Bali opening?

[BoundForElsewhere]

anyone know if those airfares are going to drop? Even the RoP flights to Manila are crazy expensive.

 

[Dan]

IIRC US is lagging behind in card technology and very few banks issue chip based cards and rely on old magnetic swipe tech. Maybe that’s why the cards are not accepted (something in the card numbering to denote old vs new)? I never had a problem with cards issued from my country before the COVID thing started at least.

My Chase (US) Visa card has chip & wifi and yet Traveloka & Nusatrip rejected it. I had to whitelist it with Tiket.com.

 

[TabeaK]

IIRC US is lagging behind in card technology and very few banks issue chip based cards and rely on old magnetic swipe tech. Maybe that’s why the cards are not accepted (something in the card numbering to denote old vs new)? I never had a problem with cards issued from my country before the COVID thing started at least.

Not anymore, all cards issued from large providers in recent years have had a chip (&pin if you request it). Now, you can still run into international purchases/websites being blocked...*usually* a call to the card provider can sort that at least temporarily, but it can be annoying. Had that issue in SE-Asia occasionally - never anywhere else in the world interestingly - but admittedly I have not been on that side of the globe since COVID hit...

 

[GF99/99]

IIRC US is lagging behind in card technology and very few banks issue chip based cards and rely on old magnetic swipe tech. Maybe that’s why the cards are not accepted (something in the card numbering to denote old vs new)? I never had a problem with cards issued from my country before the COVID thing started at least.

My Chase (US) Visa card has chip & wifi and yet Traveloka & Nusatrip rejected it. I had to whitelist it with Tiket.com.

Not anymore, all cards issued from large providers in recent years have had a chip (&pin if you request it). Now, you can still run into international purchases/websites being blocked...*usually* a call to the card provider can sort that at least temporarily, but it can be annoying. Had that issue in SE-Asia occasionally - never anywhere else in the world interestingly - but admittedly I have not been on that side of the globe since COVID hit...

It was explained to me by a friend that works for Garuda that the reason most Indonesian airlines do not except US cards is because if you file a dispute with your CC company you get refunded and the the airline does not get the money. Especially for low budget unreliable airlines that cancel flights all the time and have no refund policies that is clear and easy for a foreigner to follow so the first thing they do is file a dispute with there CC company and then the CC company denies the payment to the airline. I don't know how true this is but that is just what I was told.

I am a primary user of US/Australian/EU financial institutions and have never been able to get any of my cards to work for airline purchases or Indonesian online shopping like Tokopedia for a couple years now. Only way is if I use my Indonesia bank card or app.

Even though US cards don't work for airlines I do have to say they are the best over all for using overseas most US issued cards do not have foreign transaction fees (I'm a big can of Capital One and Chase) and Charles Schwab has a debit card with no foreign transaction fees or foreign ATM fees this makes a huge difference if your like me and spend 99% of your year in foreign countries. The fees can really add up. I know with my Aus bank card and EU bank card I think I get dinged about $10+ each time I use them at an ATM so I just don't use them. Or for regular purchases there is a fee plus 3%

Additionally most US card company will FedEx/UPS global express ship you a replacement card anywhere in the world if it gets lots or stolen.

 

[Wisnu]

anyone know if those airfares are going to drop? Even the RoP flights to Manila are crazy expensive.

Very unlikely, at least for Indonesian airline. Last week I read in the news; ministry of transportation has approved the quest from several airline including Garuda to apply surcharge for fuel.

4 weeks ago I bought QA ticket for our trip PHC to Jakarta for early May departure; I just check the price has increased more than US 1000 for biz class

 

[lm17]

Great thread and thanks for sharing all the info. I am heading to Bali on June 9 from PPS Philippines. Appreciate all the trials and tribulations and pro tips (hope my cc is still white listed on Tiket from 2019!). After reading I'm sold - getting b211 visa via broker just to be safe and not deal with extensions while moving around. Will be in LOB Bali - Komodo - Bali, and then pretty open but thinking of North Sulawesi, Halmahera, maybe Alor and def Raja. Also contemplating White Manta Sangalaki in June or July but not sure I want to do so many back to back LOBs with little to no rest in between. Solo trip so anyone looking to connect would be great.

Safe travels and diving all.

 

[tursiops]

IIRC US is lagging behind in card technology and very few banks issue chip based cards and rely on old magnetic swipe tech. Maybe that’s why the cards are not accepted (something in the card numbering to denote old vs new)? I never had a problem with cards issued from my country before the COVID thing started at least.

I haven't seen a US card without a chip in it for years. I think your info is out of date.

 

[Dan]

As far as buying domestic flights from Traveloka, or direct from Lion Air, Citilink, Batik, etc. I have never been able to with any US credit or debit card and I have tried alot of them!! even my HSBC card. Also I have an EU bank card and an Aussie bank card and neither of them work. Only way I have successfully bough domestic tickets is with my Indonesian bank card or transfer using my Indonesia banking App. Same with ordering things off of Tokopedia

I needed 7 tickets for Denpasar-Berau for my group going to Sangalaki in this coming August. I got first ticket from Traveloka. It didn’t work for 2nd ticket. Tried to reach them over the phone, but none could be reached. Their phones are no longer active. So, no more business from me for them.

I got 2nd ticket from Nusatrip but not for the 3rd ticket. They have US phone number to contact. So, I called them and able to talk to someone there. They said that they escalated the issue for review next day. A couple weeks later no reply. So, no more business from me for them.

My US visa card was whitelisted by Tiket.com (thanks to @outofofficebrb for suggesting it). Got the rest of 6 tickets from them. At one time they rejected my card. I flagged them over their WhatsApp and they fixed it right away. I got 2 more tickets for Jakarta-Ambon (next trip with Pindito for Ring of Fire in November). So, they will continue to get my business.

How much saving would you get by buying the ticket directly from the buggy website Lion Air anyway? I don’t think it is worth the aggravation.

 

[Luca Brasi]

Thanks Dan great info

 

[Luca Brasi]

I’m heading to Indonesia soon will try ticket