using credit card in U.S

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monstie

Registered User
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Hi,

We are going to New York next week for a few days and was just wondering is it best to use credit card(mastercard), cash, travellers cheques or ATM machines,

Any help would be great thanks
 
We use Credit cards but have ID on you as you may be asked for it. Hotels and places in ?new york tend to charge a good bit to cash travellers checks and ATM machines often charge as well. Bring a bit of cash for small things. Have a great time and make sure you go to Daffy's if you want serious bargins.
 
The issue of the best/cheapest/most secure/etc. way to access cash abroad is covered many times in several threads already. A quick search should find them.
 
Bring your passport with you when using a credit card as its generally always asked for. They dont use pin codes so much but instead give you an electronic pen and ask you to sign using that hence the passport/ID is their way of ensuring security of the transaction.
 
Just back from New York.
I used credit card for all purchases and not asked for ID once
Make sure you go to Jersey Gardens and Macy's for great bargains
 
Most times that I've used the CC for large retail (as opposed to restaurant) purchases I was asked for ID in the US. Sometimes convincing them that an Irish/EU passport is valid ID is a job!
 
Stricly speaking neither US Visa nor US Mastercard allow a merchant to ask for ID if authorisation for the transaction has been given. They even have forms for you to complain if a merchant is asking for id.

If the card was authorized and the shop than asks for ID you can tell them "No" and if they don't wanna accept that, tell them to reverse the charge and shop somewhere else.

As long as you card has your signature, getting an authorisation and checking the signature is all the merchant must do, asking for ID is just another avenue that opens you to identity theft.

I actualy refuse to show a shop assitant my id (given that my driver license has my date of birth, full address and social on it) and if they don't wanna give me the goods than I shop somewhere else and complain to Visa/Mastercard about it.
 
DublinTexas said:
Stricly speaking neither US Visa nor US Mastercard allow a merchant to ask for ID if authorisation for the transaction has been given. They even have forms for you to complain if a merchant is asking for id.

If the card was authorized and the shop than asks for ID you can tell them "No" and if they don't wanna accept that, tell them to reverse the charge and shop somewhere else.

As long as you card has your signature, getting an authorisation and checking the signature is all the merchant must do, asking for ID is just another avenue that opens you to identity theft.

I actualy refuse to show a shop assitant my id (given that my driver license has my date of birth, full address and social on it) and if they don't wanna give me the goods than I shop somewhere else and complain to Visa/Mastercard about it.
Click to expand...
Is it any different if the card was issued by an organisation outside the US which the retailer might not be familiar with or has logos or affiliations they might not reognise? (Ryanair, GAA county cards, etc.)
 
mathepac said:
Is it any different if the card was issued by an organisation outside the US which the retailer might not be familiar with or has logos or affiliations they might not reognise? (Ryanair, GAA county cards, etc.)
Click to expand...

Nope. Per "Rules for Visa Merchants": [broken link removed]

When should you ask a cardholder for an official government ID? Although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their
regular card acceptance procedures. Laws in several states also make it illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales receipt.
 
monstie said:
is it best to use credit card(mastercard), cash, travellers cheques or ATM machines
Click to expand...

I would take a credit card and some cash. Possibly a debit card too (Cirrus / Plus) for ATM withdrwals, just in case. You will be able to use a credit card almost anywhere; sometimes it will be necessary to have one -- if you are planning to rent a car, make reservations etc.
 
Also just back from New York, visa used all the way,even taxi's take credit cards! Be warned though,when taking money out of an ATM, take it out of one attached to a bank. I used an ATM outside Burgerking in Chinatown,put in pin,put in amount and 'Transaction processing' came up on the screen for 15/20 minutes until I eventually had to give up and go away (and yes I tried cancelling etc but nothing worked). Not sure what happened, whether I was being scammed, whether it was faulty or if the money came out or not, but keeping a close eye on my online statements to see if I get robbed...anyone know if I do end up being scammed out of a large amount of money,do I have any comeback on this?
 
I know alot of similar posts exist on this, but this is a more specific question, so I'm not trying to break Clubmans rule by repeating posts which is fair enough
"The issue of the best/cheapest/most secure/etc. way to access cash abroad is covered many times in several threads already.
A quick search should find them."
I'm going to Central America in March. I currently have an MBNA Gold credit card which is fine with me in Ireland but I see now that's its one of the worst when you need to use it abroad or at least outside the Euro zone. I always have and will pay my bill on time so late payments or interest rates have no revelance to me.
Is one the following the best card to be using abroad. In terms of using your card for purchases e.g. to book flights or restaurants. The other way I'd like to use my card is to pre load it with a certain amount of cash and make withdrawals from ATM's (instead of using my AIB card with the Link symbol)
Credit card: Bank of Ireland - 2 in 1
http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/cs_tdetails.jsp?stID=10&sdID=33&suID=50&sfID=6&spID=65
Credit card: Permanent TSB - ICE
http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/cs_tdetails.jsp?stID=10&sdID=33&suID=63&sfID=35&spID=78
 
Clubman you mentioned having a ptsb credit card. Is this the best card for using outside the eurozone?
 
Not sure what you mean by "best" but I find it good on a few counts:
  • The forex margin of 1.75% is the lowest available on non € transactions (other cards also charge this but some charge more)
  • I think that the credit period compares well with other cards
  • I have only ever had to use a cash advance once but was glad to discover that they just charge 1.5% of the amount advanced but don't charge interest until the normal billing/credit period has elapsed (again other cards may also do this but some levy higher charges and/or charge interest from the date of the advance).
See the CC cost survey on www.itsyourmoney.ie for more comparisons.
 
Thanks for the really quick reply Clubman. I've checked out the site you mentioned (they were the links I used in my original post on this).

By best I just meant cheapest to use outside the euro zone. If you were to pre load the PTSB credit card with cash (outside of the security issue with this) and use this credit card in ATMs in the States is this cheaper than using an AIB atm card in ATMs there.
 
Freddie said:
If you were to pre load the PTSB credit card with cash (outside of the security issue with this) and use this credit card in ATMs in the States is this cheaper than using an AIB atm card in ATMs there.
Click to expand...
Do you mean an AIB ATM card with Cirrus/Maestro/Plus or something like that? If so then compare the AIB card cash withdrawal charges and forex margin against the PTSB VISA 1.75% forex margin on non € transactions (including cash withdrawals). I suspect that the latter will be cheaper in most or all cases.
 
Yes I meant an AIB ATM card with that has Link and Maestro. I rang AIB 24HR banking and the lady said there's a 1% charge when using ATM card outside the eurozone. So that would make it cheaper to use my ATM and not a PTSB credit card.

But on their site under charges it says

The standard transaction fee on all AIB Banklink Card transactions is €0.20. Transactions in euro incur no other charges.

Non-Euro transactions also attract the additional charges as follows:
• ATM withdrawal cash transactions in any currency
other than euro attract a currency conversion fee of
up to 4% (depending on the currency) and also a
commission charge of 1% of value (minimum €1.27,
maximum €6.35).
 
Freddie said:
• ATM withdrawal cash transactions in any currency
other than euro attract a currency conversion fee of
up to 4% (depending on the currency) and also a
commission charge of 1% of value (minimum €1.27,
maximum €6.35).
Click to expand...
So you could be paying up to 5%? The lady on the phone (like many people) obviously forgot about the forex margin!
 
I called the 24hr banking line again there after looking up the AIB site myself. This time the person told me to withdraw for US dollars from an ATM machine over there
is 1.90 euro for amounts up to 100 euros and for amounts over 100 euro its 1.5% of the value of what you take out. Still not confident about the info I'm receiving. The lady herself said the website was confusing and not all clear and she had to put me on hold while she spoke to a supervisor.
 
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