Best way of making payments on a US holiday

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NoRegretsCoyote

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I'm off to the US soon with the kids for the first time since, well, long before I had kids. The last time I was there I just used cash but assume card and contactless payment is much more prevalent than then. If I can avoid cash at all I'd like to.

For hotels, car rental, etc, I'll use my credit card but am wondering what's the cheapest and best way to make payments for retail and food? I want to avoid currency conversion, ATM, and transaction fees to the extent possible. Is a Revolut card the best way to go? I have an iphone but haven't set up Apple Pay - is that worth it for a US trip?

TIA!
 
For me, Revolut has worked great in the US in the past. Prior to a US Trip, I used to convert my spending money from EUR to USD in the Revolut app. I do this during European working hours to get the best exchange rate. Twice I've even rented cars with Revolut. Not supposed to work but it did.

Three things to watch:

1) ATMs - avoid smaller banks and convenience stores. Sometimes the fees are on the high side. I used to go to larger banks like Bank of America and Citi for fee free cash withdrawals.

2) Tipping - sometimes it takes a day or two for the pre-tip restaurant transaction to be reverted. So the pre-tip amount and the tip inclusive amount appear on the Revolut app at the same time. Eventually, the pre-tip amount disappears and your available balance updates.

3) Backup. Revolut is great but always have a backup. If something goes wrong, for example, you lose your phone, it can get messy. It's good idea to have some cash and alternative debit/credit cards to hand.
 
Generally speaking, the best card to use for, say, over $100 is your debit card, as they have the lowest "transaction" fees resulting in the lowest "net cost". For transactions less than $100, your credit card can provide better value.

When booking into hotels, use your credit card. If you hand over your debit card your bank account will be immediately debited with the estimated cost of your stay.

Some retailers will offer you the "opportunity" of paying in Euros at a "guaranteed" rate. You should decline the opportunity and pay in dollars.

Before travelling, notify your bank that you are travelling to the US to ensure that your cards are not blocked for "unusual" expenditure.

Jim Stafford
 
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Just back from the US and other parts. I used Revolut everywhere and only used cash towards the end to run down my supply of pre bought $ cash. When checking in to the hotel, I paid in full using Revolut but let the hotel put a hold on my credit card for any room charges that might arise. This was to avoid a significant transaction going to the Revolut acc. I found myself topping up the US$ and other currency a lot so became aware of the 'fair usage' charge and weekend charge that Revolut applies. This can catch you out if you lose track of days and the time difference. I will purchase my USD over the next 10 months for the next trip.
Incidentally, Revolut froze my card between the airport and the hotel due to Uber charges. It was quick and easy to unfreeze it at the hotel.
 
Slim said:
Just back from the US and other parts. I used Revolut everywhere and only used cash towards the end to run down my supply of pre bought $ cash. When checking in to the hotel, I paid in full using Revolut but let the hotel put a hold on my credit card for any room charges that might arise. This was to avoid a significant transaction going to the Revolut acc. I found myself topping up the US$ and other currency a lot so became aware of the 'fair usage' charge and weekend charge that Revolut applies. This can catch you out if you lose track of days and the time difference. I will purchase my USD over the next 10 months for the next trip.
Incidentally, Revolut froze my card between the airport and the hotel due to Uber charges. It was quick and easy to unfreeze it at the hotel.
Click to expand...
is that a limitation of the free revolut account that could be alleviated by going up a tier?
 
Thanks for all the advice folks. I have a free Revolut account and will convert €1k a month for two months in advance.

I'll also set up Apple Pay

The advice to warn bank of travel plans is also very wise.
 
So a dollar ATM withdrawal in the US is automatically debited from the dollar balance in my Revolut a/c.

Suppose my dollar balance is zero and my euro balance is positive. Is a dollar transaction just debited from the euro balance at whatever the applicable rate is? (So a worse FX rate at weekends).
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
So a dollar ATM withdrawal in the US is automatically debited from the dollar balance in my Revolut a/c.

Suppose my dollar balance is zero and my euro balance is positive. Is a dollar transaction just debited from the euro balance at whatever the applicable rate is? (So a worse FX rate at weekends).
Click to expand...
That's it basically, but even the worse weekend rate will be a lot better than aib or boi
 
Planning a similar trip next year and I'm nervous on Revolut, mainly because of the awful customer service stories. Is an An Post currency card an effective option?
 
Peanuts20 said:
Planning a similar trip next year and I'm nervous on Revolut, mainly because of the awful customer service stories. Is an An Post currency card an effective option?
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Yes, but your holiday will be more expensive as Revolut give a far better exchange rate.
 
Blackrock1 said:
revolut and link to apple pay for extra handiness,

apple / google pay is a godsend, the amount of times i have forgotten my wallet but realised i can pay for almost anything on the phone anyway!
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Phone? - that's so "yesterday" :) :)

For the USA, I'd go for a baseball cap wearable

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One thing I noticed is that tips are treated differently by Revolut. I don't know the formal terminology but essentially it seems that the restaurants don't take tips from your account until they tally them up, say on a weekly basis. So you pay $100 for dinner and agree to pay say $20 at a later date as tip.

This just seemed very awkward and the amounts never actually came out of my Revolut account subsequently, so essentially we didn't tip despite "agreeing to" in the restaurant.

I'd advise keeping cash for tips as Revolut is accepted everywhere else as a debit card.
 
UPDATE: Back from holiday and payments worked almost without a hitch:
  • I used Revolut via Apple Pay 90% of the time, all shops seemed to take it except Walmart;
  • A bar said they would only take a credit card and not Apple Pay, some ticket machines around NYC would only take card via swipe which I had to switch on via the app;
  • I could have got by without cash but in the end I took out $50 from the Revolut balance on an ATM - the only place I absolutely had to use cash was an ice cream van;
  • I used Apple Pay on bus and subway and the payments were marked as blocked on the app that evening but were authorised after a few days;
  • I tipped a few times with Revolut and this was indeed debited @Seaniemed ;
  • I had a Revolut payment blocked on Uber Eats due to potential fraud but was able to unblock straight away.
I kept main bank credit and debit cards as backup but didn't use them once.

All told I saved quite a bit on FX fees and it was easier to keep track of dollar spending as well. And I didn't have the typical urge to use up excess dollars on stupid things in the airport on the way home either.
 
Can I ask if you needed the physical revolute card, or was tap and go from the phone OK in the US?
If tap and go is OK are there amount limits?
 
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