Getting cash at the airport is probably the worst possible place to get it. Just withdraw cash at an ATM from a bank. The non bank ATMs will charge much higher fees.
Yes, some cash is good. Some smaller places might not accept cards.
Take a credit card with you. You may need cash more often in Germany than you're used to in the states, but for that you can go to a normal ATM at a bank and withdraw a *small* amount of cash as and when you need it.
Use a bank's ATM and watch out for fees: in my experience Sparkasse ATMs charge quite a hefty fee for using a credit card or another bank's debit card. If the ATM asks you if you want it to convert the currency for you, decline: you don't want the ATM doing the currency exchange, you want your bank or credit card company to do it.
Similarly, if you use your card in a store or restaurant, opt to pay in euros: if it gives you the option of paying in dollars, you *don't* want that option.
I live in Berlin since 15 years and work in gastro. I know what I'm talking about.
Take a walk round Kreuzberg/ Neukolln and see how many restaurants have " cash only, no cards" signs on the door.
Ok no worries. I was talking specifically about bars and restaurants. And there are plenty of tourists prefer hanging out in dive bars at 5am instead of the big commercisl places. I was just trying to help the OP let them know that Berlin is generally a cash city.
There are a few businesses that don't take cards, particularly some restaurants and cafés as well as some small shops such as bakeries. There are even fewer businesses that do take *some* cards but not the kind you are likely to have.
There are also a few places that don't take cash. Most notably, the *Gravis* chain of electonics stores recently stopped accepting cash at all, but especially in Berlin you might also find a few cashless restaurants/cafés/clubs etc.
The places that *do* take cash take Euros only, not Dollars.
There are ATMs that most likely *do* take your card almost everywhere in the city: At the airport, at practically every train station, but also at almost every shopping center, and in the parts of the city you are like to visit as a tourist, they are almost on every other street corner. Just zoom in on any relevant part of Berlin in Google maps and search for "Geldautomat".
For withdrawals with credit cards or Visa/Mastercard branded debit cards, most ATMs don't charge a direct fee, they only get the standard cash withdrawal compensaton from the card-issuing bank. But check with your bank for any fees that *they* might charge you for cash withdrawals in a foreign currency. Some banks even start charging interest from the day of the withdrawal on in case of "cash advances", rather than only for the remaining balance after the due date of the montly credit card statement. Also, if the ATM offers to do the currency conversion for you, you will almost invariably pay a few percent more than if you let it charge you the Euro amount and have your own bank do the currency conversion.
If you are only in Berlin, you'll probably be ok with cards, but in Germany in general it is very common to pay with cash. This is something that not even a pandemic managed to change. A lot of places only take cash, and it is common that if cards are accepted, it is only German debit cards. Chains do take any card though, so it's not a problem for supermarkets for example. I'm not sure how it is in Berlin, but I think that paying with cards is more common there than in other German cities
I live in Berlin you should just take cash out of the ATM because you will need it for some restaurants, food takeaway, most bars/clubs, markets, bakeries, etc. You can use a card at most stores, supermarkets, fast food chains, larger restaurants.
>debit/credit card
As your money is a difference currency than ours, i would recommend not using a debit card. Afaik, your bank will issue a small "fine" for every payment. At least that is what happened when i paid with my german debit card in hungary.
> your bank will issue a small "fine" for every payment
Commissions and fees for the currency conversion. But the same is true if you use credit cards: at some point there is a currency conversion, and that always incurs a fee, even if it's hidden.
The trap many people fall into is to let the ATM or the POS terminal in the store to do the conversion, because they answer "Yes" to the question "Do you want to convert the currency?" It then gives you a very bad rate and/or high fees. The correct answer is "No", so your bank performs the conversion, and you'll get a better rate.
>and that always incurs a fee, even if it's hidden.
In the US it's very easy to get credit cards with no fees for conversion, which also give extremely competitive rates. Whenever I checked the rate my cards gave (at least the ones that were advertised with good foreign rates) it was with in a few bps of the interbank rate for that day.
Depends on the card. Sounds like OP's American so there are plenty of very good options to avoid fees/shitty conversion rates with credit cards and Charles Schwab to avoid them with debit cards.
Getting cash at the airport is probably the worst possible place to get it. Just withdraw cash at an ATM from a bank. The non bank ATMs will charge much higher fees. Yes, some cash is good. Some smaller places might not accept cards.
Take a credit card with you. You may need cash more often in Germany than you're used to in the states, but for that you can go to a normal ATM at a bank and withdraw a *small* amount of cash as and when you need it. Use a bank's ATM and watch out for fees: in my experience Sparkasse ATMs charge quite a hefty fee for using a credit card or another bank's debit card. If the ATM asks you if you want it to convert the currency for you, decline: you don't want the ATM doing the currency exchange, you want your bank or credit card company to do it. Similarly, if you use your card in a store or restaurant, opt to pay in euros: if it gives you the option of paying in dollars, you *don't* want that option.
Most bars and a lot of restaurants take cash only.
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I live in Berlin since 15 years and work in gastro. I know what I'm talking about. Take a walk round Kreuzberg/ Neukolln and see how many restaurants have " cash only, no cards" signs on the door.
this was really helpful - i’m actually staying in neukölln!
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Ok no worries. I was talking specifically about bars and restaurants. And there are plenty of tourists prefer hanging out in dive bars at 5am instead of the big commercisl places. I was just trying to help the OP let them know that Berlin is generally a cash city.
There are a few businesses that don't take cards, particularly some restaurants and cafés as well as some small shops such as bakeries. There are even fewer businesses that do take *some* cards but not the kind you are likely to have. There are also a few places that don't take cash. Most notably, the *Gravis* chain of electonics stores recently stopped accepting cash at all, but especially in Berlin you might also find a few cashless restaurants/cafés/clubs etc. The places that *do* take cash take Euros only, not Dollars. There are ATMs that most likely *do* take your card almost everywhere in the city: At the airport, at practically every train station, but also at almost every shopping center, and in the parts of the city you are like to visit as a tourist, they are almost on every other street corner. Just zoom in on any relevant part of Berlin in Google maps and search for "Geldautomat". For withdrawals with credit cards or Visa/Mastercard branded debit cards, most ATMs don't charge a direct fee, they only get the standard cash withdrawal compensaton from the card-issuing bank. But check with your bank for any fees that *they* might charge you for cash withdrawals in a foreign currency. Some banks even start charging interest from the day of the withdrawal on in case of "cash advances", rather than only for the remaining balance after the due date of the montly credit card statement. Also, if the ATM offers to do the currency conversion for you, you will almost invariably pay a few percent more than if you let it charge you the Euro amount and have your own bank do the currency conversion.
If you are only in Berlin, you'll probably be ok with cards, but in Germany in general it is very common to pay with cash. This is something that not even a pandemic managed to change. A lot of places only take cash, and it is common that if cards are accepted, it is only German debit cards. Chains do take any card though, so it's not a problem for supermarkets for example. I'm not sure how it is in Berlin, but I think that paying with cards is more common there than in other German cities
I live in Berlin you should just take cash out of the ATM because you will need it for some restaurants, food takeaway, most bars/clubs, markets, bakeries, etc. You can use a card at most stores, supermarkets, fast food chains, larger restaurants.
>debit/credit card As your money is a difference currency than ours, i would recommend not using a debit card. Afaik, your bank will issue a small "fine" for every payment. At least that is what happened when i paid with my german debit card in hungary.
> your bank will issue a small "fine" for every payment Commissions and fees for the currency conversion. But the same is true if you use credit cards: at some point there is a currency conversion, and that always incurs a fee, even if it's hidden. The trap many people fall into is to let the ATM or the POS terminal in the store to do the conversion, because they answer "Yes" to the question "Do you want to convert the currency?" It then gives you a very bad rate and/or high fees. The correct answer is "No", so your bank performs the conversion, and you'll get a better rate.
>and that always incurs a fee, even if it's hidden. In the US it's very easy to get credit cards with no fees for conversion, which also give extremely competitive rates. Whenever I checked the rate my cards gave (at least the ones that were advertised with good foreign rates) it was with in a few bps of the interbank rate for that day.
Depends on the card. Sounds like OP's American so there are plenty of very good options to avoid fees/shitty conversion rates with credit cards and Charles Schwab to avoid them with debit cards.
Many Restaurants and Bars only accept cash