In message
, at
00:20:53 on Wed, 14 Sep 2011, 1506 remarked:
Chip and PIN is unknown in the United States.

Not entirely. There are booths at major airports selling pre-paid C&P
cards for travellers to use in Europe.

I was surprised how much of a hard-sell I was given when picking up some
currency at a UK-based Travelex, they wanted to give it to me on a
pre-pay card rather than as cash. But the whole point of getting cash
(as ar as I'm concerned) is to bridge over that awkward moment between
landing and finding a suitable ATM, which quite often includes needing
money for taxis/trains etc to get you off the airport.

I'll never forget landing at Gatwick several years ago, after an
extended spell away, and finding every ATM on site was out of action. I
had to get the taxi driver to stop at a motorway services so I could get
some cash (doubly irritating as they generally have quite a high fee).
--
Roland Perry

On Sep 14, 9:37*am, Roland Perry wrote:

I was surprised how much of a hard-sell I was given when picking up some
currency at a UK-based Travelex, they wanted to give it to me on a
pre-pay card rather than as cash. But the whole point of getting cash
(as ar as I'm concerned) is to bridge over that awkward moment between
landing and finding a suitable ATM, which quite often includes needing
money for taxis/trains etc to get you off the airport.

Exactly how I see it. I pretty much always use my debit card for
foreign currency these days. I can think of few reasons why I
wouldn't, subject to keeping an eye on my account for possible fraud
if travelling to any "dubious" locations. Yes, there is a fee, but
there's also a fee for using Travelex etc, it's more convenient using
a debit card, and the fee is not *that* high if you draw larger
amounts in one go.

I can see no benefit to using one of those pre-pay cards for me. The
only benefit I can see to anyone is those wishing to limit to a
holiday budget who don't feel they can manage this otherwise -
essentially the same people who won't use credit cards because they
might run up large amounts of borrowing, whereas I do use them for
ease of tracking spending, fraud protection and business expenses,
while always clearing them at the end of the month.

Neil

On Sep 14, 12:37*am, Roland Perry wrote:
In message
, at
00:20:53 on Wed, 14 Sep 2011, 1506 remarked:

Chip and PIN is unknown in the United States.

Not entirely. There are booths at major airports selling pre-paid C&P
cards for travellers to use in Europe.

I was surprised how much of a hard-sell I was given when picking up some
currency at a UK-based Travelex, they wanted to give it to me on a
pre-pay card rather than as cash. But the whole point of getting cash
(as ar as I'm concerned) is to bridge over that awkward moment between
landing and finding a suitable ATM, which quite often includes needing
money for taxis/trains etc to get you off the airport.

I'll never forget landing at Gatwick several years ago, after an
extended spell away, and finding every ATM on site was out of action. I
had to get the taxi driver to stop at a motorway services so I could get
some cash (doubly irritating as they generally have quite a high fee).

That has happened to me. I make the point of keeping a little UK cash
when I am an the US and vice versa. That way there is always money
for the cross London taxi fare. Or, the taxi home in the US.

Entering the UK last October I found I had twentypound notes that were
no longer legal tender! Fortunately a bank changed them.

On Sep 14, 9:37*am, Roland Perry wrote:

I'll never forget landing at Gatwick several years ago, after an
extended spell away, and finding every ATM on site was out of action. I
had to get the taxi driver to stop at a motorway services so I could get
some cash (doubly irritating as they generally have quite a high fee).

Taxis are an irritating example of a high value product for which
cards are generally not accepted. This is a real annoyance; I would
be much more inclined to use them if I could pay by card rather than
worrying if I have the right change for a high-value transaction.

I cannot think of any other transaction where I'd spend £31 (the price
of a private hire taxi from MK to Luton Airport; the £1 is the drop-
off fee) and would choose to pay cash for it. I pay by card whenever
it is an option, and definitely for anything over a tenner or so.

The taxi industry really needs to catch up.

Neil

In message
, at
01:15:31 on Wed, 14 Sep 2011, 1506 remarked:
I'll never forget landing at Gatwick several years ago, after an
extended spell away, and finding every ATM on site was out of action. I
had to get the taxi driver to stop at a motorway services so I could get
some cash (doubly irritating as they generally have quite a high fee).

That has happened to me. I make the point of keeping a little UK cash
when I am an the US and vice versa. That way there is always money
for the cross London taxi fare. Or, the taxi home in the US.

A good plan. It's also useful to always carry a few US dollars - some
destinations with arrival airport tax (dressed up as an entry visa)
accept only dollars. And I was once told of a destination where the
airport taxi drivers allegedly demanded only dollars, although I
discovered they liked the local currency better. (Maybe that rumour was
started by someone who tried to pay in Pounds or Euros).

Entering the UK last October I found I had twentypound notes that were
no longer legal tender! Fortunately a bank changed them.

In the late 80's some friends arrived in UK with brand new sterling
banknotes which had been obsolete for years. They'd got them from the
USA bank the week before!
--
Roland Perry

On Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:16:30 -0700 (PDT)
Neil Williams wrote:
Taxis are an irritating example of a high value product for which
cards are generally not accepted. This is a real annoyance; I would
be much more inclined to use them if I could pay by card rather than
worrying if I have the right change for a high-value transaction.

With pre book minicabs I'm sure you can pay by card and the last thing
the traffic needs is black cabs stopped at the side for ages while a card
transaction goes through.

I cannot think of any other transaction where I'd spend =A331 (the price
of a private hire taxi from MK to Luton Airport; the =A31 is the drop-
off fee) and would choose to pay cash for it. I pay by card whenever

Wow, 31 quid. A small fortune. I feel your pain.

B2003

In message
, at
01:16:30 on Wed, 14 Sep 2011, Neil Williams
remarked:
I'll never forget landing at Gatwick several years ago, after an
extended spell away, and finding every ATM on site was out of action. I
had to get the taxi driver to stop at a motorway services so I could get
some cash (doubly irritating as they generally have quite a high fee).

Taxis are an irritating example of a high value product for which
cards are generally not accepted. This is a real annoyance; I would
be much more inclined to use them if I could pay by card rather than
worrying if I have the right change for a high-value transaction.

I cannot think of any other transaction where I'd spend £31 (the price
of a private hire taxi from MK to Luton Airport; the £1 is the drop-
off fee) and would choose to pay cash for it. I pay by card whenever
it is an option, and definitely for anything over a tenner or so.

The taxi industry really needs to catch up.

I think part of the problem is that it's not an "industry" but an
amalgam of self-employed drivers working though a brand-name booking
agency. The individual drivers not having either the status nor
inclination to become credit card merchants in their own right.
--
Roland Perry

On Sep 14, 2:55*am, wrote:
On Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:16:30 -0700 (PDT)

Neil Williams wrote:
Taxis are an irritating example of a high value product for which
cards are generally not accepted. *This is a real annoyance; I would
be much more inclined to use them if I could pay by card rather than
worrying if I have the right change for a high-value transaction.

With pre book minicabs I'm sure you can pay by card and the last thing
the traffic needs is black cabs stopped at the side for ages while a card
transaction goes through.

I cannot think of any other transaction where I'd spend =A331 (the price
of a private hire taxi from MK to Luton Airport; the =A31 is the drop-
off fee) and would choose to pay cash for it. *I pay by card whenever

Wow, 31 quid. A small fortune. I feel your pain.

IIRC Paddington to Victoria is just under GBP15.00. However, Bakerloo
Line, change at Oxford Circus for the Victoria, is not realistic with
two suitcases and a carry-on.

On Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:02:41 -0700 (PDT)
1506 wrote:
IIRC Paddington to Victoria is just under GBP15.00. However, Bakerloo
Line, change at Oxford Circus for the Victoria, is not realistic with
two suitcases and a carry-on.

I completely agree. I always take minicabs to airports, I just can't be
arsed with public transport not least because it'll probably go wrong
anyway. However I got the train+tube home from gatwick last week because I
wasn't in a hurry and so ended up sitting outside purley for 10 minutes then
a slow slog all the way to victoria. Ended up taking over 2 hours to get home
to north london. The flight was only 3! Next time I'll just get a cab and
hang the cost.

B2003

Basil Jet wrote:

I am astonished that anyone could accuse a transport enthusiast of being
a sexual deviant.


Especially when the accuser deviates from normal behaviour in such a
wide variety of ways. People in glass houses ...