Originally Posted by
der_saeufer
Sometimes you even get lucky and find an old-school ATM that gives 5s and 20s.
I feel like ATMs that can give out denominations other than $20 are a relatively new phenomenon in the US but I could be wrong on that.
Originally Posted by
der_saeufer
Currency exchange places in the US exist primarily to extract extra money from unsuspecting travelers.
Speaking of this, the Travelex Cash Passport prepaid card has an effective 5%+ FTF. You're better off using a 3% FTF card than one of those.
(OTOH, it has contactless and supposedly has PIN preference. However, there are other credit/debit cards with either or both if you feel you need those, and mobile wallets are an option if nothing else.) I've heard that similar products in other countries are ripoffs too.
Anyway, based on OP's location, I'm not sure what Finland has in terms of banking products. No-FTF debit and credit cards might not even be available there for all I know, so it's hard to give advice other than "don't use Travelex".
Originally Posted by
der_saeufer
I'm still not sure I get the need for so many cash tips, though. Hotel shuttle drivers, bell staff, housekeepers I get, but anywhere else you'd be tipping (restaurants and bars, basically) either takes plastic or will be happy to break bills for you at the till when you go to pay. Usually both. Your hotel should also be willing to give you change to tip their staff
I've heard that in the past (and possibly still now), many tipped workers preferred cash tips since they made it easier to not report all of them. I've also heard of a few restaurants that don't allow tips on card due to POS limitations but I don't think that's common.
What is somewhat common, though, is a reluctance to split restaurant checks. In that case, paying cash to one person or using Venmo or similar (with that person paying by card) is the usual workaround. That might only affect OP if he eats with larger groups often, however, not to mention that those restaurants will still exchange larger bills as mentioned previously.