Cash or credit in times of Covid

[maryloufrommadison]

I know cash used to be the preferred method of payment prior to Covid, but I'm wondering if that has changed. Will pilgrims who have been on the Camino in the past 2 years please chime in?

 

[ivar]

In Santiago there is a lot more “tap to pay” (Apple Pay or Google pay for example ) compared to earlier. I assume that out on the trail cash is still king, although the fees on the payment terminals are going down so I think more will have them also there..

 

[Rick M]

My Camino last fall featured a dramatic increase in the number of places that took credit cards from previous years. "Tap" payment has spread quite widely to bars and restaurants that did not used to accept anything but cash. That said, cash is still essential as there were places that still deal in cash only. In general, the big towns were mostly plastic, the small villages still partly not. Not everywhere had a machine, and several albergues that had credit card facilities were asking for cash instead. I guess they don't appreciate the transaction fees, and I was happy to accommodate them.

 

[JerryStroebele]

Yes, Ivar and Rick are spot on. I walked Pamplona to Burgos last fall and used credit cards for a few hotels and always cash in albergues. Cash in bar/cafes. Credit cards in some restaurants. Take both. Buen Camino

 

[Lurch]

There will always be a small tienda where you want to buy an apple or can of beer, and what about the guy who has the donativo rest stop just before Astorga? Always, always bring cash!

 

[lt56ny]

I know cash used to be the preferred method of payment prior to Covid, but I'm wondering if that has changed. Will pilgrims who have been on the Camino in the past 2 years please chime in?

I would think if you are walking on the CF you will have more opportunities to use credit cards. As Ivar pointed out things like Apple Pay is more prevalent in bigger cities. If you are staying in hostels/pensions I would assume most take credit cards. Probably in some of the private albergues too. The less walked caminos will have fewer opportunities to use Credit Cards. But in Covid times, now more than ever if you can speak Spanish try to make reservations over the telephone and pay with cash. Booking.com takes 15% and credit card companies take their cut too. If you can call if you need to reserve and pay in cash the owners get the full amount. After the last few years they need every Euro they can get.

 

[walkinglover]

I know cash used to be the preferred method of payment prior to Covid, but I'm wondering if that has changed. Will pilgrims who have been on the Camino in the past 2 years please chime in?

My husband walked in September, '21. Cash is still the way to go. Rarely does a place accept credit.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Hi Marylou,
Your Camino is just two months away! I am so excited for you! Let's plan another meet-up. I've sent you a PM to discuss it.

 

[Albertagirl]

I walked the Levante last fall, so I saw a lot of Spain, from Valencia to Najera, on the Frances, where I volunteered as a hospitalera. I prefer to use cash and almost everywhere accepted it. The only problem which I had was in Barajas, where the buses would only take payment through pre-paid cards where the fare was deducted. As this was a change from my previous experience in Barajas and card purchase was not widely available and cash refused, I had some problems with the bus drivers. They got angry, but they didn't throw me off the bus. The situation was pretty much incomprehensible to me, as there was a double charge for transport to and from the airport, which apparently included Barajas, and it was all supposed to be paid onto cards in advance. I never did sort it out.

 

[peregrina2000]

I know cash used to be the preferred method of payment prior to Covid, but I'm wondering if that has changed. Will pilgrims who have been on the Camino in the past 2 years please chime in?

I walked the Salvador/Primitivo in Sept. 2021 and found very few places that did not take a CC. In fact, I don’t think I used an ATM the whole camino, though I arrived with several hundred euros.

Since forum members describe such different experiences, I think you should be prepared to adapt to whatever circumstances you find. Get a few hundred euros when you arrive in Spain at an ATM and see how it goes. There is no shortage of ATMs on the Francés (I think you are walking the Francés), so you will not have trouble taking out euros if you need them. Since you never know whether you’ll be able to use your CC, I think the best game plan is to always have enough euros in cash to get you through to the next ATM in case you find that you can’t use your CC.

 

[ivar]

I have not seen this mentioned here so I will... American Express is not accepted in many places. Visa or MasterCard (debit or credit).

 

[Marbe2]

A number of places, (even a few albergues) accepted Amex, particularly restaurants and hotels.

 

[C clearly]

Since forum members describe such different experiences, I think you should be prepared to adapt to whatever circumstances you find.

This is wise advice that could be posted on every thread on the forum!

 

[jsalt]

The only problem which I had was in Barajas, where the buses would only take payment through pre-paid cards where the fare was deducted.

Was this the airport bus into the city?

 

[walkinglover]

I know cash used to be the preferred method of payment prior to Covid, but I'm wondering if that has changed. Will pilgrims who have been on the Camino in the past 2 years please chime in?

I would ask anyone who is doing a Camino in '22 to consider the earnings lost to the businesses that support us while walking, due to the pandemic numbers and restrictions in '20 and '21. We are fortunate many survived. Using a credit card costs businesses money. This is money lost that can't be regained. Please use cash to better support those supporting us.

 

[Albertagirl]

Was this the airport bus into the city?

This was the local bus from the town of Barajas, where I stayed for two nights while getting my PCR test and checking that I had fulfilled all the requirements for returning to Canada. When I got to Madrid airport on my way home it was necessary to buy a transit card, using a credit card, to go to and from the airport. Airport trips cost two fares, but I did not know whether I had to pay one or two fares to get back and forth to the town of Barajas, where I had reservations, to the airport. I soon ran out of fares on my card and could not use money on the bus. It was a totally different system from the simple cash pay on the bus which had existed on my last trip. Another time, I would go to the information desk in the lower level of Terminal 4 where they inform travellers about paying fares to go to different locations, and ask them about Barajas. Then I would buy a transit card with twice the number of fares on it which I thoght I needed and just hope that I had enough. The system may be obvious to locals, but not so much to international travelers.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

My husband walked in September, '21. Cash is still the way to go. Rarely does a place accept credit.

Wrong.

 

[Damien Reynolds]

So I just kept my phone in the pocket and cards buried in the pack during Sept-Nov trip in 2021. I paid with ApplePay the whole way. Both Norte and Frances. Yah sure cash you got to hold it because there is that occasional tienda or bar that says no credit cards. Few and far between.

 

[dougfitz]

Please use cash to better support those supporting us.

This is not as simple as all that. Contactless payment here in Australia is being promoted as a public health measure as part of the range of measures introduced as a response to COVID. I presume it is the same elsewhere. We support those public facing workers in shops, etc by using contactless payments as much as we protect ourselves. I much prefer to use contactless payments and minimise the amount of person to person contact with strangers.

If I have to use cash, so be it, but I don't expect I will as a matter of course where a contactless payment option is available.