A popular sign in small restaurants and stores many years ago used to say “In God We Trust,” all others pay cash. These days, however, in the travel industry, suppliers are putting their trust in credit and debit cards. It’s the cash they don’t want.
The cruise industry was the first on the “credit card only” bandwagon. While some lines will allow you put a cash deposit up front, outside of the casino, you can’t use cash on board — except for tipping, and even there the ships are trying to steer people to charging gratuities to a shipboard account.
Rental car companies will take cash for final payment, as long as you present a valid credit card upon arrival. Which to be fair, is simply to prevent stolen cars. Apparently years ago when car companies took cash deposits, a ridiculously high percentage of thefts and damage came from such rentals. Most hotels want to see a credit card upon arrival for similar reasons, although you can pay the final bill any way you want.
But even when it’s not a safety or security issue, the cashless trend has spread. Many airlines now will only accept credit or debit cards on board, even for a $3 snack bag. I actually saw a passenger without a credit card work out a deal by paying cash to his seatmate to buy for both of them.
And with some carriers, Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin America, for three big examples, cash isn’t even an option for your tickets, unless you go to the airport. And even then it has to be cash, U.S currency only, and not even a certified check or money order.
JetBlue actually has a “Bill me Later” system on their website, which is a complicated procedure by which they check your credit, and give you 25 days to pay.
Otherwise, a traveler can try to use a travel agent for these airlines, but even agents need to book them through the computer system with a credit card. This means if a client comes in with cash, or a regular client wants to use a check, they are out of luck. Unless the agency wants to use their own credit card.
The odd thing here, is that the travel agency is completely on the hook for ticket payment with any cash or check payment to the legacy carriers, so if these ticketless carriers allowed such payments, the agency would still be obligated to pay them if there was a problem.
Not taking checks makes a certain amount of sense, as checks do expose the airlines to fraud and other problems, but these days many Americans are trying to keep closer control on their spending. And many financial experts recommend using cash to do that.
In addition, as has been reported widely, many card companies are tightening credit, and/or adding fees that make using plastic increasingly unattractive for many people.
One solution, for travelers who don’t want to use standard credit or debit cards, is to purchase prepaid debit cards for travel. These cards come with the added burden of remembering to make sure to use the cards and not wasting any remaining balance. And of course not losing the card — it’s like cash.
But nothing is easier to budget than cash. Of course, considering their own financial problems, perhaps it is over-optimistic to expect the airlines to do anything to encourage responsible spending.
Photo from www.cathedralwindchimes.com
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On a positive note, this method of payment cuts down on employee theft. Secondly, handling cash inflight can be a nightmare. Anywhere between everyone gives the flight attendant twenty dollar bills to a cleaner went into the flight attendant’s bag and stole the liquor money.
Credit is less of a hassle.
Count me in favor of getting rid of cash entirely. Credit cards are faster and more efficient. And, especially noteworthy in this age of H1N1 fears, they’re significantly cleaner than cash — more so when one uses the cards with RFID chips that don’t even require touching the card to the reader.
Finally, count me as unsympathetic, but anyone who lacks the financial management skill to control spending, except by having a finite amount of cash in pocket, probably shouldn’t be traveling away from home.
I was really happy when the airlines started taking credit cards for inflight beverage purchases. I often don’t carry much cash, and it’s rare for me to have fives or tens, sometimes a few singles. More often I drop by the ATM and end up with twenties. Trouble is a beverage is $5 and the airlines don’t provide a cash float for the flight attendants, if the FAs want one, they have to use their own money, which they don’t want to do. So, if you want change from a $20 note, you’d better have hoped that three people before you had $5 notes or you were out of luck. Much better to take credit/debit cards and pay the tab when the flight is coming to a close.
Good points, and I should have included that the credit card option has a lot of advantages, but it would be nice if there were some other option, especially for younger travelers who may not have a credit card. And sometimes credit card companies put holds on cards for silly reasons, a charge from somewhere odd, a few gas charges, etc, etc, But onboard is small potatoes. My larger frustration is that travel agents simply cannot issue tickets paid in cash or with a check on many airlines. Especially the newer carriers
Janice,
Do hotels, airlines, etc., take those pre-paid ‘debit/charge’ cards, like AMEX issues, same as credit cards? That might help the younger travelers if they do.
But the article confrims what I’ve said before -keep your credit card at almost all costs! Parents- help your kids get one (as long as they are responsible). I co-signed on a $2,000 limit for my son, so he’s building his credit and can get his own eventually. It’s a necessary evil these days.
A largely separate issue for business travelers is this BS some companies have of making them use personal cards to book company travel – I refuse. Why use up my credit limits (or in the case of one trip run a balance for the next nine months) for their convenience?
I prefer using my own credit card when travelling on company business. 1) I get an interest-free loan because I get my expenses are reimbursed to me long before I have to pay the card company. 2) I get the flier miles for the trips. Note: I never come close to my credit limit when travelling on company business and, if I ever did, I could call the card company, explain that I will be travelling on employer business, and get a temporary limit increase. Note # 2) above.