Best way to pay for things on holiday in US

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cremeegg

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Any suggestions on how to organise spending money while in the US for a week.

I have a Visa debit card and a MasterCard credit card both with B of I. Are these likely to be widely accepted in the US? Will I be able to withdraw cash at ATMs with those. Is it an idea to get USD here before I go.

Also although this is not a shopping trip are there any things that are considerably less expensive there.

Thanks for any tips.
 
What part of the U.S are you heading to?

I would suggest to pre load the credit card with the cash you want to spend & use the card over there - it's widely accepted, but be prepared to have photo ID with you when using it & keep ALL receipts. No harm in having some cash also for small purchases.

You will probably be charged locally at the ATMs for using the card to withdraw money, so just be aware of that. It will detail the costs at the time of using the ATM (seperate charge to any that your bank may apply).

I didn't find things "considerably less expensive" there, but all relative in what you are buying.

Also, with BoI, best to contact them to tell them that you are traveling and what dates you are traveling there.
 
Was on a road trip in the US in April covering 10 states used both my DC and CC with no problems at all
Two things though,
1. Dont forget to inform BoI that your going to the US
2. Bring photo id when shopping, most times you wont be asked but just in case

We brought Dollars with us so dont know about ATM withdrawls but it wasn't a problem on previous trips

America used to be cheap for lots of things but on the last trip I couldn't get over how expensive it has now become, in fact most things I would be interested in buying could be got cheaper at home, this is probably due to the rate of exchange in April (around $1.08/€)
One thing that is always cheap in America is Levis jeans, average price around $50 for 501's and cheaper if on sale.
 
Thanks for the replies and especially about notifying the bank. I wouldn't have thought of that.

Who knows, Cervelo maybe I will see a nice new bike.:D
 
Revolut will be the easiest thing. You can even get some cash out for free.
You can top it up instantly with your debit card.
 
I have been looking into Revolut, thanks for the suggestion. Im not clear how it differs from Paypal
 
One thing: regardless of which card you use, if you are asked whether you want to pay in dollars or Euro (assuming it's a Euro card), always specify dollars. This is a general point: always select the local currency. If you don't you have no control over what rate or conversion charges that may apply. They may be lower than the card issuer's rates, though any time I've mistakenly chosen the wrong option it's always been more expensive.

Also, as in the UK, if you are drawing cash from ATMs, try and use the ones located in banks, as the ones elsewhere can have significant additional charges applied.
 
cremeegg said:
I have been looking into Revolut, thanks for the suggestion. Im not clear how it differs from Paypal
Click to expand...

You get a prepaid card with Revolut. You just top it up, by linking your bank card to it and using the app, and then you use the Revolut card.
FX fees are non-existent, while with paypal you pay quite a lot. Also, Paypal doesn't issue cards in Europe.
 
Nothing like paypal Cremegg. It's a preloaded card. You transfer money from your account/card to the revolut card. You can then transfer this money at excellent rates to the currency of the country you are going to. When there and needing to pay for a meal etc, just use the card like a credit card and the money is taken from you dollar account/wallet on the card. It's all controlled by the app. I have a few different currency wallets and when the rate is good, I convert to that currency. E.g. I buy a lot from Amazon, so have a sterling 'wallet' . I visit the US a lot, so have my dollar account. Can also take up to £200per month foc from an ATM. Can als use it here from my Euro wallet. Check it out, really find it great.
 
Love Revolut, but I also took an N26 card(also free and it is a German online bank) as back-up. A few yeard back, I used an An Post card pre-loaded with dollars. it was good, but TBH, both Revolut and N26 are far superior.
 
cremeegg said:
Any suggestions on how to organise spending money while in the US for a week.

I have a Visa debit card and a MasterCard credit card both with B of I. Are these likely to be widely accepted in the US? Will I be able to withdraw cash at ATMs with those. Is it an idea to get USD here before I go.

Also although this is not a shopping trip are there any things that are considerably less expensive there.

Thanks for any tips.
Click to expand...
Revolut
 
Am I correct on saying that a Revolut card work similarly to a pre-loaded credit card but will better exchange rates and no transaction fees. Are you losing out on the protection that paying with a credit card gives you?
 
Peanuts said:
Am I correct on saying that a Revolut card work similarly to a pre-loaded credit card but will better exchange rates and no transaction fees. Are you losing out on the protection that paying with a credit card gives you?
Click to expand...

Yes, the money is loaded into your account in Euros then you can transfer to dollars or it will do it automatically when you pay. What protection do you need for normal spending in the US? The credit card protection is really there for if you succumb to fraud.
 
cremeegg said:
Any suggestions on how to organise spending money while in the US for a week.

I have a Visa debit card and a MasterCard credit card both with B of I. Are these likely to be widely accepted in the US? Will I be able to withdraw cash at ATMs with those. Is it an idea to get USD here before I go.

Also although this is not a shopping trip are there any things that are considerably less expensive there.

Thanks for any tips.
Click to expand...

I am not sure how good BoI fraud detection is but you would likely need to let them know you were travelling. I see no issue in the cards being accepted in the US, but at least at the end of 2018 for CC the chip was being used but most places still asked you to sign.
 
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