Originally Posted by
Stars4SA
How much cash is the right amount of cash?
This always confuses me, I am taking credit cards and debit cards for a week vacation.
What is a good amount of cash to have on hand?
I don't use ATMs in Hawaii, either, because they don't have any major mainland bank ATMs here (e.g. Chase, Wells, Citi, BofA, etc.) and I refuse to pay ATM surcharges.
I generally find $100 is sufficient for a week, though I always carry at least 2-3 $100 bills when I travel for contingencies. Virtually all merchants accept credit cards with exception of a few restaurants, taco trucks, beach food trucks, and guys like the front yard BBQ fish experience on the road to Hana.
But you do need a few small bills for tips.
Originally Posted by
FlyinHawaiian
Not exactly. Most bank's still can issue a card that is used for ATM access only. Debit cards can be used for POS (Point of Sale) transactions like a credit card, only without much of the consumer protection. So, for the risk averse, I advise on only getting an ATM card.
If the OP is a member of a credit union, they can take advantage of the more generous foreign ATM policies in that network. Otherwise, I would encourage the strategy of cash-back transactions from grocery and convenience stores.
+1 I abhor visa-debit cards and won't use them. Unfortunately you have to special request the ATM-only card from your bank as the default is to issue visa-debit cards, but I have yet to find a major bank that won't send me an ATM-only card.
The CU option is nice in theory, but in practice I found few surcharge free ATMs in Hawaii, particularly outside of Oahu. Everybody wants their cut. However there are WalMarts, CVS, 7-11 and other stores that I think have major bank ATMs (on the mainland 7/11s have Citi and Target/CVS have Chase).