Money: Visa issued in US accepted?

dhee123

Hi,

I live in the US and my husband and I are planning a 2-week trip to India (Rajasthan, Gujrat and Mumbai) in Feb 2007.

Just a quick question about money - When I called Jet Airways to reserve a flight they said they only accepted Visa and Mastercard issued in India. Fortunately I could pay with American Express.

Is that the case everywhere (i.e. restaurants, shops and smaller hertitage hotels and havelis) also? I find credit cards very convenient for international travel, but don't know the policy in India.

I have heard I can get cash out of an ATM using my Visa card also, but am not sure about limits/day or per ATM machine.

Any advice would be great. Thanks!

Shaktipalooza

I'm pretty sure the Jet Airways issue is only when booking from overseas since I've personally purchased many Jet tickets (and other airlines) when in India.

We always bring our visa debit card and do most of our ATM cash withdrawals and purchases with it. We do bring our credit cards as backup and usually a few hundred dollars in large notes ($100 bills) to eliminate bulk. Many other people prefer traveler's checks for backup. Either is fine.

Before leaving it is a good idea to contact your bank and give them your trip particulars. Our bank monitors our activity and have blocked our account in the past when suspicious activity occurs (like charges made halfway around the world).

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akt

You will have no trouble using your credit card in India. At most you might have to shown an ID, as can happen anywhere. Because of some justified or unjustified security scare, they are restricting online or phone payments by foreign cards.

seventies'hippy

Yes a Good Idea,,,,,,,,,,

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kalyani68

We used our Visa card without too much problem although in some places it took some searching to find an ATM that accepted our card. There was a limit on how much we could withdraw at once but that is something you can work around should you need to.

One ATM we used on the outskirts of Delhi was patroled by a guard brandishing a machine gun. Kinda made us a little nervous.

gregornot

Namaste,
We had no problems using MasterCard to pay hotels or make small purchases.
peace, gregor

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wonderwomanusa

If the Visa is a debit card for your bank account, it's fine to use it. If it's your separate credit card, beware of high "cash advance" fees.

I used a separate Visa card, however, for several hotels (when I went upscale a bit) and had no problem with the charges.

kmalik

As others have pointed out, the credit cards issued by the US banks are just fine. Also, second using the ATM card to avoid the cash advance fees. Just check with the bank (or better yet - back of the card) as to what networks (Plus, Cirrus, Maestro, etc.) your bank is part of.

An additional consideration I wanted to share is that different issuing banks and VISA, MC and AMEX charge different foreign currency transaction fees. Certain banks (Capital One, and a few others) do not charge any fees, but for some the fees may add up to 3% or more. I recall that AMEX is 2% (though not sure), so you might have accidentally made the right choice with Jet Airways. Anyway, call your bank and check. Ask for the fee bank charges and that the card network (VISA etc.) charges...

tacita

i had a different experience with jet airways. i booked with them online on december 15th for travel on to take place next week and paid with my US-issued mastercard. might their policy have changed so recently?

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edwardseco

Yes, it was a recent change. However, people are using agencies to get around this..

Envirochk

You could have booked your tickets with Jet Airways through their USA desk in California. The numbers on their web site. They take V/MC and AMX. Plus, they sent us paper tickets via overnite mail for a small charge.