Travelling without a credit card

Does anyone have any experience travelling through India without a credit card? Is it pretty safe to just rely on your ATM card, cash and travellers cheques?

Thanks in advance!

I carry a credit card with me in India, but I have never used it -- it is for an emergency that hasn't yet happened. It did save my ass once in Singapore when I had to be suddenly hospitalized and they wouldn't admit me without a $1600 advance on a card.

I wouldn't 'rely' on ATM's -- finding a working ATM that accepts your card might become a the focus of your trip if you stray outside big cities. If your trip is of only a few months, try to estimate your requirements and then bring sufficient cash and cheques to cover. Consider plastic as your back-up.

I note you are Canadian so I realize that cheques are an added hassle as it hurts like hell to buy US$ cheques at the current rates....I feel your pain. Some places will take CDN$ checks (my experience is with Amex), but not all. You will be able to get decent rate on CDN cks (not cash though) in big cities and Goa -- not in the hinterlands however -- so you should have at least half in US$, depending upon where you are going. Same with cash -- everyone knows what a US$ is worth and what it looks like; leave your loonies at home.

Hopefully someone with ATM experience will come along as I am definitely not the best source; my predjudices have been formed mainly by listening to the bitching and frustration of other travellers.

cheers,

mike

I found it easier to get a cash advance on a credit card than find an ATM machine in most places - depends if you are sticking to the big cities, I guess. You can load up your credit card with cash before you go so as to avoid paying any interest. I ran out of money 2 months before I got home so had to rely on cash advances totally.... lucky India is cheap.

Forgot this earlier.... someone I met who had used an ATM had received some counterfeit money from it!! You kind of expect money that comes from a bank to be legit, don't you.... well not always in India. In Mysore I got a cash advance and they gave me some old Rs 500 (or maybe Rs 1000) notes which no-one would accept. It was about US$30 worth and as I'd run out of my own money and was spending Visa's it was a pretty big deal to me. In Hyderabad I was told that the Reserve Bank there would change them (none of the usual retail banks would touch them) and so I got in a rickshaw and went there.... and they had just closed for the day! Luckily a nice man who worked nearby swapped my dud ones for good ones as he could change them over the next day. Don't you just love meeting kind people.

I remember specifically asking the cashier at the bank if the few old notes he'd given me with the new ones were still able to be used and he assured me they were. Hate meeting unkind people.

Like -m2-, we only carry bank cards in case of an emergency and haven't had to use them as yet. Most of our time spent in India is well away from cities or large towns with ATM's so we take a mixture of TC's and cash. Generally about one quarter in cash and the rest in TC's.

We've had some problems in the past changing Amex TC's in certain banks in some places, so now we take a mix of Amex and Thomas Cook TC's. These 3 options have so far covered all eventualities.

Some advice - when changing money or TC's always over-estimate your expenditure, especially if you are staying in off the beaten track areas. Be aware also of bank holiday periods when the banks may be closed for several days. You might find yourself short of cash hanging around waiting for the bank to re-open - no fun!

Regarding the actual banknotes you receive, check them carefully. Most Indian banknotes come with staple holes in the middle of the left hand side, where they have been stapled together many times to make up certain convenient amounts e.g. 10,000 R's. These are totally acceptable. What is not always acceptable, especially in remote areas and by small traders, are banknotes with a piece missing, or a tear down the centre. If you find any of these then ask the bank teller to replace them.

Can't offer any advice on ATM's. I seldom use them even in UK. I just ask for cash-back at the local supermarket.

It is safe in india to travel without the credit card. Even in large towns, only a few shops accept the credit card. some shops they want to take the credit card to another office to swipe out of your sight... dont let them do it. In smaller towns (even in some capitals like trivandrum, the ATMs are very few and you will struggle to find them.

when I m travelling I always open an extra bank account..just in case of emergency..
I only use credit cards when buying airtickets...or when buying more expensive things..
I always have some emergency money hidden in about 20 different places...
always have secret pockets in my trousers...
sometimes I hide some money in my toothpaste...in my shoes...
in my cd player and so on...
just in case of emergency...
but that never happened to me on all my trips....
mostly you can get in trouble when you re too drunk or too stoned....)
the only thing I ever got stolen in India was a t-shirt!
so india is pretty safe concerning your money
just be aware...
take care only travelling with the nice guys...
It s a really shame that mostly they people you re travelling with are the bad guys..
but I also never had problems with this....
once in goa I woke up..after new years eve...having drunk too much....lying on the beach...all my moneybelts lying around me!
not a single ruppee was stolen...
an indian guy was watching me sleeping on the beach..taking care of my money and me!!
for me one more reason to love india and it s lovely people!!

the biggest problem in India I have is with changing money at the bank...as my signature is quite simple...
so many times they say this is not your signature!
sometimes I had to sign 20 or more times..every signature looks a bit different..of course...
this is not your signature!
this is not your passport!
so sometimes I had to go to another bank to try my luck...
sometimes too much ..

I've stood behind someone with a problem like yours a few times LOL

A signature that would be easy to forge live makes people nervous...... Like who wants to take a chance on a 100$ TC from a guy who slashes a line across the sig section and says that's his sig? the clerk doesn't like sticking his neck out and neither does his boss. Guess it's not easy to change something like a signature though, so I guess people with signature's like yours are going to have to live with it -- maybe you can work out a new travelling signature for next time you get a new passport if it turns out to be that big a deal. Sux


cheers,

mike