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Forgive me if this has been addressed elsewhere on the message board....I didn't find anything. Do most local stores and restaurants in St. Thomas and St. John accept U.S. credit cards? What about grocery stores, gas stations, and the ferry operators? Normally at home, I use plastic to pay for just about everything and I carry little cash. We will be soon be visiting for a week, and didn't really want to bring a bunch of cash if we don't need to (although we plan to bring some). However, we DO want to be prepared and don't want to pay a service fee or surcharge to use plastic for routine purchases. I know this sounds dumb, but until now, international travel has been limited to short day trips from the cruise ships to pick up a few souvenirs.
Credit cards are pretty widely accepted. Debit cards that require a PIN and can't be run as a cc, not so much. One thing, you may want to call your cc prodivders and tell them that you will be using the cards in the USVI. we do that and have not have had any problems but I have been with folks in the checkout lines at the supermarkets who have had their cards denied. Of course, it all gets sorted out - after about a half an hour of phone calls and being put on hold, but it's so much easier just to let the providers know in advance.
Margy Z makes a good point about notifying the CC company's about your trip.
Most places accept plastic but we always have cash for tips and the taxis, ferrys, gas stations and some other places that don't accept credit cards. You don't have to take a stack of money but you'll need some cash for some expenses.
I keep very little cash when I am on vacation but you will need it for the ferry and taxis and a handful of smaller places.
And we do have ATM's which normally have money available.
The bigger the store the more cc are used. Small shops and tings like like taxis done use CC. Just call you CC company and let them know.
billd
On St. John, most places take credit cards. American Express is not as widely accepted (because of high merchant fees). Some places have a $10 min charge to use a card. A few places that are cash only are: Mojo Cafe, Deli Grotto, Cruz Bay Pizza, Surly Cantina, taxi cabs, and the ferries. There are also ATMS in town at FirstBank and in the Marketplace at Scotiabank.
PLEASE call your credit card company(s) and let them know you will be traveling. My folks had there credit card canceled while they were here because they suspected fraud. When they called the company to have it reinstated they said they couldn't do that once it was canceled. They only brought the one card and had to go the entire visit without it. It was very inconvenient! So please call your credit card company and let them know of your plans....better safe than sorry!
most debit cards with the visa or mastercard imprint can be processed like cc's here too.
and worse comes to worse, there's always the trusty atm. transaction fees will apply from your bank and the local bank, amounting to 4-5 bux total.
most places that take plastic, accept cards on the cirrus system. look at the back of your card, and check for the logo where you shop (it's usually at the register or on the door as you go in).
Thanks for all the advice and info. It's very helpful to know what to expect. I always notify the CC's issuing bank when we travel...found out about the need for this the hard way on our first trip out of the U.S. about six years ago. We are renting a car at the airport on STT, so taxis won't be a big expense, but I really wanted to know about the food stores, restaurants, gas stations and the ferries. I am somewhat surprised that the ferries don't take CC, particularly the car barges (which we will need to use). Good to know also about the availability of ATMs....I'd rather pay few $$$ to use them as needed than carry (and risk losing) a huge amount of cash. Looking forward to visiting your beautiful island in about a week!
We visit STT frequently and have found that credit cards are not accepted at all of the gas stations. In fact, there are more that don't accept them than do. Be prepared to pay cash and also to pay a lot more for gas than we do in the states. However, I have not been on island since last July so I don't know the current prices.
Gas is about $2.48 - 2.60 for regular -- most gas stations on STT accept credit cards but not $100 bills.
The other thing you want to ask your bank is if they charge a foreign transaction fee. I cancelled one of my cards after moving here that actually charged a 2% fee for using the card here.
Jay
We haven't found that we have ever been charged a fee to use our credit card on St. Thomas in the past, but will double check when we call to tell them that we're going to the Virgin Islands. I don't think $2.50-2.60 is that bad, since we are paying about $2.00 right now in Ohio. Is gas similar in price on St. John as it is in St. Thomas? I doubt we'll go through an entire tank after we get the car over on the car barge, but am curious.
