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Author Topic: Crinkled Benjamins?  (Read 8548 times)
BURKE89
Guest
« on: September 02, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
I've seen many references, to Russian suspicion of American currency. How pristine do the bills have to be? Would the fold, from a money clip or wallet make them un-convertible? The reason I ask, is that I'll be making my first trip to Russia (Kazan in Dec.) and I don't know if my plastic will be of much good to me. Also, are 100's the preferred bill?

Thanks in advance,

Vaughn
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wilmc
Guest
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Crinkled Benjamins?, posted by BURKE89 on Sep 2, 2002

http://www.kpnews.com/main/11690/
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BubbaGump
Guest
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Crinkled Benjamins?, posted by BURKE89 on Sep 2, 2002

Lots of guys take a lot of cash on them to Russia or wherever and some immigration officers like to say show me the money.  These guys end up looking all through their luggage, money belts, shoes and little hiding places to show the officer their money.  I guess they get a big kick out of hasseling us so keep your money handy.  

In Latvia people would accept less than perfect bills but would deduct 2.5%.  In St Petersburg they would only accept perfect bills but I used an ATM at the metro station near the Europa hotel to get cash.
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peter2s
Guest
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Don't make your money too hard to get to, posted by BubbaGump on Sep 3, 2002

i was thinking if debit cards are usable at some of the
cash machines over there, it would be a safe way to have cash available
-  as the debit card can't be used without the pin #-- in the case of the card getting lost or taken..
but i do not know how rare the "debit card type"
cash-machines are in ST P. or Kiev?
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BubbaGump
Guest
« Reply #4 on: September 04, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to was it a debit card ATM transaction?, posted by peter2s on Sep 4, 2002

What wilmc says about the liability limit of a debit card is true.  I guess it would be as much as you have in the bank.  Now I have my picture embedded in the card so that helps some.  One annoying thing about the ATMs was the low cash limit. I had to get the maximum 4 times before I had enough cash.  The limit was about $20.

There was a problem a couple of years ago with fake ATMs in Moscow being used to steal bank card numbers and get the PIN numbers.
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wilmc
Guest
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to It was a debit card, posted by BubbaGump on Sep 4, 2002

Thanks for the confirmation.  If you have overdraft protection on your checking account and the debit card is stolen you can really be in deep do do.

When I was last in Moscow, this past May and June, I had no difficulty getting sufficient funds from the ATM's.  I only used the one located in the lobby of the Marriott hotel and ones sttached directly to Bank offices.
No fees and no problems.
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BubbaGump
Guest
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Re: It was a debit card, posted by wilmc on Sep 5, 2002

and a bank office but the bank was closed and the one ATM machine was broken at the time.  The Europa is centrally located on Nevsky (sp?) Prospect so it's convenient.  The Europa is a very expensive hotel so I don't expect many people to be staying there but there was a couple of nice restaurants next to it and it's a good central meeting place.  In the movie Goldeneye, the Europa was the hotel where James Bond was staying.  A tour guide in Helsinki, Finland were I spent one night, said many scenes from Goldeneye were actually filmed in Helsinki.
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MarkInTx
Guest
« Reply #7 on: September 04, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to was it a debit card ATM transaction?, posted by peter2s on Sep 4, 2002

I got cash on my Visa card with no problem when I was in Kiev. (My BofA card is both debit and credit)

I didn't use the ATM, though, I just went into the bank.

They charged me 2%. So, when I got $100 from the bank, I got charged $2.00.

Heck, a lot of ATMs charge $2.50 here now...
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wilmc
Guest
« Reply #8 on: September 04, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to was it a debit card ATM transaction?, posted by peter2s on Sep 4, 2002

Be Careful.  Be sure to read the fine print on your Debit card agreement.  You can stand to lose a lot more from a stolen Debit than a credit card,  It can clean out your checking account and if you have a savings account attached to your checking account that can go as well.

Losses from a credit card are protected as long as you employ due diligence and quickly report the loss.  Keep the loss notification telephone numbers handy, just in case.

I use a credit card and a PIN is always required for a cash advance at an ATM.

Unfortunately the thieves have developed some very sophisticated methods of getting PINs.  A few years ago they caught crooks in NY at Grand Central Station who were using binoculars from a balcony to watch the unsuspected key into telephones and ATMs.  Later the victims received huge phone bills for overseas long distance calls.  The police found an auction for tel. #s and PINs being conducted on the street in Times Square.  The Tel. Co. had to cripple the pay phones in that area so that overseas long distance calls were not permitted.

Don't be paranoid though.  I felt as safe in Russia as I have in any ciy in the US. Just use the same level of caution as you would in Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago....
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BURKE89
Guest
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Crinkled Benjamins?, posted by BURKE89 on Sep 2, 2002

Cheers lads,

I just received a poppy CD, from my gally in Tartstan on Sat., so I'm a happy lad. Funny thing is, half of it is in Swedish/English from Ultima Thule. "Frosty the snow-man" to "Dreamin", with some grand Russian patriotic melodies at the end. I was happy, however. These Russian melodies, have some meat behind them. I understand very little, yet these tunes chill you to the bone.

PhilB - Where's Anapa?  I certainly appreciate your imput.

James B/ Jim - Where might I acquire one of these pouches? Excuse my ignorance, I simply don't know what they look like.

Wilmc - Thank you for your experience... William.

Boston puck lad - Friendly " Bobby/Bobby" humor... Bobby Orr was a living god,(no sarcasm intended) Gosh, I can't even pop a Hull joke! Orr is sacred, even in the West. Puck, Puck...Russian Puck, even in Chi town! Talent is talent! What's the skinny on these gold coins, man with the GOD title? Just goofin...

Thanks all,

Vaughn

(A humble Stan Makita fan)
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hockeybrain
Guest
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Thx: Philb, Wilmc, James B/ Jim, and to ..., posted by BURKE89 on Sep 3, 2002

I thought you were a yank.  Never the less have a great time on your trip.  Good luck with your girl.
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BURKE89
Guest
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Hard to get the gold dollar coins in Eng..., posted by hockeybrain on Sep 3, 2002

Bobby,
I'm an American... honest. The O.C. stands for Orange County, California. Regarding the English slang, I've not even cognizant of it. I've several Brit friends and a couple exs, so maybe "they've" invaded my verbiage a bit. Thanks for the well wishes.
Vaughn
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wsbill
Guest
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Hard to get the gold dollar coins in Eng..., posted by hockeybrain on Sep 3, 2002

Why don't you drop by a coin shop there and pick up some of them roman coins from a long time ago.

That can be equally impressive, just don't spend a fortune, I've been given a few because they are just such a common find with a metal detector in certain parts of england.
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KenC
Guest
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to Thx: Philb, Wilmc, James B/ Jim, and to ..., posted by BURKE89 on Sep 3, 2002

I too was advised to use a money pouch on my first trip to Russia.  (They can be found in any travel store and most luggage departments of larger stores.)  Following the advice, I also kept my passport and return tickets in the pouch.  Being just a little paranoid, I was constantly checking for the pouch under my sweater.  After a nice dinner with a Russian woman, I returned to my flat only to find the pouch was missing.  Boy, I freaked.  How could someone get to my pouch under my sweater?  As it turned out, my fidgiting unhooked the pouch and it was left under the table where we had dinner.  The respectable hotel had my pouch (with ALL contents in tact) at the check in desk when I returned for it.  I was a lot less paranoid after that.  LOL.
KenC
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MarkInTx
Guest
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2002, 04:00:00 AM »
... in response to money pouch story, posted by KenC on Sep 3, 2002

That's pretty funny, Ken. And I can relate.

I was in Vegas with my wife (back when I had one...), and we were in Ceasar's. We just sat down to get some drinks.

(You can sit anywhere near a slot machine, and the cocktail waitress will come by and ask you if you want a drink -- free. Is Vegas a great place, or what?)

Anyway, my wife plays the slots for a bit, we drink our drinks, and then we leave.

We are in the Bellagio (next door, but one block away) when suddenly my wife realizes that she has left her purse in Ceasars!

We hurry back there, but it's been over 30 minutes since we were there... and this is VEGAS for God's sake! She had something like 800 cash in there, plus all of her credit cards... everything...

We retrace our steps to the slot machine she played at and... no purse.

With a sinking feeling, we head to the lost and found department.

The purse was there! The guy wouldn't give it to her until she could identify things in it. (Pretty funny considering there was a picture ID inside the purse...)

Then he made her do a complete inventory to make sure everything was there. NOTHING was missing.

We tried to tip the guy, he wouldn't take it. We asked who turned it in, and here it was the cocktail waitress.

We found her and offered her some money and she said: "You tipped me for doing my job. That's enough. You don't need to tip me for being honest!"

I was amazed...

BTW -- when I was in St Pb, I carried my spare cash in my ankle wallet. Why, I'm still not sure. When I was in Kiev, I just used two wallets. I have a "Passport" wallet where I would put my ration of Hrvinas for the day, and one Visa card (secured card with only like a $500 limit on it). That's what I would carry into the streets. That way I had plenty of cash for anything we needed it for, and I just used the credit card for any restaraunts we went to.

At night, I would replenish the cash from my "Main Wallet". (Getting Money exchanged in Kiev was EXTREMELY easy...)

It worked for me... And I felt safe and more importantly, normal... When I had the ankle wallet, I always felt like I was a spy...
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