Carrying cash at tourist destination

[adjjoshi]

I used to withdraw 50 or 100 denomination notes from local bank branch wherever I travel. Getting change at tourist destination is a real struggle and a 10 min visit to branch will save you from this. UPI is available now at most of the places, still carrying change is always recommended. Locals still prefer cash over UPI. ATMs will mostly provide 500 notes, so a bank visit is preferred.100 notes of 50 denomination works best for me.

 

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

I used to withdraw 50 or 100 denomination notes from local bank branch wherever I travel. Getting change at tourist destination is a real struggle and a 10 min visit to branch will save you from this. UPI is available now at most of the places, still carrying change is always recommended. Locals still prefer cash over UPI. ATMs will mostly provide 500 notes, so a bank visit is preferred.100 notes of 50 denomination works best for me.

Yea it's a good idea to carry some cash

 

[Anupama_Jha]

Yea it's a good idea to carry some cash

Embarking those golden days, when TechnoFino used to reply 😭🐸

 

[m4b]

Gone are the days when we have to carry cash ☠️

 

[TechnoFinoTechnoFino is verified member.]

Embarking those golden days, when TechnoFino used to reply 😭🐸

carrying some cash is a good idea, personally I never carry cash while travelling to a different country... I withdrew some cash from atm at airport.
BTW.. I'm still here to reply.

 

[Infamous]

Having emergency cash on you is a must. Can be helpful in situations where your phone died or might be facing network issues or bank failures.

 

[HumorSimpson]

Mrunal gave life to this thread.

 

[aayusharyan]

Mrunal gave life to this thread.

Bhai, I wasn't active here for a few months. Kya hua, I saw on other threads as well. What's the scene?

 

[m4b]

Bhai, I wasn't active here for a few months. Kya hua, I saw on other threads as well. What's the scene?

ye bhi thread bhi lock hojayega ab 😛
catfishing as it seems

 

[aayusharyan]

carrying some cash is a good idea, personally I never carry cash while travelling to a different country... I withdrew some cash from atm at airport.
BTW.. I'm still here to reply.

EXACTLY!!!! Hehe, I just withdraw some at the airport when I land, I have crossed countries with less than 100 in ₹ with me. (I shouldn't do that, but meh, YOLO).
Okay, but you be responsible, just have 100 USD around, just in case if cards don't work. (For me, I carry intl cards and always have International Roaming on two separate phones so I can reach out to someone in case of emergency)

 

[aayusharyan]

ye bhi thread bhi lock hojayega ab 😛
catfishing as it seems

Ohhhhhhh, catfishing for that Casino. Why don't the mods just ban her/him/them/it (lol idk, I give up).

 

[m4b]

Ohhhhhhh, catfishing for that Casino. Why don't the mods just ban her/him/them/it (lol idk, I give up).

Hmm they are busy deleting my profile posts ☠️

 

[HumorSimpson]

Bhai, I wasn't active here for a few months. Kya hua, I saw on other threads as well. What's the scene?

Did you watch Big Bang Theory sitcom?

 

[aayusharyan]

Did you watch Big Bang Theory sitcom?

Haha yeap, I did.

 

[HumorSimpson]

Haha yeap, I did.

Raj ---> siri
similarly
Doc --> Mrunal Mehta

 

[indraneal89]

Based on my experiences traveling in South East Asia especially, having some amount of cash has been a necessity since not every restaurant / shop you visit will accept card, especially the smaller ones.

What I usually do is to carry a Forex card which I load with either the local currency if supported or US dollars and withdraw money from ATMs as needed

 

[Maikalal Jaikishan]

Based on my experiences traveling in South East Asia especially, having some amount of cash has been a necessity since not every restaurant / shop you visit will accept card, especially the smaller ones.

What I usually do is to carry a Forex card which I load with either the local currency if supported or US dollars and withdraw money from ATMs as needed

Is there a difference between withdrawing from foreign ATMs with a forex card and an Indian debit card in terms of charges?

 

[indraneal89]

Is there a difference between withdrawing from foreign ATMs with a forex card and an Indian debit card in terms of charges?

Depends on the card I guess

1. I use the HDFC multicurrency forex card with the following charges
2. HDFC Debit cards will incur an ATM fee of around 110-125 Rs + taxes + 3.5% forex markup (Ref: Debit Card Charges )

I prefer to use the forex card for safety reasons however as the withdrawal is limited to how much money I load which means I can load how much I need before the ATM withdrawal so even if the card is compromised somehow there's little to nothing I have to lose. I can also load currency well in advance and be protected from forex fluctuations.

 

[indraneal89]

I don't get the point of protecting from forex fluctuations, to be honest. The rate can go up or it can go down.

Yes you are right that currency fluctuations are inherently unpredictable, but there are certain currencies like INR to USD where the trend has been unfavorable for the Indian rupee over the long term so perhaps in these cases it might be useful

 

[aayusharyan]

Is there a difference between withdrawing from foreign ATMs with a forex card and an Indian debit card in terms of charges?

I used to do all that, just gave up, I use my primary DC and withdraw from ATM, too much hassle in loading and all.
Also, unloading is really, I mean, really bad Ex rate.