Hotel Cascadas payment

You can do your reservation online. But you will pay at the hotel. I assume they can take a credit card payment. I always pay in cash. You pay upfront for all the days you are staying plus a refundable deposit.

I have always paid cash. Keep in mind there is a $30 refrigerator deposit that you get back when you check out (assuming you or one of your Chica's does not take a drink).

@Halfnhalf

I will play along and answer your questions.

Q: is it safe to pay for Hotel Cascadas rooms with a credit card? Or can I expect some phantom charges to pop up later after coming back state side?

Is as safe as paying in another country at a reputable business, but there’s always the possibility of someone not being honest in any business.

You have to consider that there is higher risk of fraud with a credit card than with cash, in other countries.

And some credit card companies charge a “foreign transaction fee” and they establish the exchange rate.

Cash, in dollars, is king in TJ, no pesos required, just remember, for small purchases they are used to “bargain” so you can offer half of what they ask and get a better deal on most transactions.

Nowadays almost nothing cost less than a dollar in the USA and TJ, even at the “dollar stores”.

Tip at least a dollar or a couple of dollars if you get good service.

I would never use a credit card at strip clubs anywhere in the USA and certainly not in TJ, became the type of people associated with the industry.

Like Warrior15 said you can make your reservation on line and pay in cash when you register.

As long as you are not flashing cash carelessly no one would know how much money you have for them to want to rob you, and as long as you don dress flashy the same applies.

Dress as a lower middle class or upper lower class American and behave like a well raised gentleman and you will be treated as a gentleman.

Remember “Carrying over $10,000 USD cash when departing from or arriving to Mexico is legal. However, failing to declare it is a violation to the Mexican Laws”

So you can carry $9,999 USD for your trip with no problems.

Have a great time at the Happiest Place on m Earth 🌍 (according to Krusty.)

https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=1401

And remember Pics and Vids or it didn’t happen.

:D

Appreciate the replies, everyone.

I failed to mention that I have no issues paying cash but would love to take advantage of every opportunity to build up credit card points when possible. Never had an issue with my credit card use overseas throughout most of Southeast Asia and Europe (for non-mongering activities) however most of my credit card use in Mexico has been limited to Cancun, hence my question for the TJ experts.

Looking forward to some mongering in TJ and will certainly report back for a review.

As long as they give you a print out receipt you'll be ok.

I recommend paying in cash in part because the banks tend to give an abusive exchange rate. Last time I checked BofA (which I haven't done in about a year, as I always pay cash now) it was 16:1 when the border exchanges are in the 19:1 range.
Likely other financial intuitions have different rates, so verify with your financial institution.
Same with ATM transactions that give pesos; the financial intuition that you are drawing from might have draconian policies.

@Halfnhalf - I had the same question at first. Because I didn't know how safe it was to pay with card I always used cash to pay for my 3 day stay at Cascadas. I then spoke with another guy who's a regular at HK. He said he's always paid with a card. They take any Visa card. After talking with him I've always used a Visa credit card pay for the room. It's just more convenient than paying with cash. They will require you to pay the deposit (for drinks in the refrigerator in your room) in cash. It's either $30 or $50 depending on which room you are in. They will give you back your full deposit in cash when you check out if you touch nothing in the refrigerator.
At Cascadas I have never had problem being overcharged with a card. I think those guys are pretty honest and this is coming from some someone who has been ripped off a lot on TJ. I'm confident you are always safe using your card at Cascadas or the Oxxo stores is fine. That being said, I've also used a card at restaruants in Mexico and had extra charges. Cash is always the safest but you're fine using it at Cascadas.

Once again, thank you for the replies!

I use a Chase Saphire Preferred Visa and the exchange rate has always been favorable in the 8 countries I’ve used it in through Southeast Asia, Europe, and Mexico (Cancun area). It’s been used in retail establishments, restaurants, and hotels in these countries and I haven’t had any issues yet but I’ll bring extra cash with me for the Hotel Cascadas stay just in case.

I'll answer this as simply as possible for you. Yes you can use cash, yes you can use plastic. I USUALLY use cash, but last time I used plastic. I had no issues with using plastic, at the hotel or the club. They print out a couple receipts that you need to sign and put your phone number. The reason they have you put your phone number on it , is verification that you are the one who gave permission to run that amount. This happens at both the bar and the hotel.
As far as the bar goes, look into buying a bottle vs buying individual drinks. Maseros don't hound you (unless you have a BG there, then they'll keep asking for fichas), it's cheaper in the end, you get better seating, and you can actually take the bottle back to the hotel room, and bring back to the bar later.... but this post is about using the card, and yes, for me it's been safe. I would keep calculator app handy though , as they may put it in pesos. just simply divide the number by 19 or 20 and youll be close to the exchange rate. so if hotel is 2000 pesos, its roughly $100 .

I've never been to TJ but one wold think the businesses would prefer cash and/or charge more when using a credit-card - IDK much about taxes in TJ nor Mexico but it's my understanding there is a 16% VAT tax for transactions that the businesses gotta collect on behalf of the government - this is a pretty-high rate and one would assume many businesses would prefer to deal in cash to avoid having to pass on that amount of $$$ to the government - from some general Mexico vids I've seen (not necessarily TJ nor mongering), there will often be a kinda cryptic acronym/charge (in Spanish) on a receipt when paying w/ a CC to account for that VAT tax.

Although IDK for sure, it could be you end up paying a bit more if paying w/ a CC. Also one is always running a risk when handing-over/using a CC although for the most-;art card-companies are good about handling illegal charges - e.g. a few years ago I was on a personal-trip to Dallas and was staying in a low-rent 2-star motel - anyway the day after I got back home to Miami I get an email alert from my credit-card company that my card may have been illegally used and they had put a block on it - sure-enough someone had charged either a few hundred, or a couple of thousand, I can't remember, to my CC in electronic equipment (a fancy oscilloscope and some other electronic equipment) – given the time-frame of the transaction it seemed it happened after I checked out of the hotel which would have been the last-time I used the card b/f the I got the fraudulent emails – the cheap motel I was staying at was ran by Indians and it was a semi-shady-looking young Indian guy that I had dealt w/ at the hotel and I had a strong suspicion it may have been him that used my CC buy of course IDK for sure – so it’s not only a shady business that one has to worry about but also, and perhaps more often, just a shady employee acting alone.

There is no additional charge for a credit card at Cascadas. There is no service fee. You will pay the exact same amount in cash or card. I've done this several times. I wouldn't do it if there was an additional fee for using your card.
That being said, Adelitas down the street will charge you an additional fee for using a card for anything. Cascadas will take a photo copy of your idea and they literally check to make sure your signature matches your ID signature. If they don't match, they don't accept it. You're safe with your card at Cascadas.

I usually take $2,500 cash. That's could be a lot of girls in the bedroom but I still like to throw it around the club the same as I do in the US. This is fun for me but also screws me over because when I do say to a BG, lets up go up stairs, after watching me throw money around, all BG raise their prices to at least $120. I say no every time and the always agree to $100. But I give them all $120. The point of this is...... the last thing I want to do is run out of cash and have to find more US dollars. The ATM gives you US dollars but charge you over 10% to withdraw. I hate running out of cash. For this reason I use my card. Perfect Smooth transaction and I keep the cash to play.
The worst thing you could do is run out of cash at HK.
@Halfnhalf...... I'd just use the card at Cascadas. If you do once you will do it every time. Its safe. Save the cash. If you are having a good time you might need it.

i use cash.

Appreciate the insight, gentlemen.

I’ll give the card a go when paying for the room (3-night stay) at Cascadas but will plan on cash for everything else. Thanks again!