Probably a tired topic, but I'd like specific advice given I'm bad at math...

Hi. I'm leaving for India tomorrow, for a longish (5-6 month) stay, so I'll definitely be living in rupees for a while. I'm wondering how I should go about changing my money. My bank will let me use ATM, but will take 3% of all purchases and charge me $5 per withdrawal. I'm wondering if any one can let me know whether these rates are better or worse than moneychanging places in Delhi (airport? elsewhere?). I was thinking about taking some cash to avoid the $5 fee, which seems ridiculous (other threads lead me to believe I can usually withdraw up to about $200 per withdrawal from Indian ATMs, which I guess means I'm getting charged 2.5% of what I'm withdrawing...). Are moneychanging places worse than this? How much is a good idea to change into rupees upon arriving at the airport, are there better places in the city to do it, should I keep ANY money in USD for any reason...?

Thanks a lot for help!

I'd just change minimum amount at the airport....Any airport in the world !!! In BOM/DEL I'd change USD 20, and then exchange the rest in the city.

$5 per withdrawal !!! 3% at the ATM ? You are being mugged by your bank.

You are allowed to carry cash+other paper instruments of up to $10,000; and the cash component of $5,000 without declaration.

http://www.cbec.gov.in/travellers.htm

Nick, it is probably too late now as your leaving tomorrow, but a bit of research into banks/institutions that charge little or no withdrawal fees could have saved you some money. Now you should change your money in as few transactions as possible to minimise fees & charges. If it costs you $50 in fees so be it. enjoy the trip and dont worry about this. Zamba.

Thanks to you both. Yes, sadly I left the call to the bank until last minute and just found out about the ridiculous fees. On the one hand I'm glad you guys agree with me that they're exorbitant, but on the other hand I still have to pay them .

Thanks for the advice about changing the minimum at the airport. If anyone has any recommendations on where to change it in the city, I'm all ears! (This is actually my first time out of the country, so I don't know the first thing about finding a place to exchange currency...).

You will have to shop around and see what rates they (money exchangers) offer. For large amounts, I have bargained in the past - But then I have more than average clue about Forex

I guess it'll be a hard lesson to learn . Though I really find it difficult to worry too much about money considering how inexpensive things like train rides will be in India. I suppose I'll just eat some costs this time and know better the next!

Finally, considering I have no particular reason to protect them and some readers might want to know, the bank I use is Wells Fargo. So if you have Wells Fargo and are considering traveling for the first time, you might want to start thinking about switching banks!

In your case I would suggest that you carry the maximum amount of USD with you and exchange into Rs when you find a favourable rate in India.

I suppose they have to recoup all their losses fron the stagecoach days.

In Delhi, Connaught Place is full of money exchangers. Go to a reputed shop like LKP etc. so that there are no problems. Look up the exchange rate on the net (xe.com) and pay not more than +- 0.5% on buying / selling. This is my thumbrule based on $500 being exchanged - I once got even better terms and sometimes had to pay a bit more.

If you must be with a major bank and plan to travel often to India, Citibank has a few branches there.

Yes, do shop around. My broker offers me a debit card that is free of withdrawal fees for more transactions than I'll ever make in India. And my credit union account has much lower fees than any bank.

Wishing you safe travels.