Yes DCB will be my primary card, but it might not be accepted at many places, specifically I've heard it's bad in SEA and Europe. Need a backup up for that.
Understandable. I used amex gold charge on my last trip to australia and it was mostly accepted and where it was not accepted i used hdfc infinia and my hdfc forex card. ( amex cc > infinia > forex debit card)
No place that accepted cards declined forex debit card. So if u just want peace of mind and dont mind loss of a few reward points just take a forex card from trustable bank and enjoy ur trip with peace of mind.
Thanks. Forex card is something I was considering but cross currency markup might be expensive. I could not find dong as currency for hdfc forex card.
Also why was Amex > Infinia?
I wrote that by mistake didnt have plat charge at that time. Was thinking about plat charge which i will use in my next trip.
Infinia >> amex gold for lower forex coversion (2% i think and 3.33% reward rate)
Got my virtual card 2 days ago for my upcoming international travel next month, but according to the people of this subreddit it’s flawless in acceptance rate
Niyo credit card needs fd, but you can get their normal debit card. Essentially use it as a charge card. The conversion rate is also good. Found it much better on my trip to Bali for online transactions and atm withdrawals than converting inr at currency exchanges. The atm charges were lower then though.
Oh, thanks for the suggestion. Do I need savings account with the bank to get the debit card? If yes which is better?
Cash withdrawal charges seem quite high at 400+ gst
Yeah you would need an account. The charges used to be 110 but I guess it has increased now. In that case, may be it does not make that much sense to take it, as all vietnam ATMs have a limit of 2 million vnd in a transaction. Also they charge additional 2-5% fees. Go for agribank atm for minimal charges.
Also look into idfc wow / wealth cards.
I applied through email and upgrade my regalia to DCB LTF. They are discontinuing the alumni offer from 27th Oct. You can try your luck today. [email protected]
DCB isn't really a good card for Foreign transactions even if it is accepted everywhere.
The forex conversion rate of Discover is quite bad, couple of Rs more than what shows up on Google.
Best go with some Visa or Mastercard based card. Possibly 0 markup ones.
Or if you can, upgrade DCB to Infinia.
DCB alone is enough for maximum returns.
Yes DCB will be my primary card, but it might not be accepted at many places, specifically I've heard it's bad in SEA and Europe. Need a backup up for that.
Op pls confirm if dcb is accepted where u travel. Just this week saw posts of poor dcb reception.
Yes, I think the acceptance rate is poor in sea and Europe and hence looking at good visa/mc backups.
U can check out scapia, Some ppl swear by it. ( havent used it personally )
Will check it out. Should be good enough for back up, reliability is main factor here, rewards is not.
Understandable. I used amex gold charge on my last trip to australia and it was mostly accepted and where it was not accepted i used hdfc infinia and my hdfc forex card. ( amex cc > infinia > forex debit card) No place that accepted cards declined forex debit card. So if u just want peace of mind and dont mind loss of a few reward points just take a forex card from trustable bank and enjoy ur trip with peace of mind.
Thanks. Forex card is something I was considering but cross currency markup might be expensive. I could not find dong as currency for hdfc forex card. Also why was Amex > Infinia?
I wrote that by mistake didnt have plat charge at that time. Was thinking about plat charge which i will use in my next trip. Infinia >> amex gold for lower forex coversion (2% i think and 3.33% reward rate)
Got it!
DCB is not useful in Vietnam. Personal exp.
Thanks. Have decided to get Scapia and just carry cash to Vietnam.
Scapia for zero markup as a backup to DCB
Does Scapia have any acceptance issues or downtime?
Got my virtual card 2 days ago for my upcoming international travel next month, but according to the people of this subreddit it’s flawless in acceptance rate
Great! Do update in case you face any issues (hope you don't)
Sure!
Scapia, Fi and Niyo do you know which one is best? I also have DCB but need another one for foreign trip coming in few days
Niyo needs an FD and Scapia offers 5-10% over the highest limit reported on your cibil report Edit: idk about Fi
Niyo credit card needs fd, but you can get their normal debit card. Essentially use it as a charge card. The conversion rate is also good. Found it much better on my trip to Bali for online transactions and atm withdrawals than converting inr at currency exchanges. The atm charges were lower then though.
I used both Scapia and FI on my trip to UK recently. Worked brilliantly both of them without any issues.
Do you know about Diner's if that works fine or no?
DCB works in UK.
Super. Thanks for confirming. I will keep it as a backup for Scapia card cause no forex there.
Take a niyo debit card for cash withdrawal in vietnam. Shops ask an additional 3% for card transactions.
Oh, thanks for the suggestion. Do I need savings account with the bank to get the debit card? If yes which is better? Cash withdrawal charges seem quite high at 400+ gst
Yeah you would need an account. The charges used to be 110 but I guess it has increased now. In that case, may be it does not make that much sense to take it, as all vietnam ATMs have a limit of 2 million vnd in a transaction. Also they charge additional 2-5% fees. Go for agribank atm for minimal charges. Also look into idfc wow / wealth cards.
Looks like carrying cash would be better in this case.
They don't have limit of 2 million. I personally took out 8 million from Citi. Local banks have 3 mil limit.
Yeah probably because Citi is an international bank. I tried 4m and it got rejected, so I thought 2m is the limit. Thanks for the clarification.
Checkout IndusInd Indie, the top tier has 0 international atm withdrawal charges.
Use scapia, I have used it for USD, EURO, IDR, THB currencies.
how you got DCB, Sapphiro LTF ?
Alumni offer
Where do you get the list of colleges for it?
The list on the Internet is outdated, better to ask them directly
I tried DCB and ICICI but got only Sapphiro from the alumni offer! Do you have a link for DCB or is it through email?
I applied through email and upgrade my regalia to DCB LTF. They are discontinuing the alumni offer from 27th Oct. You can try your luck today. [email protected]
Will try!
They have stopped giving LTF already. The agent only agreed for FYF.
My friend got it LTF just 4 days ago. They're offering till 27th I believe.
DCB isn't really a good card for Foreign transactions even if it is accepted everywhere. The forex conversion rate of Discover is quite bad, couple of Rs more than what shows up on Google. Best go with some Visa or Mastercard based card. Possibly 0 markup ones. Or if you can, upgrade DCB to Infinia.
Infinia would not be possible for atleast a year, don't meet the spend criteria. Will take Scapia or Niyo debit card.
Can u get infinia ltf ?
Have seen people get it. I will not have enough spends to get even a paid version for a couple of years.