pretty old school. If you’re someone who tends to file taxes on paper, for example, then you might struggle to switch over to filing electronically, despite the convenience and ability to potentially expedite your refunds. Similarly, if you’re someone who’s always used a physical bank, you might struggle to open a checking account online.

Data from the FDIC reveals that around 23% of consumers used online banking as their primary method of accessing their accounts as of 2019. But if you’ve been on the fence about using an online bank, you may want to make a switch sooner rather than later.

Take advantage of those higher rates

Right now, savings account and CD rates are higher than they’ve been in years on the heels of a string of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. This applies to brick-and-mortar establishments as well as online banks.

But online banks tend to offer more competitive interest rates for savings accounts and CDs in general. So it pays to switch to an online bank at a time when rates are so high.

Why do online banks tend to offer better interest rates? It’s simple. These banks are often able to keep their overhead costs to a minimum. They don’t have to pay rent for a physical storefront, nor do they have to pay for utilities.

It’s true that online banks still need to hire customer service representatives. However, because that’s work that can often be done remotely, online banks might have more leeway with regard to the wages they have to pay.

All of this means that you, as a customer, have an opportunity to benefit from the cost savings online banks tend to pass along to the people who open accounts. So it pays to look at banking online at a time when some of the best high-yield savings accounts are offering close to a 5% APY — or more.

How to find the right online bank

If you’re used to banking at a physical location, then switching to an online bank might seem like a big leap. Your best bet in finding one is to do two things — pay attention to which savings account and CD rates are most competitive, but also, try out different platforms.

When you bank online, you have to use your institution’s platform and/or app to get your banking done. So you’ll need to make sure it’s user-friendly and easy enough to navigate.

The challenge is that some banks don’t let you use their platform until you actually become a customer. But reading reviews could help. So could asking your friends and family members who bank online what their experience has been like. And definitely make sure any bank you choose is FDIC-insured.

There are benefits to banking online no matter when you start. But because of the way interest rates are trending today, it pays to jump on that bandwagon ASAP. Interest rates are likely to drop over time. It pays to capitalize on the opportunity that’s available now.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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