“That will be 450 euros please,” said the young German woman behind the counter.

I was buying a GPS and a couple of bicycle saddlebags. I pulled out my credit card. It cost $505 USD.

But the woman shook her head. “We only accept cash.”

A restaurant declined my credit card later that afternoon. “Sorry,” said the server, “Cash only sir.”

If my credit card had feelings, it might have jumped off a bridge. Nobody wanted my card. Even our small hotel said no.