Hi plr - have a great trip. You won't need any dollars but if there are some in your wallet, they won't hurt you either. Just please DONT try using them for tips in Europe. Central America is not 'most countries' in the world and most people would be quite annoyed by this.

Doug, hello, "establishments should know how to process a regular credit card transaction rather than a chip-and-pin transaction", look its only the states that thinks chip-and-pin is not "regular". For the rest of us it's the norm while the signing thing is weird. :-)

Similar the leaving of dollars (or cowrie shells or whatever) in a country with its own currency is just a bit odd. I've only done it once on the international side of Damascus airport and I needed to pay to use the loo and found a screwed up dollar in my wallet. I've felt guilty ever since.

Nona1, just to be clear, I never said "most countries in the world." Please check before you quote. I wrote "Many countries where I've traveled welcome USD for tips." Two qualifiers.

Totally agree tipping in U.S. dollars or leaving a donation in them in other countries is ignorant.
I was recently on a cruise of the WEstern Mediterranean and I could not believe how many Americans were asking if they could use U.S. dollars to shop with in the different ports.

You are in a different country people, make the effort and get the local currency.

Amazing how a simple question can take such a turn....
I have no need to debate the issue of USD tipping in other countries, I was really asking about the emergency issues of my credit cards possibly leaving me in a bind.

1. You don't need to bring USD for purchases outside the USA.

2. Your ATM card, if it's with BofA, will work on most of the ATMs here and there is no fee if you get cash from Barclays.

3. Don't tip in USD, since that will not be useful to the people you are tipping, since they are trying to earn money in GBP. If they wanted tips in USD, they wouldn't be working in the UK, would they?

4. Get just enough cash that you will use for the day; that way you won't end up with too much extra change when you leave the UK.

5. Be aware of the currency conversion rate if you use your credit card.

Good luck!

plr; I can appreciate your unease, I actually did have some problems with my Visa and my ATM card despite notifying my bank etc. I do have the chip and pin cards, it was the fault of my bank and there were big apologies from them when I returned home.

If you are really concerned why not buy some British pounds before you leave home and at least you have them at hand as back up if your Debit card won't work. I also suggest having a number for your bank manager that you can text or leave messages on in case there is a problem.

I did start out with quite a few Euro but next trip I will take even more as a safety precaution.