$ Spend in USA

Murphy_The_Cat

torbrex wrote: »

I have had numerous holidays in America, travelled extensively through 49 states over the course of 15 years and never once had to withdraw cash from an ATM.
Plan it right and you won't need to think about withdrawal charges.

I've got visions of torbrex wearing a money belt stuffed full of used $20 bills

A naiive question torbrex - how do you get hold of dollar bills, cash money, or do you manage to plastic card the whole shebang ?

neilbond007

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

I've got visions of torbrex wearing a money belt stuffed full of used $20 bills

A naiive question torbrex - how do you get hold of dollar bills, cash money, or do you manage to plastic card the whole shebang ?

I know it's different for visitors, but I've lived in the US now for close to 6 years and have been to an ATM to take out money maybe 2 or 3 times! I normally have about $100 in cash on me but never use it.

Plastic is king!

Murphy_The_Cat

neilbond007 wrote: »

I know it's different for visitors, but I've lived in the US now for close to 6 years and have been to an ATM to take out money maybe 2 or 3 times! I normally have about $100 in cash on me but never use it.

Plastic is king!

I must be being incredibly naaive here, but how do you manage that ? I'm thinking of the times when you purchase something for cash, where the facility to pay by card doesn't exist -- a walking around fast food / beer seller at a sports event springs to mind.

Seperately (& going off topic) I was thinking about you over the Christmas period when I was booking my Homewoods/Embassy's for this years trip and in particular when I was cashing in some of my points in part payment for a top of the shop, fancy dancy, licky slurpy 2 king sized double bedroom suite that we're finishing our holiday off with in a Homewood.:D:beer:

missile

neilbond007 wrote: »

I know it's different for visitors, but I've lived in the US now for close to 6 years and have been to an ATM to take out money maybe 2 or 3 times! I normally have about $100 in cash on me but never use it.

Plastic is king!

I find it hard to believe you never use cash.

neilbond007

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

I must be being incredibly naaive here, but how do you manage that ? I'm thinking of the times when you purchase something for cash, where the facility to pay by card doesn't exist -- a walking around fast food / beer seller at a sports event springs to mind.

Seperately (& going off topic) I was thinking about you over the Christmas period when I was booking my Homewoods/Embassy's for this years trip and in particular when I was cashing in some of my points in part payment for a top of the shop, fancy dancy, licky slurpy 2 king sized double bedroom suite that we're finishing our holiday off with in a Homewood.:D:beer:

Very nice! We've done Disney the last 2 years. Private home rentals so not much in the Homewood / Embassy action! Work has been purely Hamptons (boo!!)

I really don't know the last time I used cash to buy anything at a shop. I've been to the bank to put cash in to my account far more times than drawing money out.

If I go to sporting events I go to a proper concession stand. They always take cards.

The only time I've used cash in the last 6+ months is to pay for my work fantasy football league and NFL playoff pool!

jackieblack

neilbond007 wrote: »

We've done Disney the last 2 years.

You'll have to watch that Neil, it can become addictive!

ferf1223

photome wrote: »

As the OP is going to Vegas, I dont think they will be able to do without cash,.unless there is no gambling involved

OP the cheapest ATM in Vegas as far as I know is in Casino Royale $1 fee, most others charge around $3

I was going to say the same thing about Vegas and cash and gambling. Many of the strip casino ATMs charge $5.99 now so it's worth timing withdrawals well.

I know people in the UK who almost never use cash...use their card for a coffee (I cannot get my head around this, I am old)...so it doesn't surprise me that some in the US do the same...particularly with the option to get cash back with purchases many places.

I personally prefer cash for general spending as I don't lose track of what I have spent vs my budget, but that's just me (again, old).

pollypenny

My DS and DIL never have cash, either. They pay by card for the smallest thing, it seems.

They laugh at us because we are reluctant to pay by card in restaurants. We hate the card being taken away and I don't think we'd have a leg to stand on if it were cloned,

EssexExile

neilbond007 wrote: »

If I go to sporting events I go to a proper concession stand. They always take cards.

I went to a motor racing circuit in Florida & asked the girl in the kiosk if I could pay the entrance fee with a card. She said yes & came out of the booth & walked me to an office under the grandstand. I gave my card to a chap at a desk & he got on the phone & read all the details off the card to someone else. While this was going on we discussed the ticket girls upcoming wedding & her honeymoon that was to be in a cabin in the forest somewhere in Georgia. After some considerable time I got my card back & we were led back outside to the ticket booth where we were given tickets so we could get back in. You should've seen the queue that had built up. Sorry, America, not a queue but a line.

InsideInsurance

Cant say I remember the last time I took out cash either, possibly helps that I dont drink tea/ coffee nor go to sports events but almost everywhere accepts cards now and even for car parking many places now have apps to pay for it which is also easier as if you end up needing to stay longer you can extend the time remotely without having to go back and feed the meter.

The Mrs is the exact opposite though and prefers to manage her money as cash. She doesnt like small change so tends to dump it in the car for the few carparks we occasionally use that dont have an app/ pay by phone option

The USA I'd imagine is fairly split, my time is all spent in NYC and you certainly can be basically cashless there if you want to with minimum sacrifice. Fairly sure there are many backwater towns though where cash is still king though and cards rarely accepted.

When I go to the USA I do tend to take a small amount of currency in small denominations but thats mainly for giving tips to the bellboy or room service etc rather than actually spending.