How Much Money Can I Take On A Plane

Keep some cash handy when you travel by air.

Keep some cash handy when you travel by air. (Photo: cash or card image by Pierrette Guertin from Fotolia.com )

Most experts recommend keeping a only a modest stash of emergency cash on your person when you travel. But if you're flying to a destination like Cuba where American ATM and credit cards simply won't work, you might not have any choice but to carry cash.

Limits on Carrying Cash

Although there's technically no legal limit on how much money you can carry on a plane, if you're traveling internationally you must declare amounts of more than $10,000 on your customs form, fill out form FinCEN 105, and be prepared for possible interviews with law enforcement to explain the amount of money you're carrying.

Where to Put Your Cash

That might sound like the start of a bad joke, but if you're traveling with a lot of cash, it's a serious consideration. Needless to say, don't put cash in your checked bags. Too many people have access to them while they're out of your sight, so if the money turns up missing it would be almost impossible to make a case for who took it. If you try to carry a wad of cash on your person, you're guaranteeing yourself a pat-down or at least additional screening by officers with the Transportation Security Administration.

Usually, the best compromise is to put the cash in your carry-on, secure it with a TSA-approved lock, and never let it out of your direct line of sight. If you're chosen for secondary (additional) screening, let the TSA agents know your bag contains cash and you need to keep it in your sight during the screening. Aside from any screening, keep your cash secure and out of sight. If you want to carry the cash in a money belt, you can put it on in the airport restroom after you pass through security.

Cash and the TSA

Again, there's no legal limit on how much cash you can carry through a TSA checkpoint. But the TSA may ask you to justify any unusual amounts of cash you're carrying, and your answers (or lack thereof) and general demeanor could trigger a report to law enforcement entities like the Drug Enforcement Agency that can, in turn, seize your cash. So the biggest takeaway is that if you're going to carry a large amount of currency, make sure you have a legitimate, legal reason for doing so – and leave yourself some extra time at the airport in case you must explain why you're carrying it.

References

Tips

Travel with less than the maximum amount of $10,000 if possible. This will make your trip less complicated, since you won't have to deal with extra customs forms or interrogation from officials.

Warnings

Avoid using a money belt with metal clips or zippers, which can cause a lot of hassle when passing through metal detectors at airport security stations. Instead, choose smaller money belts and pouches with plastic and Velcro; that way, you can walk right through security without having to place the belt--with your cash--in the X-ray machine.

Writer Bio

Lisa is the author of the award-winning "Moon Alaska" guidebook, and has penned hundreds of articles about the joys, adventures and occasional miseries of travel for local and national publications including Via, Northwest Travel & Life, Matador, Roots Rated, The Brand USA and more.