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Cash, Credit or Debit ????
aBByNormaL
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in PAX East
I was thinking about show purchases etc. At home I am pretty much a debit and credit card type - I rarely carry cash. When I travel I carry some cash but I was wondering what the usual forms of payment are at the show ... just want to be prepared.
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Almost every other vendor had varying degrees of success running cards last year, with most on the 'fail' side. A lot of places had Square readers but couldn't seem to get a good enough signal. I don't think any of the Magic:the Gathering vendors were able to take a card all weekend. This year could be better, but I always bring at least a hundred bucks in cash.
If a vendor's card reader goes bananas and you have several erroneous pre-authorizations, that's a minor inconvenience with a credit card, but with a debit card, it ties-up your actual cash for several days.
This is especially relevant for travelers, because gas pumps sometimes have unexpectedly high pre-authorizations, and hotels will often pre-authorize for well above what you might actually owe in the end.
Granted, you can play it the other way and just use the credit card if this problem arises, but in my experience, people are much more comfortable when an error ties-up the bank's money and not their own.
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Heck, if you don't have the money and want to use the credit card as a loan machine (I don't recommend it) draw money from your credit card at an ATM or cash a credit card cheque. Interest begins immediately, but it's less than 2.5% over the course of the additional month you're paying (unless you have an astronomically high rate, like 59.9%). Interestingly, some cards often will give you temping sub 5% (0.99% oftimes) yearly interest promos on those cheques (the trick is that if you don't pay them off within the time specified in the offer, they convert the amount to full interest bearing and some offers then charge back-interest for the promo-period). Convert to USD. Done.
I believe that there are a couple of BoA ATMs in the venue so this can be a win/win. If you intend to bring foreign currency, it is always to your advantage to exchange it before you come into the US or right at the border if you can. Even in major cities like Boston it can be a pain to find exchange companies and some banks severely limit how much currency you can exchange if you are not a customer.
I personally use both cash and credit/debit. Credit/debt for major purchases and cash for things like a last minute drink or food. I only had one case last year where I was buying games and it was faster to go to the ATM and take the cash out than to use my debit card because the vendor could not get a wi-fi signal. Luckily I have a checking account that refunds my ATM fees every month so I never think about where I am getting money from and look forward to when they charge me a $4 fee.
(small rant) Why vendors are not paying extra for a wired internet connection when their business can be dependent on credit card transactions is just beyond me. Running the wiring is a pain which is why they charge extra for it but pissing off a customer by having to stand on a chair for 10 minutes to not get on the wi-fi seems like it is money well spent.
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Another tip for Canadians: TD has a strong presence here in Boston (I actually hold an account with them and the arena the Bruins and Celtics play in is the TD Garden) and I have confirmed TD will not charge their Canadian customers for using a TD ATM in the US and vice versa.
The reason for TD's presence is that they bought out Banknorth (a Maine-based bank) 9 years ago (first it was TD Banknorth and now it is just TD Bank)
I strongly recommend bringing cash, at the very minimum, as a backup. In 2012 I had to pay cash for a few things because the readers weren't going through (especially during more crowded times of the day). There seemed to be less issues in 2013, but there were still hiccups.
As for budgeting, my husband and I tend to carry a set amount of cash to cover any merch we decide to buy, and pay for meals/other expenses using our debit or credit cards. Since we tend to pre-pay for our hotel, it makes budgeting during the weekend much simpler.
Erm, do you know for sure that this is offered? It doesn't matter for most of them, since a majority of vendors that I interacted with were using iPads anyways, but I was told that they weren't offered wired network access.
To add onto this, if you are coming from outside the US, check with your bank to see what banks thet cooperate with in the US.
For example, the above Scotiabank/Bank of America agreement, the fact that TD Canada is the same as TD US, and an additional one, Sovereign Bank (another ank chain with a strong presence here in he Boston area) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santander (to the point tht they were supposed to change the name to Santander this year but it has not yet happened).
I have started a spreadsheet, it is by no means complete so if you have a question, check with your bank first!
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That reminds me of 2 things
1) You can call your bank ahead of time to let them know you are traveling, that way they can put into their system that withdrawals/purchases in place X when you live in place Y are OK.
2) If you do plan on carrying a large amount of cash, check to see if your hotel room has a safe. I know every room in the Westin has one, and those use a keypad system that you have to reprogram the code for every time you lock it.
If the main hall is already wired with core drills for network (which, since there's obviously power coming in, if the convention center wanted it's pretty trivial to run a dual pipe for both power and network), then it wouldn't be "too" much of a problem to run network in for anyone who needs it, again, running right along with power.
A far, FAR easier method for something like this, though, would be for the convention center to offer vendors wifi separate from anything offered to the general public for things like this. Since many vendors are already trying to use a phone/tablet with a CC reader already, a wired connection would then mean they'd have to have an adapter (if one exists) to get on the network. Wifi is quicker and easier for everyone.
Back on topic, I make a rule in life to charge EVERYTHING I possibly can and then make sure to pay off my CC every month before interest hits:
1) It's an extra level of protection in case of fraudulent charges.
2) Points!
3) Cash is much easier to steal. If your wallet is lost/stolen, one phone call and your CC is safe.
I generally just carry a bit of money on me just in case, the rest I use my CC for.
I would recommend using a company like Hailo for cab services (seamless credit card use), but that has been discussed in the transportation thread. I do agree that minimal physical cash is needed though, and that carrying around a few of $5 bills for tips may be a good idea.
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Depends on where your bank is and how much you spend. I used to go to my bank to let them know I'd be in Boston for the weekend spending money, and they would look at me like I'm crazy - but I'm also close by in Maine. I stopped bothering going in to tell them and I've never had my card frozen for suspicious activity.