In my Chile trip, I never had problems in Santiago - both hostels accepted card instantly. But in Punta Arenas, my hostel wanted cash upfront, and the...

In BVI, it’s safer to think: “Tortola = card, other islands = cash.” My Road Town hostel swiped Mastercard without issue, but on Jost Van Dyke, cash w...

My Belize experience: in Caye Caulker, the hostel wanted cash only. In San Ignacio, the hostel swiped my Visa but charged a hefty fee. Belize City hos...

I stayed in Dhaka and Chittagong - both hostels I tried required cash, even though they advertised card acceptance online. ATMs are reliable in cities...

Honestly, I barely touched cash in Bahrain. My hostel in Juffair swiped my card for both the deposit and the room fee. Even in smaller places, they ha...

In Puerto Rico, I never once had to scramble for cash. Hostels all accepted card, and most places prefer it anyway. San Juan especially is digital-rea...

Hostels in Asunción are modern and mostly take card. But when I crossed to Encarnación, the hostel told me “cash only” despite listing card acceptance...

Namibia is hit-and-miss with card acceptance at hostels. Windhoek and Swakopmund are card-ready. Out in rural Namibia, especially near the Skeleton Co...

I learned the hard way in Bagan when I thought my hostel would take card - they didn’t, and the closest ATM was out of service. Since then, I always c...