Best way to use money on a NY city break

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Last minute break to NY and I’m not sure how we should take money with us. Is it best to pay using debit card, do travellers cheques even exist anymore? It’s a long time since I’ve been abroad and I don’t know which would be the most cost effective way to pay for things while we’re out there.

I would take both a credit and debit card and some cash. Would not at all bother with travellers cheques; they are poor value.

Definitely take some cash my UK card wouldn't work at the airport ATM and a few other cashpoints I tried to use. There was a HSBC near my hotel which is my bank and had no problems using that.

I would buy some USD before leaving (so you at least have something when you get there) and then do a big-ish withdrawal from atm upon arrival plus top up as required.

Get some dollars then a credit card, but make sure it's one designed for overseas spending. Check the overseas transaction fees for any cards you're going to use to pay or for your current account if you are using the ATM as they vary hugely. I have a Halifax clarity card which I only use for spending abroad, no fees and you get a good exchange rate. Don't draw cash on your credit card, you'll pay a fee plus interest.

Pre paid travel card like Thomas cook or fairfx.

Pay for things on credit card wherever you can, you'll get the best exchange rate like that. Remember to warn your credit card company and your bank that you're going abroad though as they might block your cards with stuff suddenly paid for in the USA.

I took half cash and half prepaid card from Thomson (now TUI).

Travellers cheques?! Do they still exist? If they go they're an almighty hassle.

Take your credit card and use that. Take your debit card and withdraw cash. Best rates in my experience

Another tip- If you’re ever offered the choice of paying in pounds or the local currency when paying by card, always choose local currency as paying in pounds will never be the better value option.

That's interesting paddy I always umm and ahh over that

Of course I will instantly now forget which way round you said and be none the wiser when faced with that dilemma

If you have time, have a look at the Revolut card. We used one account with two cards in the US earlier this year, it's a prepaid card but fee free in USA, Europe and USA, and you top it up on an app so as long as you can access WiFi you can always keep it topped up. It automatically chooses the best rate, if I remember correctly, and you can have one cash withdrawal free from charges in a week.its a MasterCard so accepted everywhere, we got a card each where we could choose our own pins, and contactless worked too.

We used it for a week in LA this year. It took no credit checks, free except for delivery costs of about a fiver, transferred cash right away. We also took some cash for tips, etc, but found we had to actively try to use cash as we used the card for literally everything out there- if you're using Uber (or Lyft, which we preferred) you tip through there, the only places we

Oops, the dog tried to help! The only thing we used cash on was restaurant tips.

Enjoy your trip!

paddy’s advice is excellent, definitely beware of this, the big department stores in NY always try this one and it’s a massive rip off.

Get Uber, you can use your UK card and it’s 1000 times better than the traditional yellow cabs.

Then make sure you have some cash but practically everywhere takes card these days so you shouldn’t need a lot. It’s also safer not to carry a ton of cash on you. Just do some research and see if your credit card/bank account offer a decent rate. If not then consider a pre-pay card although be careful not to overload it as it can sometimes be tricky to get any unspent funds back.

Get yourself a Monzo or a Revolut card. Fantastic for travel!!