euros?

[ziggyuk]

24 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

 

Get one of the multi currency cards then use local ATM for no charge.

 

(Just watch there are loads in Europe that charge, proper bank ones are usually ok)

 

Loads of choice, we use Revolut(need the physical card for ATM).

 

 

You an me too, been doing it for years, I also have a credit card I use specifically for traveling as it has no overseas fees, the exchange rate is perfect as its the international rate and you just pay interest on cash advances from day one which is standard, and not much.

[Asawi]

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Try going to the bathroom with a credit card in hand.

That actually works in a lot of places nowadays! And more an more getting added to the list!

But I do suggest keeping som small denomination notes and/or Euro coins if you're in the habit of using bathrooms while on the go. 

[IAcruising]

18 hours ago, IAcruising said:

Call me an ugly American, but if all I have is US Dollars, then you either except them, or get nothing. Tell me who won't take Dollar tips, anywhere. Seriously.

 

17 hours ago, complawyer said:

ok iacruising. regretably i am calling you an ugly american. most places in italy definitely will not take us dollars.

 

12 hours ago, Manchester is blue said:

You're an ugly American

 

12 hours ago, GLYNAGP said:

Yes you could tip in US dollars in Europe but surely it would be more respectful to use the local currency . Would you expect a tip in Euros to be acceptable in your local town ?

 

Well, at least ONE of you caught that I was only talking about TIPS. Yes, any server in the US would accept Euros as a TIP, as opposed to receiving nothing.

 

Money is money.

 

 

[complawyer]

iacruising. sorry to disagree, but i think not. i dont believe that any server at any facility, would accept a tip in another currency. even on a $100 meal, if you tip 20% that's $20 in another currency, requiring the server to find a place to exchange it for us dollars. if it's just maybe $20-$30 youre dropping at a coffee shop the 3-5  euros would be almost worthless.

 

your post begs  the question (at least  imho) why carry around euros, or any other type of foreign currency in the U.S.

 

Money is not Money, if it's going to be a pain in the tushie to convert it to something your server can use.

[IAcruising]

5 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i dont believe that any server at any facility, would accept a tip in another currency. even on a $100 meal, if you tip 20% that's $20 in another currency, requiring the server to find a place to exchange it for us dollars.

 

Let me see if I understand you correctly.

 

You believe that a server in the US would not accept a 20 Euro note as a tip? What do you think they'd do, throw it in the trash bin?

 

Are you being serious, or intentionally obtuse?

 

[complawyer]

im being quite serious, i dont believe a server in the us would appreciate a tip in a foreign currency.

 

if any one is being "obtuse" it must be you for insisting and belaboring the issue. why are you so insistent on tipping in a foreign currency to an american server.

 

i dont think anyone on this site, would even consider doing so.

 

if i get home with a lot of foreign currency (usually doesnt happen), i just go to my bank and get it converted. 

 

by the way, this response is in no way intended to insult you or your position and the opinion expressed herein is strictly my own

[IAcruising]

8 minutes ago, complawyer said:

i dont believe a server in the us would appreciate a tip in a foreign currency.

 

I didn't say they'd appreciate it, I said they'd accept it, as opposed to getting nothing. Which was my entire point in my comment that started this.

 

10 minutes ago, complawyer said:

if any one is being "obtuse" it must be you for insisting and belaboring the issue. why are you so insistent on tipping in a foreign currency to an american server.

 

Good grief. Reading comprehension, please. Maybe it was just an anecdote because you called me an ugly American?

 

13 minutes ago, complawyer said:

if i get home with a lot of foreign currency (usually doesnt happen), i just go to my bank and get it converted. 

 

And couldn't a server in Europe do exactly that with my Ugly American tip in dollars?

 

14 minutes ago, complawyer said:

by the way, this response is in no way intended to insult you or your position

 

Too late.

 

 

[PatJim]

On 3/25/2024 at 11:18 PM, UKstages said:

 

same here... it's become impossible to spend cash.

 

i take the same euros and pounds with me on every trip. and then i bring them home. they have as many frequent flyer miles as i do.i was in london a couple of months ago and nobody wanted cash. everything is a swipe.

That’s so funny!

 

It’s the same situation in Denmark.  They went cashless a few years ago.  If you want local currency (krone) in Copenhagen, only one central bank handles it.  Everyone uses credit cards.

[Joanne G.]

No one will refuse currency or throw currency in the trash bin.  But some of us believe it is more considerate to tip in the local currency, and we prefer to have some local currency on hand to do so.  It saves the recipient the inconvenience of converting foreign currency into local currency - and the cost of doing so, as banks don't do it without taking a cut for themselves.   

 

Edited March 29 by Joanne G.

[julig22]

28 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

No one will refuse currency or throw currency in the trash bin.  But some of us believe it is more considerate to tip in the local currency, and we prefer to have some local currency on hand to do so.  It saves the recipient the inconvenience of converting foreign currency into local currency - and the cost of doing so, as banks don't do it without taking a cut for themselves.   

 

Reminds me of when I was in Buenos Aires - young bartender asked me if the $2 USD bill he'd gotten as a tip was real currency. Now USD was actually somewhat preferred due to the exchange rate at the time but the bank wouldn't take it. $2 bills are a novelty but not so much at the banks (that may also require "clean" bills).

[DominicAUS]

Doesn’t make sense if you’re paying for a meal or whatever in local currency and then would tip in a different currency I.E USD? Either add the tip to the credit card transaction. 
 

Don’t be that arrogant tourist thinking that’s acceptable to tip in USD in Europe. They won’t throw it back at you but pretty sure they wouldn’t be overly happy about it, with the issue of exchanging it etc. be a better tourist than that and respect the local currency. 
 

don’t add to the American tourist perception 

Edited March 29 by DominicAUS

[insidecabin]

3 hours ago, complawyer said:

iacruising. sorry to disagree, but i think not. i dont believe that any server at any facility, would accept a tip in another currency. even on a $100 meal, if you tip 20% that's $20 in another currency, requiring the server to find a place to exchange it for us dollars. if it's just maybe $20-$30 youre dropping at a coffee shop the 3-5  euros would be almost worthless.

 

your post begs  the question (at least  imho) why carry around euros, or any other type of foreign currency in the U.S.

 

Money is not Money, if it's going to be a pain in the tushie to convert it to something your server can use.

 

US or other will accept any tip money whatever the currency.

 

They will just think what a Richard if not local.

[CruiseMH]

On 3/28/2024 at 4:47 AM, IAcruising said:

 but if all I have is US Dollars, then you either except them, or get nothing.

 

there is something that is called respect. If all americans would act like you then you would be treated as an arrogant a****le in every country outside the US.

 

The first tourist is disrespectful, the second is as well.From the third on every tourist from that country (in your case the US) will be treated as sh*t.

That might not be a problem if you are the first. But always remember in most cases you are in the group "from the third on". 😉

 

Especially in Europe there are meanwhile quite a few countries where the people would rather take nothing than accept dollars, even as tip. (parts of germany, Italy, France, whole scandinavia)

 

It might work in small countries on the american continent or in Africa where the local currencies are weak and unreliable. But the Euro is strong, stable and reliable.

Edited March 30 by CruiseMH

[CruiseMH]

.

Edited March 30 by CruiseMH

[complawyer]

my only question is why are you so adamant about being anywhere in europe, and tipping in U.S. dollars. is it so hard to exchange around $100 for euros? and it will make it much easier on you and the server

[ppcox]

On 3/25/2024 at 11:52 PM, Distinctive-Destinations said:

I’ve been to Greece and I assure you they will take USD for tips. Now for regular purchases, yes obviously Euros are preferred (required in many/most places).

 

 

Surprised they did probably just being polite as it was a tip. But they have to take them to a bank and get the $ exchanged into their € Euros.

Whenever I see a question about US$ being used in Europe. I just imagine trying to buy something in the US using my currency £ I think people would laugh at me. 

[ColdCruise]

On 3/28/2024 at 9:07 AM, d9704011 said:

Try going to the bathroom with a credit card in hand.

The WC in the main Amsterdam train station has accepted cards for several years. 
While walking around Amsterdam a couple years ago, I had to use a restroom, couldn’t find a public pay one, so went into a coffee shop & asked. Then bought a cup of coffee afterwards - they would NOT take cash (€), so had to use my card. Of course in the US a lot f places won’t take credit card for a $3 purchase, but it was the preferred option in NL.

 

We spent 5 days in Norway in 22 and I got about $100 in NOK from atm upon arrival in Bergen. I ended up buying lunch and a lot of candy at the airport when we left to use it up. The preferred option was plastic.still I always get a little just to be prepared but mostly use plastic, and get more local currency from an atm if needed 

 

As a bonus, plastic has the advantage of tracking your spending.

 

well that plan has worked well in Europe for several years but on our recent 14 day Caribbean we went through so much cash…almost no one wanted or could accept plastic. They all wanted cash and excursions and transportation specifically stated USD, not local currencies. Such a throwback to the 70/80s.

[d9704011]

5 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

The WC in the main Amsterdam train station has accepted cards for several years. 
While walking around Amsterdam a couple years ago, I had to use a restroom, couldn’t find a public pay one, so went into a coffee shop & asked. Then bought a cup of coffee afterwards - they would NOT take cash (€), so had to use my card. Of course in the US a lot f places won’t take credit card for a $3 purchase, but it was the preferred option in NL.

 

We spent 5 days in Norway in 22 and I got about $100 in NOK from atm upon arrival in Bergen. I ended up buying lunch and a lot of candy at the airport when we left to use it up. The preferred option was plastic.still I always get a little just to be prepared but mostly use plastic, and get more local currency from an atm if needed 

 

As a bonus, plastic has the advantage of tracking your spending.

 

well that plan has worked well in Europe for several years but on our recent 14 day Caribbean we went through so much cash…almost no one wanted or could accept plastic. They all wanted cash and excursions and transportation specifically stated USD, not local currencies. Such a throwback to the 70/80s.

Yes, that works well for Amsterdam and I never suggested a traveller should leave their credit cards at home in favour of cash.  There are a multitude of other places where a couple of metallic euros in your pocket may provide a level of comfort that plastic won't.

[Nikita4]

When you are traveling in an other country please change some money in the local currency!

I saw Americans in a Swiss train and the want to pay a train ticket with dollars, no chance! The staff accept only Swiss francs, Euros or credit cards. 

For the restaurat/bar/hotel staff it's not easy to exchange the foreign currency in a bank or so. They have to pay taxes and the change only bills no coins. And often there are not many banks nearby. So please take Euros when you traveling in Europe, also country without Euro like Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway... will take Euros, but no US dollars normally.

When we are traveling we take only a few bills in the local currency and normally pay by credit cards. For us tourists its not a big thing to exchange money before we travel.

[complawyer]

nikita, having traveled extensively throughout europe with ncl, it should be a "big thing" for anyone traveling to exchange for the currency of the country to which they are traveling. i dont understand why the op is making such an issue over it. does he really believe a server in any U.S. restaurant, or any store in the U.S. will accept euros to pay for their purchase? i can just see a visitor from Greece, Italy, France etc, visiting New York and trying to pay for broadway show tickets with euros.

 

ain't happening, nowhere, no how, no way 

[ColdCruise]

You’re traveling … it’s best to be prepared. Money options are one of those preparations. But travel to Europe at least no longer requires you to walk around with a few hundred (local currency of the land - not everyone is on the €). 
 

in addition to Caribbean where dollars are apparently preferred (based on 14 days experience) , during recent travels both Ecuadorians & Argentinians also requested payment in USD in the past few years. Ecuador is dollar equivalent and Argentina has crazy inflation.

[julig22]

1 hour ago, ColdCruise said:

You’re traveling … it’s best to be prepared. Money options are one of those preparations. But travel to Europe at least no longer requires you to walk around with a few hundred (local currency of the land - not everyone is on the €). 
 

in addition to Caribbean where dollars are apparently preferred (based on 14 days experience) , during recent travels both Ecuadorians & Argentinians also requested payment in USD in the past few years. Ecuador is dollar equivalent and Argentina has crazy inflation.

Buenos Aires had a special "tourist" conversion rate when I was there last year. Within the city, you basically got double. So absolutely they were happy taking USD!

[Manchester is blue]

14 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Buenos Aires had a special "tourist" conversion rate when I was there last year. Within the city, you basically got double. So absolutely they were happy taking USD!

The Argentinian currency is in an awful state, and people there will accept any currency. The OP has referenced Euros.  The Euro is a strong and stable currency.Countries within the Euro zone do not accept US dollars, or any other currency as payment.