Hello,
I am traveling to London in the next few days for a few weeks to help my son, a uni student find a place to live and get set up. I will also be doing some sight seeing in and hopefully outside of London by train. We will be using Taxi's & Uber if they are running for carrying goods. If weather permits, I'd like to do a small walking tour. Location and time are yet to be determined.
Do I need pounds? If I do, what for beyond tipping? I ask so I can figure how much I might need.
Thank you!
Usually when I’m in London, I use cash for markets and street food (which there is a lot of in London) most places take card, but many street vendors do not and if you’re trying to haggle a price, it easier to do it in cash and not a card.
Good tip Christina. I'm not even sure I would have tried to haggle in London.
You don’t haggle other than buying antiques, cars or houses. Some small cafes may want cash only - some will also be card only. Some places have a minimum spend on a card.
You shouldn’t need much cash.
You can use your credit or debit card and yes I always tip cab drivers. Usually i hand over a £5 note because the one cab i often take is the one back to Heathrow.
Otherwise I negotiate London on foot or via busses and the Underground. Love public transport in London especially sitting atop the double decker red busses. Comfortable way to see the environs.
Thanks Claudia and Jennifer. I am remembering now the minimum for using a card and thanks for the heads up on an appropriate tip for the taxi.
Always have cash in your pocket when travelling. Cash doesn't crash or get eaten by an ATM.
Appropriate tip for a taxi is nothing. The fare has been agreed, the driver does his job and takes me from A to B, perhaps a few wise cracks along the way. Inevitably I retrieve my luggage from the boot. The driver has done nothing more than a bus driver, tube or train driver or even the cabin crew on my flight to my destination who arguably have done much more in terms of service than the taxi driver but no-one ever tips them.
Many a sparky black cabbie has quickly changed his tune when he's realised he's not receiving a tip which just goes to show that it's all a charade and he couldn't give a toss about you, your life or your plans.
I never received a tip as a software engineer, a techicnical support techicnician, a police officer or a market trader. The only tips I were offered was when I volunteered for my local Age UK group where I would serve lunches to the lonely elderly and provide them with basic computing skills, of course I always declined such tips.
Tipping deserves no place in the UK otherwise we'll eventually see it turn into the mess that is US tipping culture.
Understood. I just want to respect whatever is the norm for the UK. Thanks.
At least in London, it is much more common in the COVID era to see card only. In fact I cannot recall the last time I went anywhere cash only. For example, most of the vendors at my farmers’ market only accept cards and none of them are cash only. Lots of places I frequent simply won’t take cash anymore.
You can tip using the card machine in a cab. Same at restaurants if you want to tip - just ask the server to add on whatever amount you want to tip. ATMs are everywhere so I would just take out a small amount for emergency use and replenish if needed rather than end up with a bunch of cash you don’t use.
While a credit card is what we use most of the time, we do use cash for small purchases such as anything under £5, or possibly at the Tesco Express or Sainsbury Local. Not necessarily London, but occasionally in the UK one does come across the small shop or hotel that only accepts cash. Oftentimes there is no tip line on the bill at restaurants and if you wanted to leave a couple pounds tip, having some coins comes in handy. As JC alluded to, you don’t tip in Europe like people do here in the states.
Thank you all. I'm feeling better prepared.
My money, my choice.
Contactless credit cards have really changed things, in Paris last month I was blithely charging everything in sight with just a tap. Just make sure your cards of choice don't have foreign transaction fees. And there was one time in a taxi, my first card was rejected so luckily I had a chip and PIN card that I had gotten specifically for foreign travel. Oddly I still had to sign a credit slip but I just got my monthly bill and everything worked out.
I know tipping is one of the most controversial aspects of European travel, but I still feel that if someone at a hotel or restaurant goes above and beyond, let them know you appreciate it. I also sense that once someone in a tourist-facing capacity realizes you're American, they half expect a tip anyway. Not saying it's right, just that this is how things are.
Hi Susan -
Covid has seen the seemingly inexorable rise of the ‘tap and go’ credit/debit card and nearly everywhere has a suitable terminal and many prefer use of that to cash. I have a twenty quid note in my wallet that’s been there for almost two years, just had no occasion to spend it. That said, I think I might take it out and see if it needs pressing!
I’m sure you’ll get by and if there is a need for a small amount of cash, then there’s always an ATM when you get here.
Ian
I just spent eight weeks in the UK. I only used cash in taxis. Everything else was contactless.
It's good to have some cash but you'll find cards/contactless everywhere.
Thanks everyone. Good insights.
Any supermarket of any of the national chains, rural or urban, large or small, will have self-check-out machines. Wave your whatever over the scanner and put it in your bag (bring some of your own string or plastic or cloth bags from home, more and more there are none available to purchase and none (except paper or wrapping meat ) by law are free) and at the end tap the screen and wave your card at the reader. No cash, no staff to ring it up. They are available but will be slower, and do it yourself is completely contact free.
Much like ian in ianandjulie the notes in my wallet have been there since before the pandemic.
Yesterday I got a small bag of vegetables at my rural farm shop paid for with a swipe of my phone... for £2.73. I wasn't even asked, she just held out the terminal. She simply did not expect cash.
Re cash,
i had to get to Coventry early yesterday and missed breakfast so decided to call into Morrisons to have it in their cafe. You can self order food on a screen using a card but if you want to order in person and pay at the till you have to use cash
is that the big Morrisons in Leamington? I'm astonished that the till has no reader...
(I'm sorry you had to go to Coventry) (my wife worked in that monstrosity tower in the Precinct for many years)
The Morrisons in Coventry just off the A46
I have to go to hospital nearby a few times a year
ooooh - that one....
Used to - in a former life - use the TGIFridays there...
that'll teach you to go to Binley. Hope all is well
Building a flyover at TGI island, causing delays at present, alternative routes are available
(sorry susan, got off on a tangent)
susan, home or abroad, I think its a good idea to have more than one way to pay for things. Many times, as recently as yesterday, I've had my credit card, debit card, or Apple Pay, not work, usually for unknown reasons.
Oh, and you might need coins for the loo.
yes in France the train station loos have been privatized and they cost 1 euro. It appeared you could use a credit card if you had to. I guess this was a recent development because everyone came to a screeching halt at the doorway when they saw turnstiles.
I expected this since in Switzerland some years ago it was the train station norm. In fact, not to get into too much detail, there was one price for a certain kind of elimination and a higher price for the other. Wouldn't want to have to enforce that one.
