to not want to turn up in a foreign country with no cash, just card ?

[Lemonadedrinker99]

Every time we go abroad H insists we don't take any cash, instead we just take a pre-loaded card (which we can top up as and when during the holiday). How can a family with children turn up abroad with zero cash ? we need to get taxi's to/from the airport as a starter. He argues there are cash points out there, yes there will be but what if the neartest cash point is either out of order, run out of cash or charges £5 a go (which is what we have found in the past) to get cash (plus our banks currency charge). We've had a massive row this morning when I asked him what currency we need to take. He went into one saying he will sort the money side out and i dont need to waste money paying to get the currency in the uk.

Just to add for context ...

a) last year he went to get cash out of the cash machine abroad and it wanted to charge him the equivalent of £5 to draw cash - the money was needed for a boat trip where it was cash only on the boat for drinks/snax. Luckily i had the small stash i took with me that we could use
b) we once arrived abroad with no cash (his idea) and the airport cash machine was broken, so was the hotel one. The nearest one was a 30 minute walk away each way, which H did.
c) earlier this year while in the States we trugged for what seemed like ages to try to find a 'free' cash point. No idea if he found a free one in the end or just ended up paying the withdrawal fee - the fee would have been the same if we had brought currency in the UK, and much easier and less time consuming too
d) the pre-loaded card doesn't always work - we have an app to xfer cash onto the card, he ALWAYS tried to xfer the cash to the card in a way that doesn't work. Earlier this year he tried to xfer £100 while abroad, the xfer failed (because the way he was doing it is wrong, but he wont accept it), he tried it 5 times in the end. The money left our 'available' balance, but never left the account or reached the card, and we had to wait 5 days for £500 to go back onto our 'available' bank account balance

We do it often and haven't had any of the problems you describe. The only cash we take is what we have left over from previous trips, if any. We pay by card when we can and get cash from ATMs as and when we need it, just like we would at home.

There are some differences though. We don't use pre-paid cards, just normal credit and debit cards that don't charges fees for use overseas. We have multiple cards, some Visa, some MasterCard.

Relying on just one card is risky. We had a card eaten by an ATM on the first day of a US road trip. It wasn't an issue because we carry back-up cards.

@Lemonadedrinker99 I think you need to stop wasting your time trying to persuade him to take cash. Just make sure you have enough cash and let him wander around looking for somewhere to stick his card
YANBU. But he is!

I like to have enough in cash to pay for a taxi to the hotel / dinner etc if my card doesn't work. You can pre-order your money and pick it up at the airport which gives you much better rates than you'd get normally in the airport and is usually about the same as you'd get on the high street.

I normally use a card for most things but always take £100 or so in cash. If nothing else it’s good for tips.

About 15 years ago we went to Tokyo. On our last night we realised that we had no cash left and at that time the train service didn’t take cards, only their version of Oyster cards. We were staying out in the suburbs and the only cash point we could use was in the post office. We needed to get the 7am train and the post office didn’t open until 9.
Long story short a very kind Canadian lady realised our problem as we researched it on the hotel lobby computer. She gave us ¥1000, about £5 then.
Without that we would have missed our flights home.

Always have cash.

Dont use the Post Office for currency exchange....there exchange rates are usually the lowest on the high st....go to a travel agent or order online from Tesco and you will get better rates.

It’s always worth having some cash on you, even if it’s sterling. Cash machines do go down. Or it can take a while to find one that will accept your card.

I haven't changed currency in years. I'll just use the cash machine for a small mouth and use card. Well depends on the destination a bit as well. But I have nothing against someone else taking cash

We always take some cash but might need to re-think this as we were on a holiday island recently which is part of a Western European country. We ran out of cash. Half the restaurants didn't take cards and none of the locals knew where there was a cash point, only that there wasn't one at all in the town where we were staying. Surprising lesson learned.

With respect, @PancakeAndKeith, that was 15 years ago. I think you’d agree that the world has changed a bit since then with regard to payment technology.

We live abroad and during the years we have lived here we have been traveling with our kids every chance we get. Several foreign holidays per year, plus my DH travels for work at least that much again if not more. We have never brought cash. We have never had any kind of problem.

We visited friends in the Netherlands recently and were surprised at the number of outlets (supermarkets, restaurants and garages) that didn't take credit cards. Our friends said that this was quite common there - I used more cash there than I do at home

To be fair to PancakeandKeith, Japan is still a cash heavy society. Lots of places only take cash and not all ATMs are 24 hours even now. I’m pretty sure even the prepaid travel cards are usually topped up with cash. So if I were going to Japan I would make sure I had easy access to cash.

Even closer to home, say the Netherlands, can be tricky as lots of places there don’t accept Visa cards. I once made that error in a supermarket when going to pay for a week’s shopping.

Having a bit of money in sterling/dollars or local currency won’t do any harm and could be very useful. (I don’t always take foreign currency as some can be difficult to get here and rate awful.)

My DP travels a lot. His default position in card and $50 as he says that any hotel in the world will exchange dollars for local currency.
Recently gas travelled more in Europe so he now also has 50euros.

he had such a meltdown when i asked him what currency the country used

Why didn’t you just google it.

Tell him you are taking cash and if he doesn’t like it, tough.

Withdrawing cash overseas or at the airport is a really expensive way to use money.

Does he refuse to carry cash in the U.K.?

With respect, @PancakeAndKeith, that was 15 years ago. I think you’d agree that the world has changed a bit since then with regard to payment technology.

Well yes. But my point was to never assume that you will be able to use your card at all times.

Withdrawing cash overseas or at the airport is a really expensive way to use money

In my experience, withdrawing cash from a foreign ATM is usually the cheapest possible way of buying foreign currency.Generally best to pay by card if possible though.

You need the right cards though. Good info here...

www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/travel-credit-cards/?_ga=2.127346702.2066422758.1561901352-273459083.1561741957

I always take a bit of cash. We went to Iceland which is known for mainly using cards and we still needed cash for things like some toilets on the sightseeing tours,

In fact even the U.K. government advises to have access to cash in its Japan travel advice. www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/japan/money

We never take cash, there are plenty of cash points in the airport so withdraw there. Don’t see it’s a big deal. Can’t remember the last time I went and got currency in the U.K. for a holiday

DS tried to withdraw cash in Poland when he arrived there and we got a call on our home phone from Lloyds fraud team, he hadn’t updated the phone number, and his card was blocked, so he had to go through the palaver of getting his debit card unblocked before he could get any money out. This was only a year or two ago.

I like to get the best exchange rate. If I was adamant in taking a card it would be a pre paid one or a credit card that has zero fees. I actually do all 3 for the states, dollars, pre paid card and credit card. For Europe I just do cash and credit card with zero fees.

That would drive me insane if u have to keep looking for a cash machine and getting bank charges all over the place.

We usually have a Clarity or tandem card for overseas credit purchases, no fees.

Otherwise I'm happy to locate an ATM as pp said usually better rates than home

We arrived in a hot country recently and the only way to purchase a drink was via a cash vending machine
Yes banks block cards
Yes cash points run out or a broken
Exactly the same as here

I think your DH has a massive control issue

I never take cash, haven’t carried cash around anywhere for years. Card is safer. If it gets stolen or goes missing, I can always cancel it on the app and get some emergency cash. I’d prefer that to losing physical cash I can never get back.

Where are you going?
The only time in the last 5 years I’ve taken cash with me was when I went to Zimbabwe
Everywhere else, and especially Europe, seems to have as good if not better card payment networks
Eg in Amsterdam, they refuse to take cash in taxis and lots of cafes...

Just get the cash and don't mention it. I don't understand how he can control the issue.

I think it is important to have some local curency from the moment you land.
Flight may be delayed, taxi does not appear, you may need to buy water/tissues/sanitary products/snacks.

Do you need his permission?