I checked online to see if there are any Washington Mutual or Bank of America ATM's on Maui, and there aren't. (Bummer! Hate to get stuck paying those fees for using "other bank" ATMs!)

Do grocery stores and drug stores on Maui let you pay with a debit card and get cash back like they do here in LA?

Mahalo (is that correct for "thanks!"?)!

yes, you can use your debit card just like in LA and get cash back at most stores...safeway, wal-mart, longs etc.
yes, you got the mahalo correct. now try saying a hui hou

"ah who-eee who" did i get it right?!!! does that mean "you're welcome"?

"a hui hou" -- until we meet again.

You'd be better off saying "mahalo" (thank you) or "mahalo nui loa" (thank you very much) -- with a smile, of course!

the last sylable is most like "ho"

Actually, when we were in Maui 2 yrs. ago, I couldn't find anywhere that took my debit card (although I'm Canadian, maybe that was why) so we had to go pick up cash all the time - next time, I'll just use my visa for everything and carry very little cash.

Check the Post Office for cashback.

jumpy, if your debit card has "Visa" or "Mastercard" on it, anywhere that takes either of those credit cards will take your debit card. If it doesn't have that, you're out of luck except at a bank.

Well not completely out of luck. If you are on the network you can use your ATM at grocery and 'marts that accept ATM with no visa or mastercard logos. Places like safeway and walmart allow you to use a regular ATM where you enter your password and then you can ask for cash back. At a restaurant this would not work and doesn't work on the mainland either. There are also some store that won't accept the ATM with the password but I have never had that happen at a chain grocery or 'mart.

Aloha - I go to Maui every year & use my Visa debit card a lot. I have not yet found a store or restaurant which does not accept it. I also found a way to avoid the ATM fees - if I needed more cash, I just stopped in at Bank of Hawaii in Lahaina & asked for a cash advance on my card - they charged me no fees.
Dianne

"Mahalo" everyone!

It has a Visa sign on it, so it's good for purchases everywhere from my experience- the merchants treat it just like a credit card. And it sounds like we'll easily be able to get cash back at groceries, etc.

lynnejoel1015, if you have a Vons/Safeway card you can use that to get club discounts, but not to pay with.