Legal tender?

[SirDuff]

No merchant in America wants to see traveler's checks.

Or in Switzerland (where we don’t even have regular cheques) or most countries that I’ve visited.

 

[kdonnel]

Steve Wozniak used to buy uncut $2 sheets from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and have a local print shop cut and bind them into tear off pads.

He would pull out the pad when a tip was needed and tear off as many as were needed.

 

[SirDuff]

How so?

Off the top of my head….

Your belief that all merchants want traveler’s cheques.
Your belief that ATMs in Europe can only take PINs of four digits (despite my pointing out that mine has six and that my bank insisted that I had six digits)
Your three paragraph severance letter
Your lawyer friends who review documents for free

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Why would you despise them? They are cash you can spend anywhere? Would you rather have a $1 tip, or a $2 tip?

There’s no place for them in the till so they kind of become this “floating money” that you have to keep track of until you can swap them out with your tip money. You can’t trade them in at the end of the night — the money machines don’t count them and the management doesn’t want to include them in the deposit. So you get stuck with them and your options are to keep them indefinitely, making them essentially worthless, or feel like a jerk spending them at some other establishment that you know also doesn’t want them.

Quite honestly? I would rather have been given a $1 bill than a $2 bill. Like I said, we gave them away to not have to deal with them, so yeah, happy to take a loss to avoid the inconvenience. But that’s not how tipping works anyway. You aren’t bound by the limitation of only being able to give one bill. You should be tipping the amount that is appropriate for the service rendered and if that amount is $2, you can give two singles or any higher denomination and ask for change in return. I usually wasn’t getting them one at a time anyway. Customers were giving them in stacks of 5-10 to cover the whole tip for their bill. Likely, because they were trying to unload them, too.

Also, people get really weird about giving $2 bills. They act like they’ve got some rare novelty that’s really going to impress you and then they stare at your face waiting for your response. Seriously. It’s really awkward. In reality, they’re not nearly as rare as people think they are and I encountered those things on a weekly basis (and also dreaded receiving them).

And why are $2 bills so popular? Because they’re a strip club gimmick. The clubs give them out as change to boost the dancers’ tips — get people to throw $2 instead of $1. Just know if you’re giving $2 bills as tips, people are assuming you got them from the strip club.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just know if you’re giving $2 bills as tips, people are assuming you got them from the strip club.

Odd because the only place I ever got $2 bills in my area (and I've never encountered it given anywhere else in my personal experience in my direct area) was a greyhound racing track...I assure you that's the farthest thing from a strip club..but I give you the owners (which the track has been closed for a long time) could have been secretly frequenting these joints on the DL

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Odd because the only place I ever got $2 bills in my area (and I've never encountered it given anywhere else in my personal experience in my direct area) was a greyhound racing track...I assure you that's the farthest thing from a strip club..but I give you the owners (which the track has been closed for a long time) could have been secretly frequenting these joints on the DL

I’m sure there’s a lot of overlap in the clientele of bars, strip clubs, racetracks, and other “sinful” venues.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’m sure there’s a lot of overlap in the clientele of bars, strip clubs, racetracks, and other “sinful” venues.

Quite possibly

 

[tvguy]

Off the top of my head….

Your belief that all merchants want traveler’s cheques.
Your belief that ATMs in Europe can only take PINs of four digits (despite my pointing out that mine has six and that my bank insisted that I had six digits)
Your three paragraph severance letter
Your lawyer friends who review documents for free

Never said all merchants want travelers checks.

My daughter lived in the U.K. for a year, and certainly it could have changed on ATM Pins since 2014.

I can't imagine needing much more than than three paragraphs for a severance letter. Paragraph one, what the company will do. paragraph two, what they expect you to do. Third paragraph, what they will give you for agreeing to the terms.

Free legal services apparently are not uncommon in California. https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-lowcosthelp.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en

 

[kymom99]

With the $2 bills... we would usually see those on a daily basis as well. As far as having them to "trade for", we were didn't have the pristine ones too often because when we had them, somebody would get all of them. As far as finding a $2 bill that had nothing special about it, you get those easily.

And the dollar coins, we all hated those, and I don't recall anybody ever requesting them. They mainly came in with convenience store deposits. There are some kind of dollar coins that are highly desirable, but they are like really old, not just plain ones that you see on a daily basis on the teller line. I don't remember exactly the ones that are sought after, but we didn't see them very often. I remember some guy would come in every week and go to every teller station and ask if we had any of them.

Silver dollars probably

 

[tvguy]

There’s no place for them in the till so they kind of become this “floating money” that you have to keep track of until you can swap them out with your tip money. You can’t trade them in at the end of the night — the money machines don’t count them and the management doesn’t want to include them in the deposit. So you get stuck with them and your options are to keep them indefinitely, making them essentially worthless, or feel like a jerk spending them at some other establishment that you know also doesn’t want them.

Quite honestly? I would rather have been given a $1 bill than a $2 bill. Like I said, we gave them away to not have to deal with them, so yeah, happy to take a loss to avoid the inconvenience. But that’s not how tipping works anyway. You aren’t bound by the limitation of only being able to give one bill. You should be tipping the amount that is appropriate for the service rendered and if that amount is $2, you can give two singles or any higher denomination and ask for change in return. I usually wasn’t getting them one at a time anyway. Customers were giving them in stacks of 5-10 to cover the whole tip for their bill. Likely, because they were trying to unload them, too.

Also, people get really weird about giving $2 bills. They act like they’ve got some rare novelty that’s really going to impress you and then they stare at your face waiting for your response. Seriously. It’s really awkward. In reality, they’re not nearly as rare as people think they are and I encountered those things on a weekly basis (and also dreaded receiving them).

And why are $2 bills so popular? Because they’re a strip club gimmick. The clubs give them out as change to boost the dancers’ tips — get people to throw $2 instead of $1. Just know if you’re giving $2 bills as tips, people are assuming you got them from the strip club.

Why would your tip money be going in the till? Tip money goes in your pocket. Would you rather have quarters? And I was speaking in terms of travel and on a cruise which you might be tipping a porter $2 a bag, or room service, not to pay a bill.
My son went to a bachelor party at a strip club, and freshly washed and ironed $1 bills were the norm.

 

[tvguy]

No merchant in America wants to see traveler's checks.

Gee, that's not a broad generalization. I haven't used a travelers check since October 2019 on my last cruise and merchants in Vancouver, Victoria, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara had no problem taking them then.

 

[lanejudy]

I found that many merchants still prefer Travelers Checks to credit cards since they process them just like cash, no fee. And YES, you can still get Travelers Checks.

Please tell me what merchant prefers Travelers Cheques! That's an honest request because I found several that were unused from an old trip. I can't find any merchant in my area (and beyond) who will take one. Even my bank is "well...probably we can take it."

No merchant in America wants to see traveler's checks.

Agree. That's definitely my experience.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Gee, that's not a broad generalization. I haven't used a travelers check since October 2019 on my last cruise and merchants in Vancouver, Victoria, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara had no problem taking them then.

I didn't say they're not accepted, just that they're not preferred.

 

[tvguy]

Please tell me what merchant prefers Travelers Cheques! That's an honest request because I found several that were unused from an old trip. I can't find any merchant in my area (and beyond) who will take one. Even my bank is "well...probably we can take it."


Agree. That's definitely my experience.

Well, it's like cash except better. The issuer guarantees you will get the face value. If you take cash, if it is counterfeit, the merchant is out the money. And with credit cards, if there is a dispute, the merchant could have a charge rejected. Why wouldn't the bank take them? They SELL them.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Why would your tip money be going in the till? Tip money goes in your pocket. Would you rather have quarters? And I was speaking in terms of travel and on a cruise which you might be tipping a porter $2 a bag, or room service, not to pay a bill.
My son went to a bachelor party at a strip club, and freshly washed and ironed $1 bills were the norm.

Two-dollar bills aren’t only used for tips — customers also used them to pay their checks. Remember, it’s legal tender that can be used anywhere? Sometimes those bills were destined for the tip bucket (putting money in your pocket was a fireable offense at my establishment) and sometimes they were meant for the till. The place I worked at didn’t deal in change, fortunately. Bills only.

You can still give porters a $2 tip without using a $2 bill.

 

[lanejudy]

Well, it's like cash except better. The issuer guarantees you will get the face value. If you take cash, if it is counterfeit, the merchant is out the money. And with credit cards, if there is a dispute, the merchant could have a charge rejected. Why wouldn't the bank take them? They SELL them.

I didn't ask what traveler's cheques are or how they work. I am well aware of that. Banks in my area do not sell Traveler's Cheques any more. They used to, but not for several years.

I asked for specific merchants who prefer them or at least will accept them. I'm serious -- I would love to cash mine in but I'm having a very hard time finding any place to accept them. Your post implied you use them with some regularity and with great success - so please tell me. Maybe it's even worth a trip just to use the money because it's doing me no good sitting here in a drawer.

 

[tvguy]

I didn't ask what traveler's cheques are or how they work. I am well aware of that. Banks in my area do not sell Traveler's Cheques any more. They used to, but not for several years.

I asked for specific merchants who prefer them or at least will accept them. I'm serious -- I would love to cash mine in but I'm having a very hard time finding any place to accept them. Your post implied you use them with some regularity and with great success - so please tell me. Maybe it's even worth a trip just to use the money because it's doing me no good sitting here in a drawer.

Your bank would be where I would start. Or your grocery store. Not sure why a merchant that accepts cash and credit cards wouldn't prefer travelers checks over credit cards. They avoid the 3% processing fee that credit cards charge. Travelers Checks a just like cash. I wouldn't try to buy a pack of gum with a $100 traveler's check just like I wouldn't try to pay for that gum with a $100 bill.

 

[tvguy]

Two-dollar bills aren’t only used for tips — customers also used them to pay their checks. Remember, it’s legal tender that can be used anywhere? Sometimes those bills were destined for the tip bucket (putting money in your pocket was a fireable offense at my establishment) and sometimes they were meant for the till. The place I worked at didn’t deal in change, fortunately. Bills only.

You can still give porters a $2 tip without using a $2 bill.

You can carry twice as much tip money in half that space in your wallet with $2 bills. Don't shoot the messenger. This is a travel tip from right here on the DIS.
Why doesn't your establishment allow you to keep your tips? Isn't that illegal? As for the till, I guess you could do what I have seen many establishments do with $20 and larger bills. You don't put them in a slot, you lift up the cash drawer and put it under there.

 

[lanejudy]

Your bank would be where I would start. Or your grocery store.

No, neither. That's why I asked you about specific vendors where you have used them? A restaurant chain? A hotel?

 

[John VN]

You can carry twice as much tip money in half that space in your wallet with $2 bills. Don't shoot the messenger. This is a travel tip from right here on the DIS.
Why doesn't your establishment allow you to keep your tips? Isn't that illegal? As for the till, I guess you could do what I have seen many establishments do with $20 and larger bills. You don't put them in a slot, you lift up the cash drawer and put it under there.

r.e. bold At our small family owned store that my FIL inherited from his Dad and my MIL worked at occasionally when DW and I were actually running it, many times the BIG BILLS went into her purse and not under the draw.