Would it be weird to pay everything with cash? Could i pay a hotel stay (1k USD) entirely using cash and not have any issues?

34 comments

1. A lot of hotels want you to pay with card in case you heavily damage it or leave it dirty so they can easily charge you the repair or cleaning costs.

2. Sure you can pay cash but you will need a credit card or debit card to guarantee the room. Hotels want to make sure they are going to get paid if you try to skip out or trash the place.

3. Any decent hotel will probably require some kind of credit card in case you damage something.

4. You will need a credit card for hotel stays unless it’s a hotel that you do not want to be in.
   Would it be weird to pay everything in cash? Not necessarily but you also need to understand that if you carry a lot of cash then you can get robbed, lose your wallet or something else and have no recourse. Your best bet is a pre-paid credit card.

5. The vast majority of hotels will require a credit card on file to even check in. Pretty much only sketchy places would waive this requirement. You’ll have no issue paying for meals, cabs, etc with cash but this is not a good plan for a hotel stay.

6. In any case where you’re renting something, they would usually want to have a card on file for you in case you break something. So no, you can’t pay for a hotel room in cash.

   But in general, for smaller purchases, it’s not weird at all to pay in cash. You shouldn’t have any trouble. You should be careful in a big city carrying lots of cash around, though.

7. If I understand correctly you should have no problem switching to cash payment when you leave the hotel. Have a great trip.

8. Who did you murder

9. Your biggest problems are going to be the hotel (others address this point) and carrying so much cash safely. My advice: get a prepaid card and put some of your cash on it

10. Some hotels accept cash for incidentals/deposit. Based on my exp, if you will be using cash, instead of paying $20/night, it will be $50/night. It’s a case to case basis. If you can get a prepaid card, that works too.

11. Lots of shops and restaurants have gone cashless in the past year or two, so be careful with that too. I’ve even noticed that some places that in the past would have been more likely to be cash only, like farmers’ market stalls or corner stores, are now cashless, so be sure to ask.

12. Depending on how much cash you’re carrying customs/immigration will have some questions for you (I’m not an American but this is a just a known fact)

13. Legal tender can’t be refused. But it’s a little weird to pay such a big bill with cash. You can do it it’s just unusual and might get some people thinking you’re not on the up and up

14. You’ll be fine. Just be careful carrying it around on you. Hotel and rental car will require a CC on file, but you can pay with cash.

15. My suggestion would be to buy an old-fashioned thing called a “money belt”. It is basically a cloth wallet that straps on under your clothes. I think Amazon has them. My grandma used to use them when she traveled by train. My husband and I still use one when we travel by train or plane. You can put an emergency credit card in one, too. Then, it is not easy to rob you while you are sleeping. Just carry the cash that you’ll need for one day in a regular wallet. We still use cash on trips and at home, because it helps us budget. It was more of a problem during the Pandemic, because some places didn’t have change. We use credit cards for hotels, but with less expensive hotels, the desk clerk sometimes asks if you want to leave the charges on the card, or pay cash. Be aware that hotels sometimes don’t release the security deposit immediately. I’ve seen people at resorts be inconvenienced and embarrassed by this practice. Have a safe and happy trip!

16. Have you thought about just calling the hotel directly? They could probably walk you through your options and give you better advice than we can; however, generally yes you will need a credit or debit card on file with most hotels (decent ones, at least).

17. You may not want to walk around with a lot of cash on your person.

18. Cash has gone the way of the Dodo. Same with Travelers checks.

    In fact many hotels won’t let you check in with a cash deposit. It must be on a credit card. A fair number won’t even let you pay for room at checkout with cash any more.

    And you can’t use a pre loaded card either. Has to be tied to a bank account.

19. you can pay with cash, but you’ll still need a card to register at the hotel or expect to pay a hefty deposit

20. I used to travel a lot with my previous job and we always paid for our hotels with cash. This is because if you pay with a card then they could mistakenly charge you twice (never happened to me personally, but it did happen to some people). You can pay for anything and everything with cash, it’s no problem.

21. You have to give hotels a card for damage insurance, but they are likely to take straight cash for the bill

22. One thing to consider is getting travelers checks. They’re still available in some places and offer some protection against theft. Better alternative than cash. And most big hotels still accept them. Just check ahead.

23. I have tried to pay with cash at a hotel. They eventually accepted the cash, but it was a huge hassle and very embarrassing. I would not do it again.

24. There are places that don’t take cash at all. I don’t think you could reasonably do that.

    Hotels require a card on file to book a room. It would be easier to not pay anything in cash than to only pay cash.

25. In terms of everyday purchases, you can still use cash. There are some places that have gone cashless, but as someone who lives here and uses cash, I don’t run into too many issues.

26. Most will require a card, but you can often play in cash. Just make sure to check.

27. Most businesses are moving to cashless, keep that in mind

28. You’d need a credit card to hold room, for a deposit for incidentals or damage, but you could choose to pay with cash upon checkout instead of having them run the card.

29. I been using the cash system for over 8yrs. I cant reserve a hotel but paying for one and having a $100/$150 deposit is usually enough. I cant rent a car though. Everything else…. I havnt a problem with.

30. I used to work in the hotel industry. Yes, you can pay cash, but you’ll also need to have a credit card to put on file in case of incidentals/damages.

    The only way around this is usually a very hefty cash security deposit on top of the room rate that is returned to you at the end of your stay, after inspection of your room.

31. Yes. Credit cards are the better way to pay as you get rewards

32. Most hotels need a credit card on file to cover any charges that may occur

33. Not weird and completely legal but you may find difficulties with a few spots like hotels needing a security deposit on a card and some restaurants going cashless. Research because some states it’s illegal to go 100% cashless. Remember your max limit without reporting is $9999

34. It’s been a while, but I remember paying a $2k hotel bill in $20 bills. They looked at me funny, but they took it with nothing said.