Obtaining Rubles

In Europe and Russia, Chip and Pin cards are the norm so if your debit card is not that type, there is a good chance it would not work. Most people in Russia use Debt cards almost entirely, they do not like debt, most have none but own their home debt free, 70-92% own their homes, in fact, depending on the region. So they are reluctant to create debt when not needed.

 

When I am back in the US, my Russian cards work in most stores but always are declined at gas stations because they use a quick address verification that is limited to zip code, but zip codes here are 6 digits while the gas station quick verification only uses 5 digits in the US. There is more separation of systems in the works as Europe, Russia, Middle East and Asia move to other systems. So people who travel a lot will need two types of cards, one for the Americas and one for the rest of the world. NFC is used almost everywhere, even the buses and metro(subway).

People own their homes because they were given for free when USSR has dissolved. RE loans are extremely expensive. Many people still took them even in dollars knowing that should ruble fall they will have hard time repaying their debt... Some people suffered from violent actions of debt collectors during the last several years, so lately many are reluctant to borrow more.

As for smaller loans they are pretty popular.

Tipped guide and driver in US dollars. Good condition but didn't iron any.

Paid for the tour with a credit card.

Most things were covered in our tour but I did charge earrings at one store. Had rubles but probably weren't needed except that my (ex)husband wanted beer at lunch which he had to pay for separately and used rubles. I still have some left over.

BTW when I got the statement for the things I paid for with credit card I actually paid less than the US dollar price I had been quoted for the tour and same with the price in US dollars that the store had on the earrings.

Tipped guide and driver in US dollars. Good condition but didn't iron any.

Paid for the tour with a credit card.

 

Most things were covered in our tour but I did charge earrings at one store. Had rubles but probably weren't needed except that my (ex)husband wanted beer at lunch which he had to pay for separately and used rubles. I still have some left over.

BTW when I got the statement for the things I paid for with credit card I actually paid less than the US dollar price I had been quoted for the tour and same with the price in US dollars that the store had on the earrings.

So how much rubles do you recommend getting? We usually don't shop but may get a souvenir or two. I like drinking beer so how much does a beer cost typically? Most of the time in other ports I usually bring around $50 to $100 or so. Is that amount converted to rubles typically enough? Are things crazy expensive there?

So how much rubles do you recommend getting? We usually don't shop but may get a souvenir or two. I like drinking beer so how much does a beer cost typically? Most of the time in other ports I usually bring around $50 to $100 or so. Is that amount converted to rubles typically enough? Are things crazy expensive there?

I took about $500 US worth of Rubles to cover six people, and spent about $350 (including tour guide tips). Souvenirs seemed expensive, but food seemed amazingly cheap. Credit cards worked fine everywhere we used them also.

So how much rubles do you recommend getting? We usually don't shop but may get a souvenir or two. I like drinking beer so how much does a beer cost typically? Most of the time in other ports I usually bring around $50 to $100 or so. Is that amount converted to rubles typically enough? Are things crazy expensive there?

You don’t need any

So how much rubles do you recommend getting? We usually don't shop but may get a souvenir or two. I like drinking beer so how much does a beer cost typically? Most of the time in other ports I usually bring around $50 to $100 or so. Is that amount converted to rubles typically enough? Are things crazy expensive there?

We brought NO Rubles and never needed any. We either paid by CC or they took US Dollars.