Travellers Cheques...... Or Not?

dont know if this one has been answered before,but would
like to know everyones opinions on taking T.C.'s or not?

wanna try make do with just ATM's if poss.

going to be in mainly big cities and towns in northen India.

thanks

i'm just taking some cash and my bank card. From what I hear ATMS are are quite common now.

i had no trouble finding or using atms. but i took about a hundred quids worth of travellers checks as back up

Same here. But the banks do stick a fee on everytime (at least mine does).

I must see if I can open an account with ICICI Bank here in London, which would hopefully give me free conversion to Ruppees. Wrote to them; they never replied. Customer service? Oh dear....

other threads on this - dont run out of cash in the country or small towns if you are just packing a card ...

I talked to ICICI in Canada and they said there is a $3.00 CAD fee + 2% of the withdrawal amount.

Well, I've been working in Bangalore for 6 months with only my ATM card. When I first arrived I think I had 60 pounds in cash for backup.

A couple of weeks ago my wife emailed from the UK saying she got a letter from the bank and that my card was to be cancelled the next day as they had issued a new card to me with chip'n'pin (supposedly better security). The thing is they had mentioned in a previous letter that the process was, a) deliver the new card, b) I ring up to get it activated then c) they cancel the old card. Process they did instead was a) try to deliver new card to my old address, b) recieve the card back at the bank c) cancel my old card.

My point is make sure you have a backup plan if something goes wrong with your card.

In big towns and cities the ATMs are flourishing, so travel with an ATM card only, is possible. But expect to have to do a lot of trips across town to find an ATM!! In this respect TCs are still a little easier.
However with a little care and effort using your ATM to finance a trip is perfectly viable.
I've found that HDFC bank is one of the more common banks where you can use your credit/debit card. I've found their ATMs in the most obscure of places.
If your heading out into the villages make sure you take plenty cash as the chances of finding a ATM in the smaller places is greatly diminished!!
As others have said this comes at a cost and for goodnes sake don't get you card blocked/lost/stolen as this will cause you no end of problems!!
I had my card blocked (my own fault) and my bank wouldn't do anything about it until I got home luckily this happened at the end of my trip!!

Happy Traveling

good backup is your visa card. Make sure you can use yours at an atm, and then you'll have 2 options. ATM machines are in all towns of any size.

My card will expire while I'm away. I asked the bank if they could re-issue one now with a longer expiry. NO was the answer. They will send it to my address abroad. We'll see I'm taking plenty of TCs as well
It doesn't cost to pay them back in on your return.




........and a few quid in me sky

I Think their website for UK says they convert free.

Trouble is I find everything to do with money, banking, investment, saving etc very boring. Except spending it, which is why I don't have much.

You may have to try several banks. My experience in Chennai was that all the ATMs had the right logos to accept my card, but not all banks did.

Panic, panic, the first time this happened (especially as I'd also locked myself out of my Online Banking Access so I couldn't check/correct the balance until that was soprted). But the panic only lasted until I went back to the last machine that did give me cash, which worked fine.