Two Week Stay : How Much Money And How

[wingmanPI]

My questions are : how much cash should I take ? Are atm's there THAT unreliable ? (I am a Bank of America customer and have no idea how I will get money once there other than ATM's).

It reminds me of my first time. I realized I could get by on 2K pesos a day so, in your case I would have brought about 30K pesos in cash and my ATM card. Remember this was just my own personal experience. Everyone has a different one.Anyway, it was my experience that I wanted more money because the touristy things to do can cost quite a bit more than the 2K a day I brought with me. So I tried to use my ATM card. It did not work for me. When I got back and found the problem it turned out that the magnetized strip on my card was screwed. (It should have been a clue to me when the cashier at safeway had to use a plastic baggie to run it through her machine before I left)So I spent too much and ran out of money but I managed to open an online account with XOOM and wire myself some money which I funded with an on line bank transfer. At that time I also had a Capital ONE card but almost no one here would accept an out of country credit card, or they wanted to tack on 8% for the privilege. Then, in Hong Kong on the trip back, I got held up by a taxi driver and had to get my mother (I am well over 50 so that was embarrassing) to wire me some cash via Western Union.All this happened about 4 years ago so things have probably changed but these are the kinds of things to expect, you know, whatever can go wrong WILL go wrong.

I just signed up for xoom. do they allow you to send money to yourself in your name?? I normally use my girlfriends name and have her pick it up just so I can avoid hunting down an ATM but it would be useful to know if I can do the transfer in my name.

[wingmanPI]

Other people will tell you how unrelaibale ATM's are but I have had no problems in more than 10 years of using ATM's in the Philippines.Avoid trying to get cash on weekends and middle and end of month. make sure your bank knows you are in the Philippines and will be using your card in the Philippines. Make sure the ATM uses the same systems your card does.Then plan your withdrawals. That is, don't wait until you have run out of cash before seeking more. If you know you will be near your favourite ATM machine, get the money then.In Cebu City, I use HSBC on C. Rosales Avenue. It is virtually the only machine I use because I get enough money to last me until I am back in Cebu City. It is opposite Ayala Mall and nearly opposite the Marriott Hotel. They have 2 ATM machines inside with a 24 hour guard. The machines dispense up to P40,000 at a time and accept most systems including CIRRUS, PLUS, MASTERCARD, VISA.I personally spend P80,000 to P100,000 per month, for 2, when travelling in the Philippines. However, I am a budget traveller.Regards: Jim

it should also be noted that you should check with your bank on your daily withdraw limits. the default settings they put on your account when it is opened can be quite low sometimes.

[Dave Hounddriver]

I just signed up for xoom. do they allow you to send money to yourself in your name??

They used to but I believe they tightened their rules and deny your account if they catch you sending money to yourself. A lot of people got their accounts blocked that way. To be safe, keep sending to your gf (assuming you have full confidence in her.)

[andre007]

I just signed up for xoom. do they allow you to send money to yourself in your name??

They used to but I believe they tightened their rules and deny your account if they catch you sending money to yourself. A lot of people got their accounts blocked that way. To be safe, keep sending to your gf (assuming you have full confidence in her.)

I second that because when I first came to Cebu that is the way I used to send my money. Moving forward I have several close friends and some not so close friends that Xoom has closed accounts and denied their sending privileges for many unknown reasons.

[karlen]

If you must take cash take new crisp unfolded $100.00 bills.

Great tip on the unfolded bills. We had a hard time having the bills cashed when my bf was here because they were folded and a lil old. The money changers in boracay turned them down. Even the bank in Manila did.