Money Exchange
 

Have been told it's best to use ATM rather than credit card. Need opinions. Do you pay hotel bills with cash???

Iriving,

I use the ATM to get cash, but I use my credit card whenever possible (hotels, restaurants, shopping); use cash when cards are not accepted. Sometimes hotels will give a discount if you use cash, so ask them.

Monica ((F))

I pay anything I can with the CC. I have never understood why some advocate paying with cash.

I would only pay cash if I were offered a discount for doing so. This happens from time to time, especially in small, family run hotels or B&B's. Otherwise I use the CC.

Use your CC for all major expenses. But you will still need cash for a lot of smaller expenses (walking around money) - and some smaller restaurants still do not take CCs. You use the ATM card only to pull cash for daily needs.

The hotel bill is the only time I use a credit card (when they are accepted, some small hotels may not accept CC or prefer cash). Or I guess you'd need a credit card to rent a car.

I do restaurants, shopping, and daily expenses with cash from an ATM.

Check with your Creditcard company to find out whether they charge a "foreign currency fee" typically a 2-3% add on that all cards do not charge.

We like to use credit cards to pay for hotels, train tickets and one good memorable restaurant meal daily. Since breakfast is usually included in the room price, that only leaves one other usually quick meal, public tran., incidentals and sightseeing/entrance fees to cover with cash all obtained from ATMs.
We've found it very convenient and safe to travel this way. Using credit cards cuts down significantly the amount of currency we need to carry at one time(usually 150 euro split between the two of us).
The most important thing is to avoid the time and expense of going to a bank or exchange stall. We haven't done so in years.