<<like 10% discount for US dollars, when the US dollar was worth about 1.50 Canadian>>
Patrick - Right on! my point exactly.

Hi

just to join in the debate.

I've visited 40+ countries vacation and business, over the last 20 years.

I've never tried to pay in a foreign currency. Taken them because I know I can change them in the country, yes.

So, the US dollar. Only generally accepted in countries with a weaker currency (and not so many of those these days?).

In Indonesia, I was told in a tourist shop : In local currency start to bid around 65% of the price - settle around 85%. If the price is in USD, halve it, start bidding at 65% of the calculated price, etc.

Sure enough, those shops with prices in USD were 200% more expensive than local shops.

If you don't understand the money and insist on trying to pay in USD you will either be thought an idiot or ripped off.


Peter

Has anyone taken a transatlantic flight on American Airlines for the past two years or so where they announce "alcoholic beverages cost $5 or €5" ? How's that for highway robbery?

Why think of it as highway robbery at all. Think of the drinks as costing 5 euro. If you pay in US dollars they're giving a nice discount, that's all.

Glass half empty -- glass half full sort of thing.

I think AA charges "5" in each currency because it's easier to make change that way.

There are some countries where dollars are preferred. It was 15 years ago but our hotel in Istanbul had its prices posted in USD only. Inflation was astronomical. Turkey now has a "new lira" on which they have dropped six digits. I don't know if inflation has gone down.

If a country has a stable currency then USD are not needed. In countries with extreme inflation, currency controls, or non-convertible currencies the USD is eagerly sought after. Laws in those countries try to control black market transactions, and street hustlers make a good living selling bogus wampum to tourists.

The euro is just as good as the dollar. The Swiss Frank is just as solid but not as widely recognized as dollars and euros in out of the way places. Bring $ and €.

Even in Vietnam, where the US$ is widely accepted, we used local currency because (a) there was no reason not to, (b) being an old softie it struck me as a courteous thing to do, and (c) not surprisingly, that's what the ATMs dispensed. Another good reason was that you could become an instant millionaire by withdrawing only a modest amount (by our standards) in dong.

We ate in a couple of restaurants in which menus priced in US$ were handed to us (we're not Americans, but how were they to know that?) Both were overpriced.

P. J. O'Rourke wrote that the average Vietnamese doesn't stand around with his dong in his hand, but he usually isn't holding a dollar either.

When I was a student, I spent a bit of time in France.
One day I was with some other students of various nationalities when an American left a dollar as a tip.
The waiter exclaimed "Un dollar!" and the others started fooling about, pretending to worship it etc. I must admit that it also got passed around the students to general hilarity.