Originally Posted by
Whycitibankwhy
I should clarify that my debit card is also the credit card. I can use the card as a credit card but they won't let me reset my pin over the phone so I can use it as a debit card. When I originally tried to take out money I kept putting in my old number... I am an idiot. That's why it was locked. Then I called and was asked the questions and couldn't answer them, which caused it to get even more locked. Customer service agents insisted on sending out the pin mailer thing but took their time to send it. I've now heard it could arrive as late as Tuesday night Vietnam time.
Honestly I'm really upset. I spent a lot of money to get here. I was crying on the phone with agents begging them to hurry up the process. But it'll end up taking a whole week. I feel dumb and I've wasted a lot of money.
So you don't have any other cards whatsoever with you - solely the one debit card and no regular credit card(s)? And no other cash - of any currency - other than $5?
Well, you've received several pieces of advice in the thread - try anything you can from those suggestions. If I understand correctly, and I may not, you're going back home from this trip Tuesday and the only real concern is over whether you have cash (if needed) for this overnight excursion.
If none of the suggestions result in getting cash you need, and assuming as I suggested that you can determine if lack of cash is even an issue for the tour, then you can decide whether to just stay put in Hanoi until time to return home on Tuesday.
There's no need to beat yourself up over this - you're not dumb, you've just learned a lesson that will help you in future travels which you will some day look back on and chuckle about. We've all made mistakes of one kind or another in our travels over the years. Keep calm and work through the options logically.
In the future make sure you know your PIN(s) and security questions, have backup credit cards or other financial instruments securely with you, keep some cash reserves throughout the trip, etc. And consider getting some separate bank accounts that you will be familiar with and won't have to worry about remembering other people's info.
It's understandable to be frustrated and apparently bad/conflicting info from Citi agents makes it worse. But honestly it doesn't sound like Citi did anything "wrong" other than at worst, unclear communication. From their perspective they're trying to keep an account secure. Think of it this way, if an actual thief had taken your card and Citi just overlooked their failure to answer the security questions and your bank account was wiped out, how would you feel about it?