Best form of $$$

OK, now I am confused again . . .

I read previous posts saying the best way to carry money is with your credit card which is widely accepted in most cities.

Then I read the thread on credit card scams which also claimed that the credit card companies charge you awful exchange rates.

But then there's the thread that says the exchange rate with the ATMs is aweful too, and they charge you a fee each time you withdraw money.

And then there are some who say take only travellers' checks, and some who say just take cash (but be careful where you put it).

So, let's get to the bottom of this with this poll.

When travelling to India (mainly in cities), the best form of $$ to carry is:
1. Credit card
2. ATM card
3. Travellers' checks
4. Cash

Thanks!
Ace

Why just one method..

We took mostly travelers checks but also some cash and credit cards. We used all three (depending) and had no problems at all.

perhaps I should say . . . which would be the preferred method?

we can certainly take all 4, but if i have a choice of which to use, which should i pick?

We took travellers cheques, U.S. cash and ATM card and a Visa .We used all of them, but could have lived without the traveller's cheques..I really do think though you have to take a mixture, because if one doesn't work, you can rely on the other...

trav cheques the only form accepted everywhere ...

I divided my spending money three ways: 1/3 in my ATM card account, 1/3 in my credit card (i.e. put it in credit), and 1/3 in USD cash.

The idea was if something happened to one card (lost, swallowed, etc) I still had backup options. Also, I discovered that because the credit card had a credit balance not only did I not have to pay the % commission on the withdrawal amount, but the actual set withdrawal fee was less (cheaper than withdrawing from my ATM card).

Only thing I'd do differently would be the USD cash. I would take my own currency (AUD) because I lost money on converting it twice, not to mention the continuing slide of the value of USD.

Is the Canadian Dollar as easy to change as the US Dollar in India?

So right now, cash and ATM cards seem to be winning over credit card and travellers cheques. . . .

So, here's another question:
-is the exchange rate you get from one or the other better?

I used a mix of everything but found a couple of things out that I'll remember for next time (69 days and counting):
* Except the Citibank ATM in Delhi, no ATM worked for my card in two months and 4 states (even the ones that said they accepted that card) it wasn't the card either as I still have it and it works fine. It was the PLUS system, kinda like Cirrus.
*I got a better exchange rate with my visa card and used the internet to transfer the money across to it straight away as the nice people at Visa like to charge me instant interest for cash withdrawals.
I also used travellers cheques and cash, the former giving a better rate by and large.

I don't know about other places but for the record, Sikkim is largely devoid of banking opportunities, so electronic means were just a pest most of the time.

Padma

I have something else to add. It would appear that most advice given on TC's is based on the assumtion that you buy them before hand in your home country. Furthermore most people advocate having them in $US. Fair enough but doesn't this mean a double conversion for all non US travellers. Excuse me if this is ignorant but why cant I take some of my own cash straight to a bank in delhi and buy some IR TC's?

Whilst I don't have first hand experience at that, I would imagine it would be just as easy. If a money changer doesn't know an exchange rate they usually call someone else to find out.

Most widely recognised TCs are Thomas Cook and Amex. Best to take one of these.