USA Spending Money

tasha-debt

Hi all,

I am going on my dream USA trip in September (San Francisco, Hawaii and Vegas).

Im not sure what to do about spending money? Im going to take about £1500, should I take it in travellers cheques, some cash and withdraw from my account, use a CC and pay it off on my return???

What do other people do?

Thanks

Tasha

Birdie85

I went to the USA last year and we took a bit of cash (about $400) and got the rest of our spending money put onto a pre-paid Visa, it was free to set up, free and easy to add money to, really easy to use and it was accepted everywhere, we got 2 cards linked to the same account and it didn't cost as much to withdraw cash from ATMs as it would have using a debit card. Would definitely use again.

ETA: You also don't get stung with exchange rates like with a debit card/CC as you put dollars onto the card rather than sterling IYKWIM. Oh and you can ring up or check your balance online at any time.

Have a wonderful trip, it sounds amazing (and very much my dream too!)

tasha-debt

Ah thats a great idea, was it easy to log on and chack your balance..... wonder if I should set three up with teh budget I have set myself for each place???

Do you think £1500 would be enough?

x

27col

When we used to go to the States, we took most of our money in traveller's cheques. You could use them just like cash. Motels seemed to love them and so did most shops. A hotelier told us that they preferred TC's because there was no chance of them not being honoured. In fact, we used to use them to get our dollars as change. This saved us having to go to the bank or ATM. We found them very easy to use. Nowadays, of course there are many ATM's. so getting dollars is easier.

Birdie85

It was easy to check the balance, there's a number on the card to ring up and it's a bit like ringing your CC company. Also simple enough to do it online.

Honestly, I'd be thinking about taking more money depending on how long you're going for. Not sure about how much it is to eat in those parts but we were in Florida and spent about $80-$100 a day on food and drink alone. All worth it as the food was (for the most part) amazing, although I'm still trying to lose the extra weight I gained! If you're a shopper you won't be able to resist the good deals either so it's nice to know that you have *some* money to spend on treats. Its always better to over-budget than find that you've not got enough when you get to the last destination.

I haven't been to Vegas (yet ) but my parents and brother/SIL have and their big tip was to class gambling money in the casinos as spending money. You may come out with profit, or you may break even, but go with the expectation that you will spend $XX in the casinos so you a) don't get carried away and b) don't get too disappointed when you lose it all!

travellerboy

The most economic way is get a Zero Transaction fee Credit Card - Halifax Clarity, Saga Platinium or Santander Zero. Take a little cash as well for incidentals from Tescos, Post office or similar.

Use the credit card for everything and you get the Visa Exchange rate (the best without any charges). You can withdraw cash from most ATM's without any charges (interest charge with Saga Card is about 3.5p/£100 per day until you repay)

Example :- get $160 in cash from PO costs you £103.49 today, whilst if you withdraw $160 from an ATM in the USA with your Saga Credit Card it will cost you £100.70 (allowing you 20days to repay)

benjus

Birdie85 wrote: »

ETA: You also don't get stung with exchange rates like with a debit card/CC as you put dollars onto the card rather than sterling IYKWIM. Oh and you can ring up or check your balance online at any time.

But you do get stung with exchange rates when you change Pounds to Dollars in order to put them on the card... Personally I prefer to keep my money in Sterling until I spend it. That is the way to get the best exchange rates, if you have the right card.

Some people still prefer TCs in the USA because they are so easy to use (and more secure than cash), but I'm not a fan of them personally because they are more expensive than a good card.

There are numerous recent threads on this subject - have a look around.

hartcjhart

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3961499

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money?utm_source=forum&utm_medium=clicks&utm_campaign=resourcebar