lsquare

I'm just wondering what the credit card acceptance rate is like in Cape Town and Johannesburg?

What's the weather like for either May or June in both of those cities?

Is public transit decent in those cities?

T8191

I spy a North American, I think!

All cards are widely accepted. I used to use Amex, and occasionally Visa where that didn’t work. I now have a UK bank debit card (Starling - Mastercard) which has no forex fees.

Google will give you weather data ... we go annually to the Western Cape in Dec, so no advice offered

lsquare

I'm embarrassed to say that I had no idea credit cards had a high acceptance rate there. You think I can survive without cash? Does taxi take credit cards or should I just stick with Uber? You seem to be in the UK, would you say credit card acceptance is as high as in London?

Thx!

T8191

Although we take cash, nearly all our transactions are card-based. We use cash for tips and the occasional very small purchases. Taxi - we have a regular driver who takes us between different towns, and we pay him in cash. No Uber for us, we walk everywhere.

This Trip Report may give a clue >>> So this is Qatar Airways? UK-South Africa with QR (and a bit of BA).

However, the ZA Government has just issued a ban on travel from UK, so our December trip is dead [as are 2 others, MLA and IAD].

https://www.westerncape.gov.za/depar...rsion.docx.pdf

Ditto

We are only in March, let's hope that by the end of the year and hopefully much sooner things will go "back to normal" however it is a good point to the OP which is asking about May-June.

Visa/MC cards are widely accepted, alternatively many vendors who do not accept them use the likes of SnapScan and Zapper, I believe both apps would have no issue accepting foreign credit cards.
I also have an Amex card which is probably accepted in all "touristy" vendors/establishments but less so otherwise.

As for public transport - I would suggest either sticking to Uber, a reputable taxi company or rent a car in CPT, in JNB the Gautrain is also a safe option.

roadwarrier

As mentioned, AMEX is not to be relied on, and neither is Diners Club, except for large chain hotels. There is a drive by the local bank that manages AMEX but the fees to the merchant are still high.
Visa and Mastercard are the way to go and widely accepted, in fact, due to cash thefts some merchants prefer card payments. Also, we have the "Tap and Go" terminals where you do not need to insert your card - great for these days in the Corona crises - less to touch.

Cash is great for for tips since some merchants do not always give the tips to the staff, but this is up to you as some places share the tips among all staff - always a difficult choice. And also, some places do not accept cards for small amounts, about US$ 3.50.

signol

Public transit: In Johannesburg, the Gautrain network is safe and reliable. Avoid other trains, busses and "taxis" - minibusses.
In Cape Town, avoid most trains, but the Simonstown line is ok in daylight. MyCiti busses are ok in daylight too, but avoid other busses minibusses.

signol

FriscoHeavy

We had no issues using credit/debit cards at most places. We used them at restaurants, hotels, etc.

I used cash for small purchases here and there, tipping, along with the initial taxi ride in from the airport. After that, we used Uber everywhere and it was great and cheap.

Cheers