New Delhi, Nov. 1 -- Planning an international holiday involves more than booking flights and hotels. Indian travellers also need to decide how much foreign currency to carry, whether to load money onto a prepaid forex card or use an international credit card, and how much cash to keep for emergencies. Choosing the wrong payment method can increase the cost of a trip through currency conversion markups, ATM withdrawal fees and other charges.

A practical approach is to spread travel money across different payment options rather than depend entirely on cash or a single card. While cash remains useful for small purchases and local transport, cards offer convenience for hotel bookings, shopping and restaurant bills.

Sai Shankar, Chief Busin...