Best way to use ATM in USA

happyhero

Hi I am taking my family on a once in a life time (for us) trip to California for 3 weeks in the summer. My daughter is 18 and will be off to University in September so I thought this would be a good time to do it before she starts doing her own thing. I also have a boy of 12.

We are going to do a sort of road trip from LA to San Francisco so I will be paying for hotels and food and everything as we go, so I will need the credit card and some cash. Normally I would take enough cash for the whole holiday, having got the best rate in the UK but this holiday is 3 weeks long, and in the USA, and possibly not as secure money wise with all the travelling we will be doing.

I have a Halifax Clarity card which has been brilliant on holiday spending in the past so that will be fine for card spending but I'm not keen on walking round with over £1,000 in cash in my bag/pocket or leaving it in the car as it could get pinched or our bag could go missing etc (I dont want to be lying on the beech worrying about the car and the cash in it or my bag on the beech with money in it) so I'm thinking it would be better to draw out cash from ATM's as we need it to avoid this problem.

Obviously I like a good rate, that is why I have the Clarity card but I have read the MSE site stuff on this and I am confused on the options, there is holiday cash credit cards, pre loaded cards and debit cards. Anybody done this before and can guide me here which is best?

With the credit card for holiday ATM's it doesnt sound perfect, i.e. effects your credit record etc.

Anybody know how good or bad it is with ATM's abroad, will they all charge fees or none or is it same as here with a mix that you just watch out to avoid a ATM that charges?

What would I like, well I want a card that will give me the Clarity rates, wont charge me anything untill the end of the month if I don't pay in full, doesnt charge me ATM fees and wont require me to change banks as I am with First Direct and want to stay with them for my banking.

Any help/advice appreciated.

cubegame

Most US cash machines will charge a fee. Expect $2 to 4 per withdrawal.

Using your Clarity won't affect your credit record if you pay it off.

Your previous approach of taking all your cash using g the best rate in the UK would have cost you far more than the odd fee.

gettingtheresometime

Can't help with the ATM question but just to give you the heads up if you want to go to Alcatraz then you will need to book in advance (tickets become available 90days beforehand)

PeacefulWaters

Your card won't charge you ATM fees. The ATM owner will though.

Single withdrawal for a few hundred dollars cash equals one modest fee. Everything else will be easy as a purchase.

If your plan is to head south to north on highway one, ensure there are no blockages from landslides.

Three weeks is a long time on that coast. Do you have any broader plans? Death Valley, Yosemite, Grand Canyon?

michele-p

We paid for pretty much everything on card last time in the US, and used very little cash at all. I'd keep cash to a minimum, and use your Clarity card, get a backup card too, we also have Post Office fee free card for holidays. We took out around $100 cash a few times just to keep for tips ect.

We did the evening/night tour of Alcatraz, which was well worth it. As above, book well in advance.

NoodleDoodleMan

Anybody done this before and can guide me here which is best?

Over the years since Martin started recommending "best buys" for cash overseas I've followed his advice and used a variety.

The Barclaycard Platinum Travel Card is top pick currently. A Starling debit card is a good emergency backup to your Clarity.

https://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/platinum-travel-credit-card?WT.mc_id=C034L011N91&WT.srch=1&gclid=CMj4vLCx59oCFQULGwodnXAH-w&gclsrc=ds

AFAIK there is no way to avoid ATM fees in the USA, as mentioned above, these are set by the cash machine provider.

The fee is a modest amount in my experience and was a flat rate, ie $4 per transaction - so it's better to withdraw a bigger amount than a series of smaller ones.

Use the credit card as often as possible to settle for goods and services and only use cash for small purchases and tips.

Reference Alcatraz, it's a US National Park service, (government agency) - only use the official website to buy cruise tickets - others will charge you extra, all they do is source them and add their own nice little earner.

https://www.alcatrazcruises.com/

It's a great experience.

stevie11

Great advice already. I take very little cash out when visiting the US, just use the Clarity credit card to pay for everything and withdraw a small amount for cash incidentals and tips, maybe a few $000 for the trip, taken in one transaction to avoid multiple ATM fees.

Some like to pay off the charegs and bill whilst they are abroad. I wouldn't worry just enjoy your holiday and pay it off in full if possible when you receive the bill.

Do you have an itinerary planned and any hotels already booked or just taking each day as it comes?

waamo

I've done 5 days in the US without using any cash at all. Nearly everywhere takes major cards and you can even tip on your card.

iltisman

I use the ATMs in Walmart the charges are usually reasonable . The worst charges I came across was at a Wells Fargo drive in bank.

happyhero

cubegame wrote: »

Most US cash machines will charge a fee. Expect $2 to 4 per withdrawal.

Using your Clarity won't affect your credit record if you pay it off.

Your previous approach of taking all your cash using g the best rate in the UK would have cost you far more than the odd fee.

Cheers cubegame for your reply but I don't get what you mean, why will cash cost me more?

Using the MSE currency tool the clarity card always come at the top of the list offering a better rate than any cash but all you have to do for the best rate in cash is to select the one that comes up on the list right under the clarity card and buy some cash at this rate which is usually very close to the clarity card rate and has NO transaction charge for usually over £500.

Also I contacted the Halifax about this card and drawing cash, and yes its great to draw cash with no charges abroad but they said although they wont make any charges for drawing cash the ATM provider may well do. And the thing that compounds any negative and stops me using it for cash is, despite it offering a great rate is the fact that they will charge interest on the cash withdrawal from day one. For me that completely ruins taking cash on it.

Yes I could keep paying any cash withdrawals off online to minimise charges but to me this is awkward and no longer seems like it would be the best way to handle getting cash abroad.

Trying to be clever I asked them about putting my Clarity card in credit so that everything was paid off as it came on the statement but the Halifax lady said that any payments that put the credit card in credit would be rejected so the best I could achieve is to pay things off as I go but not sure I will use that approach, I'm still exploring my options, I will need some cash for tips and beers and small purchases as not sure they will like me using a credit card for a 2 dollar purchase etc.

NoodleDoodleMan

Trying to be clever I asked them about putting my Clarity card in credit so that everything was paid off as it came on the statement but the Halifax lady said that any payments that put the credit card in credit would be rejected

Putting a credit card into "the black" violates the terms and conditions.

In practice the banks don't seem to bother if it's a modest amount and/or a temporary positive balance.

Paying in a significant amount to produce an ongoing credit is a different scenario and is likely to be rejected.