Jakarta

[RodneyRude]

Hi Guys.

I just applied for the online Evisa, filled out all the forms and paid the 1. 5 juta only to have my application dissapear, googled up on it and apprently its quite common, be careful yeah, on that note how easy is it to extend a 30 day VOA in Jakarta? Thanks.

[DevSagar]

Allow me to clarify and add that except my punting expenses all my payments were through cards. The clarification is that all clubbing at BATS, CJs, my daily needs a few from Alfamart were through my debit card, bought whiskey from Jakarta Airport too as well on Debit card. The idea of buying liquor was that I could save a bit of money if the Chick wishes to drink in Club because the cost of 2 drinks in CJs? BATs is roughly equal to the cost of full bottle. The addition is that Grab; later on downloaded Bluebird as well and attached my credit card with it and with both taxi operators it worked like a breeze. Although, I used Grab for 90% of my trip and Bluebird in case of Grab not responding or ride cancelled. No hassle as I do not know local language and the drivers cannot converse in English. Also, I have shared before earlier; my colleague fucked in EMP and paid through his company CC and took a food bill. No surcharge. EMP you can pay the tip of the girl as part of the bill by card. I did not visit any other places for punting hence no comments. Bolt too my CC is linked and worked well during my last trip to Thailand. Kota Indah Sarivayu I went but did not fuck and had my drinks only and the option of paying 400 K for chick by card was available.

I did not carry my passport anywhere except for the currency exchange which they told me next time even a photo copy would work if I had it with me. The currency exchange shop was only a max 10 minute leisurely walk from the hotel.

Cannot get Jakarta out of my head.

Regards.

Now wait a minute, this could be a game-changer. Can anyone confirm you can pay with CC at no surcharge at those venues? Hopefully you can use you credit card contactless and they don't grab your CC to stick it into the machine.

Sticking a piece of paper over the 3 additional digits at the back of the CC may be a better idea than scratching it altogether.

Paying Grab Taxi by credit card is also interesting. Paying Ueber in Brazil with CC was a breeze. I tried paying Bolt in Thailand with CC but it failed because the taxi scammers told me during the ride they couldn't accept credit card payment, so I had to pay cash and recoup the amount from Bolt. Can someone confirm paying Grab by credit card in Jakarta goes smoothly?

One last question: do you guys go places in Jakarta with your passport? Or is it better to keep it under lock and key and possible pay off the police if there's a road block?

[Shinggo]

Maybank also is 3 juta (100 k notes) without bank charge.

1) CIMB Niaga is 3 juta (100 k notes).

2) Maybank Indonesia is 1. 5 juta (50 k notes).

3) BNI is 2 juta (100 k notes).

4) Mandiri is 1. 25 juta (50 k notes).

5) BCA is 2. 5 juta (100 k notes).

There is an extra charges by bank, but I can not remember the amount. Each bank charged differ amount.

Other Credit Card might had differ withdrawal limits or depend on bank / ATM.

[NoGermaphobe]

There is definitely a surcharge at all the main places that take CC like Travel / Classic / KI. I can't speak to Emporium. It is usually small. But it is there and most times they will ask you or inform you before you pay with CC. At KI it is 20 K I believe. At Travel, they add a charge called "biaya. " I forget the exact amount though. I think it's like 5 K per voucher?

Grab and GoJek with CC is a breeze and my preferred method now. Sometimes food delivery though is cash on arrival only. I think it depends on the place.

It is actually quite hilarious to see a whole bunch of $1.00 or less transactions for when I use Grab Bike or GoJek Bike for short motorcycle hop. The drivers don't seem to care and there is no surcharge even though the transactions are small. Just hop off the bike and say thanks.

I am still in the habit of carrying my passport in Jakarta. In the early to mid 2000's, checkpoints were quite frequent and I got dinged a few times for "not carrying your passport" and had to pay a couple of reds for "coffee. " But honestly, I haven't seen one or been stopped in a checkpoint now in at least 10-15 years. (Touch wood.) But old habits die hard.

Now wait a minute, this could be a game-changer. Can anyone confirm you can pay with CC at no surcharge at those venues? Hopefully you can use you credit card contactless and they don't grab your CC to stick it into the machine.

Sticking a piece of paper over the 3 additional digits at the back of the CC may be a better idea than scratching it altogether.

Paying Grab Taxi by credit card is also interesting. Paying Ueber in Brazil with CC was a breeze. I tried paying Bolt in Thailand with CC but it failed because the taxi scammers told me during the ride they couldn't accept credit card payment, so I had to pay cash and recoup the amount from Bolt. Can someone confirm paying Grab by credit card in Jakarta goes smoothly?

One last question: do you guys go places in Jakarta with your passport? Or is it better to keep it under lock and key and possible pay off the police if there's a road block?

[Goferring]

Now wait a minute, this could be a game-changer. Can anyone confirm you can pay with CC at no surcharge at those venues?

Can someone confirm paying Grab by credit card in Jakarta goes smoothly?

One last question: do you guys go places in Jakarta with your passport? Or is it better to keep it under lock and key and possible pay off the police if there's a road block?

Yes, Classic, Travel and all the higher end places accept card. You can even add girls' tips at the better places.

Yes, I've added Wise to my default payment on Grab and Gojek without issue.

If you hand over your passport to anyone stopping you without cause ie fishing for bribes, what do you think your chances are of getting it back without payment? Never, ever, hand over your passport and there is no need to travel with it for regular daily activities, certainly not half tanked, with three hookers in the taxi, at 4 am.

Just a general comment that I was amazed at how little cash I went through on my last trip. Sure there are some cash only businesses & purchases but the level of credit card penetration is much broader now. I have no problems paying the majority of my expenses online (travel, hotels etc) or card (90% of daily expenses) and just withdraw cash as required. Bringing over several thousand, easily lost or stolen, dollars makes no sense to me.

Enjoy. G.

[Irish Mongrel]

Just a general Question, why don't you guys bring cash? Or even use western union transfer to yourself form your bank accounts in US or other countries. If you factor in the bank withdrawals fees, that western union transfer is much cheaper. Also there is Remitly whose rates aren't too bad either. Just a thought.

I always travel with a $1000 dollars in fresh 100 $ bills and a bunch of smaller bills. Have traveled all over the world and always had cash on me for that just in case time. We travel in a world that is wired to a cashless future. The problem occurs when your card does not work. Earthquakes, major power outages, revolutions anything is possible in some of the countries I travel in. If I need to get somewhere quickly I'll have the cash that will solve that, compared to somebody scratching their head wondering why the ATM isn't working. Just have to be able to get ti my hotel room. Some of that money will get used to P4 P, but I just restock before my next trip.

Credit card is used for everything else under normal situations. If it gets hacked, so what, the bank sends me a new digital card that I can use immediately via google pay and refunds all the purchases. I use WISE for personal purchases and bank credit card for company expenses. Probably had cards hacked 5 times in 30+ years in Asia. Once in Hong Kong in 1991, twice in Australia (1 x skim at an ATM), and WISE card done twice from god knows where, but purchases where attempted in the US (I now have the freeze feature activated unless making a purchase).

[XXL]

...

Had I know I could pay at Emporivm and Classic with CC and no extra fees (at least that's what I was told at Emporivm), sans Wise's fees, I would not have bothered to exchange a bunch of Thai baht to Indonesian and carry it with me.

Now wait a minute, this could be a game-changer. Can anyone confirm you can pay with CC at no surcharge at those venues? Hopefully you can use you credit card contactless and they don't grab your CC to stick it into the machine.

Sticking a piece of paper over the 3 additional digits at the back of the CC may be a better idea than scratching it altogether.

Paying Grab Taxi by credit card is also interesting. Paying Ueber in Brazil with CC was a breeze. I tried paying Bolt in Thailand with CC but it failed because the taxi scammers told me during the ride they couldn't accept credit card payment, so I had to pay cash and recoup the amount from Bolt. Can someone confirm paying Grab by credit card in Jakarta goes smoothly?

One last question: do you guys go places in Jakarta with your passport? Or is it better to keep it under lock and key and possible pay off the police if there's a road block?

[Werqweq]

Several of my CC's, including Wise which is perhaps the best (unless you are one of the the lucky ones who in the USA seem to be able to get cards that will refund ATM fees), allow you to easily turn off the card via a phone app. So if you want to be really careful, you'll keep that card disabled most of the time, and only temporarily enable it via your phone a few seconds before you are going to pay for something, and then disable it again. A bit unpractical, but that is usually the trade-off for security.

Another tip is to scratch out the CVC code at the back of all your cards (those 3 extra digits online shops asks you to provide when you buy something online), after writing it down somewhere for yourself. This will make it quite a bit harder for someone to do online purchases (but only online purchases) with your CC, even if they have all your other details because they copied them when you paid for something at their counter. Those digits are needed for online buying, but not for in-store purchases.

Had I know I could pay at Emporivm and Classic with CC and no extra fees (at least that's what I was told at Emporivm), sans Wise's fees, I would not have bothered to exchange a bunch of Thai baht to Indonesian and carry it with me.

[Zippos]

I get my cash straight from teller before leaving country. I rarely use ATM machine. I don't even remember when was the las time I used one.

And you are correct on ATM"s dolling out punny amounts, imagine you went to Emporium and had few drinks and banged one for 1. 4 m, now that one session with drinks will consume your entire withdrawal. For next round, you would have to run to ATM while girl sits there waiting or went with someone else 😁.

Note that if you bring cash you still have to get the cash from somewhere and that will usually be from some ATM machine where the risk of losing your credit card is not zero. Of course losing your credit card and having it compromised is not the same but it is a hassle too depending on your travel plans and where the replacement card is sent to.

I can see the point of bringing cash though. If I could withdraw 9 million I'd bring only emergency cash, but 3 million rupiah is peanuts. It's not so much a question of fees, it's having to do multiple cash withdrawals every day, with each withdrawal carrying its own risk of the card being swallowed. ATMs doling out puny amounts is definitely a serious downside in any mongering destination.

[Zippos]

My thief beat your thief to it BB.

Mine was very highly ambitious. He / she was ordering Apple products from apple site. Highest was 5 k lowest was 600. I'm guessing he was gunning for entire Apple lineup until fraud department caught it and they called me. Luckily I was reimbursed for every penny but they couldn't recover the amount from apple due to some steps they had to follow. It's the worst thing to happen specially when traveling overseas. And I know exactly where it was compromised. Even cops knew the source but couldn't find out who was exactly. Lesson learned.

Another issue with ATM I read is, depending on the time, you can be a target of organized mugging. They moment you step in, group will follow and get money out of your card forcefully. I've seen that happen in India and friend of mine was subjected to similar incident. Never heard that happening in Indonesia, Malaysia or Philippines but wouldn't be surprised if that happens.

I definitely wouldn't call it paranoid but be cautious, we may not find the one friend in a place to help us out in similar situation. That's why cash is the king as long as it's kept safely and securely.

On my last trip I got some fraudulent charges on one of my major CC's. First time this has ever happened in nearly 10 continuous years of travel. I can pinpoint who got hold of this CC number as it's a card I rarely use. The charges were under "Uber Eats" on my CC and I never used Uber or Uber Eats on this CC for my last 3 trips at least. I thought it was just a mistake at first but every 2nd day I got another "Uber Eats" charge each one more than the last. By the 3rd charge I called my CC who blocked any more charges from "Uber Eats", immediately issued me all my charges back, and sent me a replacement card within a few days.

I primarily use my Wise wallet to take out money and pay as a CC. I transfer money online to Wise prn. This frees up my CC from being exposed as often. Like Zippos I carry cash in different currencies around.

Call me paranoid but this stems from a trip I made to Las Vegas many years ago. Found out when I arrived that none of the 6+ CC and bank cards I had on me worked. Lucky I knew a dancer in Vegas who let me borrow money from her.

[Cgk19]

.....
I can see the point of bringing cash though. If I could withdraw 9 million I'd bring only emergency cash, but 3 million rupiah is peanuts. It's not so much a question of fees, it's having to do multiple cash withdrawals every day, with each withdrawal carrying its own risk of the card being swallowed. ATMs doling out puny amounts is definitely a serious downside in any mongering destination.

Daily 9 million is Very possible if you had a local trusted friend, (trusted friendX3), very important that had to mention 3 times. But be very careful of your monies, trust nobody.

[DevSagar]

On all my travels; business or personal and even on my last Jakarta trip all expenses were prepaid except the chick prices which I paid in cash. I carry much more than enough as I kind of feel secure with having money in hand just in case. Kind of a mindset thing or where I come from where cash is king though things are changing fast. Hotel stay pre-paid, linked my credit card with grab and my Bank always used to send OTP to authorize the transaction when driver stopped the trip, Clubbing in BATs / CJs all expenses CCs, could have paid EMP bill too by CC but preferred to pay by cash. Did not want to show that transaction in my statement. Dollar mart the exchange shop is hardly 5 minutes where I stayed in, in fact there are two just next to each other so no problems in converting currency. Of course, keep my cash and passport in my room locker.

I've been traveling with cash all these years and knock on wood, no issues so far. Just needs to be cautious and to make sure there is a safe in hotel room. I would rather bring cash than compromise my bank card at one of the rigged ATM machines. Damages would be just too high if that happens.

Other downside of it is, my bank only allows 4 international transactions per month and after that it changes $5/ per transactions plus local bank transactions fees! So far Jakarta, once I withdraw approximately 6/7 million my free transactions will be maxed. Not enough for a week long sexpedition in Jakarta if I want to visit places like Emporium, KC, MTR.

[XXL]

I've been traveling with cash all these years and knock on wood, no issues so far. Just needs to be cautious and to make sure there is a safe in hotel room. I would rather bring cash than compromise my bank card at one of the rigged ATM machines. Damages would be just too high if that happens.

Other downside of it is, my bank only allows 4 international transactions per month and after that it changes $5/ per transactions plus local bank transactions fees! So far Jakarta, once I withdraw approximately 6/7 million my free transactions will be maxed. Not enough for a week long sexpedition in Jakarta if I want to visit places like Emporium, KC, MTR.

Note that if you bring cash you still have to get the cash from somewhere and that will usually be from some ATM machine where the risk of losing your credit card is not zero. Of course losing your credit card and having it compromised is not the same but it is a hassle too depending on your travel plans and where the replacement card is sent to.

I can see the point of bringing cash though. If I could withdraw 9 million I'd bring only emergency cash, but 3 million rupiah is peanuts. It's not so much a question of fees, it's having to do multiple cash withdrawals every day, with each withdrawal carrying its own risk of the card being swallowed. ATMs doling out puny amounts is definitely a serious downside in any mongering destination.

[MrMiyaG]

I've been traveling with cash all these years and knock on wood, no issues so far. Just needs to be cautious and to make sure there is a safe in hotel room. I would rather bring cash than compromise my bank card at one of the rigged ATM machines.

I don't know how long your trips are but bringing your whole budget in cash is wild. Bringing a little bit cash for emergency is ok, but for the hobby that we have a quick 2 week trip you should have at least $2000 on you. If you are paranoid about using your credit card (which you shouldn't) because you are protected by the bank.

Try using a debit card most of them are free (for the basic service) and load up what you plan to spend that day. Most of them also have a phone app and you can see the transaction immediately, you can also change the PIN numbers daily. Banks like Wise, Revolut, N26 to name few I don't know what you Americans have over there.

So yeah Debit Card is the way to go if you travel imo.

[Banana Boi]

On my last trip I got some fraudulent charges on one of my major CC's. First time this has ever happened in nearly 10 continuous years of travel. I can pinpoint who got hold of this CC number as it's a card I rarely use. The charges were under "Uber Eats" on my CC and I never used Uber or Uber Eats on this CC for my last 3 trips at least. I thought it was just a mistake at first but every 2nd day I got another "Uber Eats" charge each one more than the last. By the 3rd charge I called my CC who blocked any more charges from "Uber Eats", immediately issued me all my charges back, and sent me a replacement card within a few days.

I primarily use my Wise wallet to take out money and pay as a CC. I transfer money online to Wise prn. This frees up my CC from being exposed as often. Like Zippos I carry cash in different currencies around.

Call me paranoid but this stems from a trip I made to Las Vegas many years ago. Found out when I arrived that none of the 6+ CC and bank cards I had on me worked. Lucky I knew a dancer in Vegas who let me borrow money from her.