Take USD with me or grab it as soon I hit JFK?

[frankie4fingers]

That

I think it comes back to yr personal preference. I would not wait till I got there to get the cash, myself. I cannot comment on ATMs.

I am tending to agree. Whilst not ideal I would prefer to have the cash required for the first couple of hours upon arrival to cover what I need and then from there I will ATM, CC, tap, swipe and any other means necessary to facilitate the remainder of the trip.

Appreciate the responses from all.

 

[equus]

I don't know what the maximum amount I can withdraw in a day is.......Does anybody know this?

This will depend on the ATM withdrawal limit placed on you account / card. There may be an overall limit for the account as well as a limit for each attached card. Not only does this vary by account, but banks can change it on individual accounts. Contact your bank for your account. A common limit is AUD$1,000 per day - and this may well be in AU timezone (so you may be able to withdraw two "days" worth in the same US day. Obviously the US$ amount you can get out will depend on the exchange rate.

Some ATM's / institutions impose a transaction limit - this being imposed by the owner of the machine you are using. If this is less than your daily limit, then you can just make multiple transactions (but this may not be the cheapest approach if per-transaction fees are being imposed....)

 

[bPeteb]

Regarding the limit per day. As equus has said it depends on your bank if you're planning on taking out thousands. If you're taking out money to cover what you can't buy on a card then I doubt you'll be troubled. We (I) took out $300 a few times over the four weeks but I did it because I could, not because we really needed to.

It's the land of the free. They might not have any daily wdl limit

There was pretty much nowhere we went where we couldn't have transacted with our ccard. It was just easy in bars to hand over cash and leave tip.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We travel to the USA quite often, so I always have some cash and small bills for tips. We use cc for most things, but generally take money out of an ATM, so we have cash. We use Citibank plus and Citi ATMs are pretty easy to find in the states, so no ATM fees. No forex fees whatever ATM we use. We are happy to bring leftover cash home for the next trip or for taking to Africa where the US$ is often a secondary currency.

 

[Himeno]

Check with the bank which issued your card. They may have an agreement with a US bank re ATM fees.

eg, Westpac group has a deal with Bank of America. If I use a BoA ATM, I pay no ATM fees (still the forex fee though). Whereas if I use another banks ATM, I pay the overseas cash withdrawal fee, which for my bank IIRC is $5 per transaction, plus any local fees.

 

[harvyk]

Gee $1,000 in cash, I personally wouldn't be comfortable carrying that much esp in the US. But each to their own.

Yes certainly in the cities credit cards are king. It is possible to travel to the US and not touch a single bank note. That said I usually carry a few $1's and $5's for tips and that's if I'm not paying by plastic where the machines will allow tips to be added.

I might be taking US$20 with me in a few weeks time, kinda depends how much is in my os currency draw at home.

 

[Flying mermaid]

We got caught a few years ago in a little town in the USA. We had very little cash on us and were popping in to see some friends and suggested taking them out to lunch. Unfortunately at the end of the meal we found we couldn’t use a CC, so our friends treated us. It was mega embarrassing so now we make sure we have a reasonable amount of cash.

 

[amaroo]

Got caught in Mexico - bugger all ATMs and when you find one, it dispenses bugger all.

You’re completely stuffed when the servos only take cash.

 

[CatherineC]

I travel to USA very regularly and returned yesterday from trip along west coast between LA and San Francisco. Was away for 2 weeks and used about $US20 cash! Most of that was for tram rides in SF where cash is required if don’t have a pass. Otherwise everything went on a card and never an issue. Many stores are ‘card only’ and cash is really only used for hotel tips etc. From uber/Lyft rides to petrol purchases, accommodation and food at all levels of restaurants and cafes, tickets to attractions etc etc - card was used. Mainly had to insert pin. I never needed to use a debit card or visit an ATM although I had these options if required. Cash I used was left over from previous trip.

 

[Lynda2475]

All the shops and restaurants in the relatively new Hudson Yards precinct in NYC are card only (just like Barangaroo in Sydney) - it means shop owners don't have to worry about banking cash or theft. This was only place i found I could tap and go without a pin. CC terminal everywhere else almost always required the card to be inserted and a signature (sometimes pin), or tap + pin.

Really only need cash in smaller towns.

 

[DC3]

Prudent to plan on having a little bit of cash. You just never know.

 

[harvyk]

<snip> CC terminal everywhere else almost always required the card to be inserted and a signature (sometimes pin), or tap + pin.

I've found it to be 50/50 with tapping, although it is becoming more common.
I have to admit I was quite surprised that tapping is only now coming in, considering it is virtually everywhere here.

Really only need cash in smaller towns.

Agreed, the Ma and Pa places cash is still king.

 

[DC3]

I've found it to be 50/50 with tapping, although it is becoming more common.
I have to admit I was quite surprised that tapping is only now coming in ...

Yes, the USA is way behind us on that. Also, having to sign for relatively small amounts.

 

[theblank]

buggar using cash, get weighed down with all the 1c pieces

had to laugh at a Mcdonalds one time, I go to pay with my card and ask if i Tap, she says NO, we dont use it here.
I tapped anyway, and it worked. Surprise!

 

[p--and--t]

I tend to take around half my money requirements in cash with me and if longer trip/larger amounts I wear a money belt. The rest of the purchases go on one of the cards.

I always carry two cards (from different banks) with me and store them separately. If I am out and about, one card will be in the hotel safe with all but my daily needs of cash. If one card goes bung/stolen/lost/whatever then I have the backup card to keep going on my journey until I get home.

When I exchange cash in Melbourne I generally walk up and down Swanston St where there are at least 4 different money changers and most banks represented to check the rates. Unless you are getting out a lot of money, while the rate might look good, the fees at ANZ are a rip-off.

In the last 4 years most times Unimoni 283 Swanston has been the best rate and no fees. They usually have a supply of small bills which I always request. In the US can never have enough $1 bills for quick tipping etc. I also prefer in public to be pulling out 3 or 4 $20 notes rather than a $100 or couple of fifties, looks like I don't have so much and not a mugging target.

 

[Carrots]

Like many others - I'd get some cash here so I can have smaller notes. And then just use the ATM to top up for bigger spends as needed.

Should've added - in getting a small amount here, it means I have some cash in hand from the get go.

 

[albatross710]

I like to carry some AUD cash tucked away in my bag for when ATMs dont work or my card doesn't work in an ATM. Had a problem in HK where none of my card worked.

In the USA I just withdraw local cash at the ATM upon arrival. I'm pretty sure the rate I get on citibank and/or ING withdrawals is always 10% better that buying the cash in australia.

 

[juddles]

buggar using cash, get weighed down with all the 1c pieces
....

That is something I never understood about the USA. You see a can of coke for $2, you hand them a ten, expecting a nice neat $8 in change. What do they give you? A nice neat $7 plus a gazzillion little pain-in-the-rear coins. Some sort of tax thing which I never bothered to fathom.

I still have little bloody USA coins falling out whenever I move one of my travel bags, even though I have not set foot in that place for almost two years :/

 

[DC3]

I like to have some $US1 and $US5 notes on arrival (for the first day or two). ATMs don't dispense these; mostly $20/$50 notes.

 

[DC3]

…. You see a can of coke for $2, you hand them a ten, expecting a nice neat $8 in change. What do they give you? A nice neat $7 plus a gazzillion little pain-in-the-rear coins. Some sort of tax thing which I never bothered to fathom.

And the tax applied varies from state to state.