Carrying Cash to International Destinations

[knick1959]

I've done this many times and the drill is just to hit up my local banks for crisp, newer US bills. ATMs around me spit out nice $20's so this is good; smaller bills, not so easy but my banks have been very friendly.

My question is more specific: what is the largest domination that is safe (easily accepted) to carry. For my recent trip to SE Asia, my wife and I carried $1800 in cash, knowing some specific things that would instantly use a third of this. We carried this in 1's to 20's and it made for a pretty thick stack to try to distribute across body parts.

Tempted to take some 50's or even a couple of 100's with me next trip (6 weeks). It's a shorter trip and will require less cash, but to pay a $400 hotel bill in US$ on Easter Island? Here I can email the owner; he's been very responsive to all questions. But in-general, asking folks with more experience here ... stop at 20's or can I venture into 50's and 100's??

TIA.

 

[projectx]

That really depends on the destination (I can't comment on Easter Island specifically). In Costa Rica, most places won't accept anything larger than a 20 as they think they are counterfeit. Regardless, I like to pay with the local currency.

 

[knick1959]

That really depends on the destination (I can't comment on Easter Island specifically). In Costa Rica, most places won't accept anything larger than a 20 as they think they are counterfeit. Regardless, I like to pay with the local currency.

I guess that answers my overall question. If it's a problem in Costa Rica, I'm betting it is elsewhere. I'll be safe and continue to carry 20's. But I'll ask in the case of this hotel, as I paid a similar bill in Cambodia recently in 20's and it was awkward and almost too much to carry. I'm not sure Cambodia Reils are that widely used. At least the touristy parts seem to run on US bills.

I prefer local currency, too, particularly when the units are massively different. In Vietnam where $1US was about 23,000 Vietnamese Dong, asking to pay in US$'s often ended up with a substantial rounding error. Still, when the price in quoted in US$, you're going to see the rounding error anyway and then you have to extend the conversation (in-person, via email, etc) to ask for a price in local currency. It IS kind of funny that prices are so often quoted in US$, but it does seem to be very often an excepted alternative to local money.

It's also handy to pay in the local currency when you start to run out of US cash!

 

[Suzie]

We have a booking coming up in Egypt that does not take credit cards, only cash. And it states "Under Eqyptian law all foreign guests must pay in a foreign currency, not in Egyptian currency."

It's only a one night stay of $110, so I will be taking $100 USD for the bulk of this bill.

I like to pay in the local currency when cc is not accepted, also, but do find it convenient to use small denominations of USD for tipping.

 

[BuddyFunJet]

My practice is to take the newest $100 possible for bigger expenses along with a mix of smaller bills for smaller purchases. I like $2 bills for the novelty but sometimes not considered real. In many Asian countries, large bills get a better exchange rate and worn or torn bills are refused.

I place an order with my bank for “Christmas gift” new money a few weeks before Christmas.

 

[Suzie]

We found the same in Uganda with the larger bills. We were giving our driver $100 USD and asked him if he preferred $20's or a $100. He preferred the $100 for the exchange rate.

 

[knick1959]

We found the same in Uganda with the larger bills. We were giving our driver $100 USD and asked him if he preferred $20's or a $100. He preferred the $100 for the exchange rate.

Ok, well this sounds like a better plan. And as you mentioned before ... you had your (larger) hotel break a US$100 into smaller bills. I'll try this slowly, over time, but instead of a large stack of 20's, some 20's and a couple of 100's (or 50's).

 

[BuddyFunJet]

For most local currency, I use my Schwab or Capital One ATM card at an airport ATM since the ATM fees are reimbursed. Taxi or other local transport can be difficult without a bit of local currency. At the hotel, I exchange the larger local bills that the ATM gives for small walking around bills.

BTW, hotel exchange rates are usually pretty bad so I prefer ATM or local exchange offices except in Argentina or other places with artificial currency controls where the street rates can be much better.

 

[Suzie]

Ok, well this sounds like a better plan. And as you mentioned before ... you had your (larger) hotel break a US$100 into smaller bills. I'll try this slowly, over time, but instead of a large stack of 20's, some 20's and a couple of 100's (or 50's).

@knick1959 - That comment was in connection to your recent trip and my experience with ATM in Cambodia. I had the hotel break $100 bill that the ATM spit out and since they use USD - there was no exchange fee.

Agree with @BuddyFunJet - would not use hotel desk for exchanging money.

 

[HanoiIG]

For most local currency, I use my Schwab or Capital One ATM card at an airport ATM since the ATM fees are reimbursed. Taxi or other local transport can be difficult without a bit of local currency. At the hotel, I exchange the larger local bills that the ATM gives for small walking around bills.

BTW, hotel exchange rates are usually pretty bad so I prefer ATM or local exchange offices except in Argentina or other places with artificial currency controls where the street rates can be much better.

I do the same thing. That way you can get a small amount if necessary at the end of a trip. Actually, I prefer to earn points/miles so charge nearly everything. I remember the first time we visited Vietnam in 1994 we had wads and wads of pristine US dollars as we heard they won't accept any notes with smudges, creases or other damage. Of course that doesn't stop them from giving you back local currency that is all of the above!

 

[caliang]

Agree with the Schwab or Capital One ATM card. That is my current practice of carrying cash to international destination. The VISA or Master conversion rate is much better than you would have get locally anywhere else.

 

[knick1959]

Agree with the Schwab or Capital One ATM card. That is my current practice of carrying cash to international destination. The VISA or Master conversion rate is much better than you would have get locally anywhere else.

I have the Schwab card and agree ... it works great. But moving though several countries in 2-3 weeks, this can semi-backfire if not managed well. I haven't been left with an abundance of local currency recently, but it's happened before. I can always send my wife off to spend left over money at the airport, she's very good at it (and loves her job!) But too much and I am not happy. US $ are always welcome to come home with me. That, and it's hard to get to an ATM to pay for visas and the like ... chicken/egg. In my book, there is always a need to carry US$. When you are running out of Vietnamese Dong at the end of the trip, it's nice to think that you can get by with the US cash in your pocket as an option.

I head out to Chile (including Easter Island) and Iguazu Falls (Brazil AND Argentina sides) in a couple of weeks. Still debating, but I believe I have enough US cash on hand. Still, I'm going to make a point of getting a couple of 50's and perhaps a 100 or 2 and actually try to use those in places. If they don't work, I'll happily bring them back. I'll do that this week, thanks for the reminder.

 

[BuddyFunJet]

I have the Schwab card and agree ... it works great. But moving though several countries in 2-3 weeks, this can semi-backfire if not managed well. I haven't been left with an abundance of local currency recently, but it's happened before. I can always send my wife off to spend left over money at the airport, she's very good at it (and loves her job!) But too much and I am not happy. .......

My habit is to reserve enough local currency for airport transport and snacks then use the excess against my hotel bill.

 

[churning_medic]

I'm another advocate of the Schwab card. Granted I haven't traveled to more exotic third-world places yet (Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, and Italy are the extent of my solo foreign travel so far), but I've had zero issues. I just transfer some money from my regular checking account to the Schwab before my trip and I'm good to go.

 

[bayguy]

I carry Charles Schwab and BoA cards(backup just in case) and traveled to 5 continents with no issues so far(Egypt, Peru, Bolivia, Australia, Turkey etc)

 

[knick1959]

I carry Charles Schwab and BoA cards(backup just in case) and traveled to 5 continents with no issues so far(Egypt, Peru, Bolivia, Australia, Turkey etc)

Interestingly, just today my Schwab card didn't work for me. On Easter Island with 2 ATMs available, I chose the "better bank" according to my hotel owner. The ATM let me choose English, then showed a mishmash of English and Spanish. The error/denial message was in Spanish and I had no idea what it was telling me. This was to purchase something at a craft market and fortunately they took US$. Only one-ish days left in Chile and should have enough pesos to make it through. I can't blame the Schwab card ... it let me extract money in Santiago ... might have been the bank itself. Will try in Argentina and/or Brazil over the next few days.

 

[caliang]

For using the schwab card, I usually call ahead of time prior to travel to update my card company that I will be traveling internationally, so they won't block any international transactions as fraud. Also, it's good to recognize the biggest bank locally that is more likely to accept your schwab card. Citi bank worked well from my experience, the largest or larger local banks work well as well. Some strictly local union bank or small scale banks might not work. I had few of those not working experience as well, but they are almost always the small local banks.

 

[knick1959]

For using the schwab card, I usually call ahead of time prior to travel to update my card company that I will be traveling internationally, so they won't block any international transactions as fraud. Also, it's good to recognize the biggest bank locally that is more likely to accept your schwab card. Citi bank worked well from my experience, the largest or larger local banks work well as well. Some strictly local union bank or small scale banks might not work. I had few of those not working experience as well, but they are almost always the small local banks.

My card worked flawlessly in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Hong Kong in Jan ... and yes, I had travel notifications setup for everything ... this is now part of my "packing list" after my first fail many years ago in Peru where I did not notify them, then had to talk forever on the phone to release the lock and make my card useful. After that, never a problem. And it worked at the Santiago airport when arriving. It HAS to be something with the currently location. I won't try again, I don't think, bec

 

[BuddyFunJet]

My card worked flawlessly in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Hong Kong in Jan ... and yes, I had travel notifications setup for everything ... this is now part of my "packing list" after my first fail many years ago in Peru where I did not notify them, then had to talk forever on the phone to release the lock and make my card useful. After that, never a problem. And it worked at the Santiago airport when arriving. It HAS to be something with the currently location. I won't try again, I don't think, bec

Probably not the case but another possibility is withdrawal limits, either amount or frequency. Since the need isn't urgent, waiting a few days to use in a major city, if needed, makes sense.

For learning purposes, I would call Schwab when you get home and ask what they see on their end about the failed transaction. They might say they never saw the transaction and it was just a local bank issue or you might learn about some limit that caused a rejection.

 

[knick1959]

Update. I drove past the bank/ATM I tried to use yesterday and it turns out it was the "bad" bank. Not the one that was recommended. So that experience/experiment was invalid. Fly out tomorrow at 2:55pm but still have 10k Pesos (about $15US) which should be enough.

Per my original question and still not really a globally valid experiment since EI is a special case and US$ is considered a secondary currency here, but I paid the craft vendor mostly in 50s and she didn't bat an eye. Holding 2x100's, but those go to help pay our hotel tomorrow.

 

[knick1959]

We only did a "drive by" of sorts in Argentina and didn't need any local currency but I wanted some for our souvenir collection. Landing in Buenos Aires, the ATM had a massively long line so I passed. Transferring to the AEP airport for a massively long layover, I found 2 ATMs and both of these failed. I ended up with some AR "change" (by request) from my US cash for purchase in Iguazu so we were all set.

Hopped the border to the Brazil side of the falls this evening. In our hotel is an ATM that just looked right; all of the VISA and other logos you would expect at a REAL ATM. This was my ticket to some Brazilian currency. Failed again, but this time the error message was in English, as chosen on the first ATM page. Something was wrong with my card.

Logging into my online account and everything looked in order. Checked to make sure I had set travel notifications ... it told me I didn't even have a debit card! W-w-w-waitaminute.

For learning purposes, I would call Schwab when you get home and ask what they see on their end about the failed transaction. They might say they never saw the transaction and it was just a local bank issue or you might learn about some limit that caused a rejection.

Well, more out a necessity, that's what I did. This was more of a leisurely call than my panic attack years ago, mostly because US dollars were working well.

Phone agent, 8:30pm Eastern time on a Saturday, repeated back all of my failed transactions for me to confirm. Apparently they had my travel registered but VISA itself threw a stop on the card. Seems odd to me, but she said that I'm all fixed up (with just a few days left on this trip) ... I won't be able to test this until tomorrow AM. Alas, I expect it to simply work now. However, this shows how having ample US dollars with you can be very helpful. Next time this card fails, and on the first time it fails, I'll call in to get the scoop rather than blame the bank or remote location.

 

[knick1959]

I now have 220 Brazilian Reals in my pocket. May or may not be enough but the card is working again and even appears online WITH my original travel notices. It was apparently the Easter Island w/d attempt that started the whole thing. While that is technically Chile, I did not check to see if there was a separate pick option for it (Update: there is no specific option for EI ... Chile is all that is available). However, my CSP card has worked everywhere.

 

[knick1959]

Wow. I'm home now but had to call again as, when trying to withdraw the equivalent of $150US in Brazil to pay a tour vendor (after they had delivered the tour for 2), I was denied. Fortunately we were able to pay in a mix of Reals (what I had in my pocket) + US$ at a not so favorable guide-quoted exchange rate but I adjusted the tip by that much and it was still enough. Tried the card early this morning at DFW for $20 and it failed.

Both times, with Schwab travel notifications in place, VISA froze the card on fraud concerns. I asked the phone rep if there was a way to get a generic travel alert to Visa and the answer was "NO". I am not sure if this is all new, based on the area we were in, or what. But again, in Jan I did many similar W/Ds without an incident. This trip was a problem.

 

[Suzie]

We used our Schwab for ATM withdrawals two weeks ago in Egypt with no problem. I never put an alert on the card. Mainly because I forget to before we leave. The only time we had problems was Iceland several years ago.

Hope this isn’t a new thing.

 

[HanoiIG]

We used our Schwab for ATM withdrawals two weeks ago in Egypt with no problem. I never put an alert on the card. Mainly because I forget to before we leave. The only time we had problems was Iceland several years ago.

Hope this isn’t a new thing.

I've never had a problem. I don't use much cash but it is sometimes necessary. I once was offered(and, of course, accepted) a free cash advance from the hotel, which they billed to some sort of miscellany.

 

[Suzie]

I've never had a problem. I don't use much cash but it is sometimes necessary. I once was offered(and, of course, accepted) a free cash advance from the hotel, which they billed to some sort of miscellany.

That’s an excellent idea! Cash advance from the hotel and points too!

 

[HanoiIG]

Except NOT points. Same as if they advance for a taxi.

 

[jerryjerry]

I don't carry much on me. Most of the thing i book online anyway. The first time I drove to Slovenia, I made sure to get a vignette https://vignetteslovenia.eu. It's a must-have for using the highways, and I was able to buy one easily online. It saved me a lot of trouble and made my trip stress-free.