Are $100 bills trouble?

I never carry anything larger than a $20. Some places even do a scan of them for counterfeit.

In strip clubs I always carry enough small bills to avoid having to get change and 20's work fine for paying $200 for a VIP.

I've never had an issue. Carrying just 20s would make my wallet way too damn thick.

Im noticing more and more places not accepting $100s or refuse to give back more than $50 in change. Many stores wont take old money. The worst thing Im seeing is businesses asking if I want my change back. Or dont accept cash. Then they dont want to give cash back. It used to not be a problem.

I prefer using cash.

They always say that domestically the $20 is more frequently counterfeit than the $100. I guess because the impact of getting stuck with a fake $100 is greater, they are more often scrutinized and contain more anti-counterfeit measures.

Anecdotally, that aligns with my personal experience. I've encountered a handful of counterfeit 20's but never a counterfeit $100. A couple of brushes with fake $20's were in batches, luckily I've never been stuck with more than a single fake though. I'd have to guess that I've probably received a fake $100 in my lifetime, but if I did I didn't notice it and was able to spend it without the recipient noticing it either.

I use $100's at the strip club regularly. 3 100's take up a lot less space than 15 20's, so I've usually got a few of them along side the 20's. As was just mentioned, pure $20's would probably leave me leaning like the tower of pizza while sitting.

I stopped carrying 100 dollar bills quite a number of years ago when I accidentally gave a Very generous tip. Now it's just 1s & 20s

I also use a sc wallet which contains no ID or credit cards (Just spent gift cards for show) In the event somebody other than me goes home with it

Elmer - Good idea on the SC wallet. So far, no problems. But one time I did drop my wallet into the shadows below a bench, and about had a heart attack before I found it.

I usually keep a bunch of hundreds and fifties in a hidden pocket, I don’t like flashing a wad of cash anywhere. My pocket usually contains 2-300 in twenties, tens, & Fives, never more than 10-20 singles it’s easier to keep track of and if I spend more than the two or three hundred I keep in small bills it’s easy enough to slip a hundred out of its pocket and break it down buying a drink.

When I go out I carry about half in 20s and the other half in hundreds. I keep the wad folded in my pocket, with the 20s on the outside and the Benjis on the inside. This way I can discreetly reach into my pocket to peel off one or two bills at a time as needed without having to flash my cash.

I used to use all 20s, but it's too bulky nowadays with how much I need to carry just in case a good opportunity presents itself. It's also much easier to make a large sum payment using Benjies if I have a reason to do so. 😉

When dinner for two cost 80 bucks, and they started tacking on 3% for using a card, it only makes sense to carry some 100s.

A 20 doesn't buy what it used to.

To the OP, where would you even get a $100 or $50 bill for that matter that wasn’t a bank? Anything you get at a bank or ATM is very doubtful to be counterfeit. I believe their bill counters scan for fakes.

Anyway, since the thread is gravitating to what we carry, I use a variety. Big bills are less bulky, singles and 20’s have their obvious uses, and I like to carry a bunch of 10’s and 5’s so that if I need to make a precise payment or tip, I can do it in the amount I need and not feel like I have to round up where it’s not called for.

Has anyone ever gotten a counterfeit bill from an ATM?

Strippers, even when you're a regular, don't seem to want to express a preference for how you pay.

@shadow will most of the dancers at Vivide do a VIP for $200 including the $60 club cut?

@Hank: Ditto. I'll take $100s or $50s from an ATM at a bank. I'm not at all worried about cash I get at a bank's ATM. And I never ever use an ATM at a club for tracking and surcharges reasons.

$20s are way more common to dupe. I use a money clip and keep $50s/$20s in the "middle" then $10s, $5s and $1s on the outside.

At a strip club, I keep $50s and $100s in my hip pocket so I don't flash when I go in. My $20s are in sets of $100 so I only need to pull out 5 at a time from my front pocket which is not uncommon. And I keep $1s for the stage in a different pocket for easy access.

According to a ChatGBT query, $20s are the most counterfeited with $100s next. I still think if you get $100/$50s from a bank's ATM it is likely clean. Do they scan $20s and less? No idea. I'd hope all cash would be scanned before it gets to a bank.

A ft wallet sucks so I love hundreds. Never had an issue; anywhere

@Ski: that's why I use a carbon-fiber money clip and a small wallet for credit cards, medical cards, driver's license, Apple AirTag.

I have seen the eyes of a stripper light up when I gave her a hundred-dollar bill. Counting a bunch of twenties can be awkward but carrying a few fifties and hundreds is an easy way to impress some dancers.

I know a lot of people that shun $50 bills because they think they’re bad luck.

I like 50s. I think they're the best looking bills

My bank ATM gives $50's. $20's are more often counterfeited because they get less scrutiny.

I just don't get businesses having an aversion to $100's. There are more $100 bills in circulation than $1 bills. Have been for several years.

===> "I just don't get businesses having an aversion to $100's."

Convenience stores, fast food joints and other small retailers keep a limited amount of cash on hand to make change. They also often require cashiers to drop excess money into a safe if there is too much in their registers, which the cashiers often cannot lay their hands back on once they drop it.

There are a lot of reasons for this. Robbery risk is one. Fraud risk is another since a guy can give you a fake $100 for a small purchase and walk away with almost $100 in real cash.

$50s are the Goldilocks of currency. Not too big, not too small. Going to a club I'll usually have a few hundred in 50s for LDs and a good assortment of smaller bills for tipping, drinks, etc. $100s are too easy to get ripped off with wrong change, especially after I'm half shit-faced.

When I'm shit faced, it's the 50s that look like 20s. That is the only problem with 50s. Also, cashiers don't expect to see them, so you have to be alert when spending.

Other than that, they are a handy currency.

It should be illegal for them to refuse certain bills. Money is money

Actually, it says right on the bill that THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. Perhaps one of our legal experts could weigh in.

It may well be that refusing to take your $100 bill is technically illegal. But what are you going to do about it? Call the cops? Try to sure the place? Plus, an establishment probably has a right to refuse service as long as there's some plausible, legal reason to do so.

A business can decline to serve for any reason, as long as it is not for a reason that violates civil rights laws.

The cops I met in Tijuana were obviously very happy with the 50s and hundreds that I stupidly had in my wallet.

I've carried them around, but the only places I ever got one from are my bank and the ATM of a casino, so I feel absolutely safe they aren't counterfeit. The only real problem is you have to make sure you spend exactly $100 as far as strip clubs go.

===> "When I'm shit faced, it's the 50s that look like 20s."

Exactly, which is why I use 20s and Benjis.

Where the fuck do you all live where paying for anything with 100 isn't mainstream? Places check, but I always use cash and have never had an issue anywhere in the past 50 years.

===> "THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE"

The key term here is "debts." Creditors in theory cannot refuse cash, though in practice some make it hard to do. But ordinary businesses are free to set whatever terms of exchange that they want so long as it doesn't involve a civil rights violation.

A lot of the smaller merchants in my area, like Dunkin and some fast food joints, won't accept bills over $20.

Heck some of the big amusement parks and sports stadiums have already gone cashless, which makes sense. The logistics and manpower that must be needed to collect and centralize cash from all the different food stalls and game attractions, reconcile it against expected receipts and then deposit it must be a real bear. Then of course there are always the sticky fingers issues to deal with. Even with the processing fees, they are probably saving money.

Busch Gardens (Tampa) and Hershey Park (PA), by way to two large regional attractions, are now completely cashless. In each place I had to convert some cash to prepaid cards using vending machines provided by the park so that my teens could run around the park and do what they wanted.

^True as it seems that all of the corporate ski areas have gone cashless. Screws over the cafeteria cashiers, who used to get the leftover dollars and change.

I like big bills and I cannot lie.

The "George Costanza" wallet is NOT for me...lol

I've never yet had an issue with a club or a dancer accepting $100 bills, but maybe one day I'll try to write a dancer a personal check, just to see how that goes over. :)

Oh yeah, I only get my $100 bills directly from the bank...

One of my club pet peeves is dollar bills that look kind of nasty, and that also seem to have a weird smell... I try really hard to never leave a club with any of those still in my pocket!

Where ski lives, people buy $100 of donuts at Dunkin Donuts every day.

^ have you seen the cost of donuts these days, a dozen donuts cost almost $18.. plus tax

The only bill I've seen that I'm damn sure was counterfeit--and Helen Keller could have picked this one out--was a $5.
It doesn't cross my mind.

@25 Try getting a dozen donuts AND a dozen eggs!

I was in Las Vegas this past weekend. I believe I saw one of those "bill breaker"/ATM/Slot ticket machines that would NOT accept $100 bills. First for me.

This article is saying that iit's hard to counterfeit bills under $100 and make a profit: www.middletownpress.com .

www.nerdwallet.com