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by ghaff 254 days ago
Are $100 bills really transactional currency in much of the US? I carry a few traveling internationally but I'd never count on being able to use one at a US convenience store and I'm guessing there would be some friction even at a chain store.
2 comments
Spooky23 253 days ago
I transitioned to mostly cash. 50's are the new 20, 100's are the new 50. I rarely have an issue with a $100 bill, but I don't pay for a $3 cup of coffee with it either.

It's an annoyance similar to the people who like to whine and apply surcharges to credit card transactions.

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Baeocystin 254 days ago
Here in California, at least, yes. The local ATMs give 100s and 50s, and only twenties if you are specifically drawing 20 or 40 bucks.
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ghaff 254 days ago
That's probably an exception. I'd never depend on being able to use a $100 bill in general. In Massachusetts, I've actually had to do some chasing down of $100 bills as trip reserve money. Not sure I could get anything larger than a $20 from a major bank's ATM. But I guess we're an impoverished state.
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mothballed 254 days ago
I've never had a restaurant turn down $100, especially if you tell them that's all you have.

Legal tender for all debts.

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ghaff 254 days ago
Well, yes. We'll risk the $100 bill vs. not being paid at all.

The point stands that, in my experience, $100 bills are an outlier in most of the US and will, at a minimum, invite additional scrutiny or simply be refused in many situations.

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uhgseyjnn 254 days ago
> Legal tender for all debts.

That’s not what that means

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mothballed 254 days ago
If you insist, they could take me to court for not paying the bill, at which time they'd have to accept USD for the debt.

So yes, they could refuse the $100 and then sue me, at which point they'd have to take it. So you'd get a big clap for technically "winning" this argument but in possibly the dumbest way possible.

In practice, the reason why 'legal tender for all debts' is relevant is because it pretty much forces to take my $100 or go through an expensive process to just end up with the same result.

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uhgseyjnn 253 days ago
You sound like a terrible human being and I’m sure many people in your life secretly resent you
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