i dont have a credit card and was wondering if debit cards work out ok, i have heard of cards being eaten by atms
I am going to southeast asia very soon. I dont have a credit card and dont have enough time to apply for one, was just wondering if any other travelers have hade problems with debit cards. I have heard that some atms will "eat" your card if it does not accept it. i have some travelers checkes but just for back-up. Any help would be great
Reply to this Unless I am travelling in the countryside, I am relying on debit cards to get me around nine times out of ten. As long as the ATM has a little Mastercard/Cirrus/Visa/etc. logo corresponding to the one on your card you should be fine. There are exceptions of course; Japan is notoriously difficult when it comes to accepting foreign cards. Many ATMs will only accept cards issued domestically.
However, be aware that sometimes glitches can occur. A handful of times I experienced hiccups in the communication with my bank and the ATM would refrain from handing over any bills, only a receipt informing me that cash was succesfully withdrawn. In those situations the corresponding amount will be earmarked on your account and thus cannot be withdrawn again. Errors like these are normally automatically corrected but it can take up to a few days for the system to update the balance. If you have more money left on the account you can gamble one more time, preferrably at another ATM, but if it was the last available funds you'd do well to have some back-up cash or traveller's cheques to rely on.
Remember to double check your bank's fee for foreign withdrawal, it is usually prohibitively high. Also, aways carry the telephone numbers to your local bank office as well as the special number you should dial to deactivate your card in the event it is lost or stolen.
Reply to this Hi Cheapskate,
My suggestion on using limited number of Debit Card would be:
1. Tell your bank (the one who issued your debit card), that you are planning to go to some place and when, so that the bank could reset your debit card's setting. Usually most bank will need to reset their card's setting so it would be able to use outside country. Then try your card after being reseted.
2. It is ok to use only one card, but make sure that your card will be able to use in many ATM machine with matched logo (the more logo included at the backside of your debit card would be advantage). In Indonesia, you can find local banks ATM with PLUS, VISA, MASTER, MASTERCARD, and LINK logos easily. Mostly another bank will charge you for using their ATM machine.
3. Always take the receipt while you withdraw cash on any ATM machine, this will help you to claim for your fund, in case you have ATM machine problems with your card.
4. Ensure that you not leaving the ATM screen for long time without any instruction. Usually ATM Machine will swallow the card if there is no instruction for a long time.
5. If you have your card swallowed. You can wait until the ATM machine's cash supplies is filled up by the banks officer. They can help you to take the swallowed cards.
6. Always bring your ID, incase you need to encash the travelers checks in a bank.
Reply to this alright thank you, i was also wondering if you use your chequing account or savings account, or do they both work?
Reply to this Hi Cheapskate
debit card linkage problems sometimes happen. You can try from both type. Make sure you know your bank's hotline number. And ensure you are familiar with how to use it (to speak with machine instead of operator). So if you meet any problem overseas, you can call your bank to solve the problem.
Reply to this 
