Not carrying cash in 2019 is completely normal, and being in NYC for the majority of the month only attracts more attention to you when you pull out your metro card and have a wad of ones in there. Even if it's only a few dollars that's an easy steal for someone compared to my cards.



I agree tipping the van driver is good practice, but to shame someone because they didn't have ones on them, in this day and age, is absurd.

 

To offer some perspective... for the last 10 years I haven’t had the need to carry cash at all except for tipping van drivers. The internet and smart devices have made the need to carry physical cash obsolete. I bank with USAA which only has a few physical branches. Most of their banking is online. Internet only savings banks like American Express High Yield savings offer 2%+ APY which is way better than what you get with a traditional bank. Using debit cards is not as safe as charge or credit cards so I almost exclusively use a charge card for everything and pay it off at the end of the month interest free. There’s direct deposit, mobile check deposit by taking a picture, transfer, PayPal, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Cash App, Venmo, etc. So there’s literally no need to carry cash except for tipping van drivers which is an inconvenience nowadays. The future is #cashless

 

I have tipped housekeeping up to $20 while in training for cleaning the kitchen. Usually, I leave a few bucks, in fact, I will stiff the van driver if I only have a few dollars, because housekeeping is more important, and they make less.

We don't actually make enough per diem as we should. For an overnight in New York, we should get $75 dollars from the company for these type of expenses. When I do contract work for another company(non-flying), they always provide me with these expenses.

 

I've banked with USAA for 20 years.
I use Apple pay on my phone to pay for 50% of my purchases (wherever it's accepted).
I always have at least a $20 for emergency purposes.
I've never had a problem tipping van drivers. EVER.
All these excuses are just that, excuses.
I was paid less than $40k for the first five years of my airline career. I tipped van drivers. You are now the best paid regional FOs in history. It's pathetic.
I tip van drivers more when I am not working. I tip housekeepers $5 when I'm not working. When I am working, I'll leave $1 if I've made a mess (crumbs everywhere or something like that). Otherwise, I leave the room in good condition.
Keeping $20 in ones in your flight bag is not difficult. No one saying you have to pull out a stack of cash on the subway, give me a break.

And let me reiterate: This is an Endeavor problem.

Oh, and for the record, I hate the tipping culture in the US.

 

I flew years with guys who gave the same lines and never saw them tip once. Even if that is true, you only have that excuse for one layover a trip, because there WILL be an opportunity to get cash before the next one, as well as on the layover itself.

The fact that 99% of 9E FAs tip and only 50% or fewer CAs do* is an embarrassment. Whether it's intentional or not, be aware that every van driver you don't tip is assuming you are just another cheapskate who lets the lower paid employees do all the tipping.


*assuming numbers are similar to when I was there

 

The FA probably doesn't have six figures in student debt to pay off either.

 

Just another excuse.

 

It’s a personal choice. You carry cash because you want/need to. Other people don’t carry cash because they don’t want/need to. I’m not going to go out of my way to get cash just for the van driver. If I happen to have cash, I’ll give them $1. I’m not going to make my banking system more inconvenient and inefficient for tipping people. Which is is archaic and unrealistic. If people have to rely on gratuity to get by maybe their employers should pay them more and include the higher labor costs in the cost of goods and services.
In many things the US is stuck a century behind. Also, there’s no need for tip shaming lol.

 

The FOs do and more of them tip for less pay... what's your excuse for that? I also guarantee you that your take home pay after student debt payments is will worlds ahead of what the FA is making. That might be a new contender for most ignorant aircrew statement I've heard. And that's including mainline pilots who think it's just a matter of paperwork to get hired at a major.


You just admitted that it's not that you "forget" to have tip money. You intentionally don't. I don't care for the tipping culture, but you are an embarrassment to the profession. And yes, there is a need for calling attention to this. Endeavor pilots and CAs specifically have a reputation now because of this of being cheapskates who aren't even honest enough to tell the truth about it. It's not an aircrew thing, it's not a generation thing, and it's not even a regional pilot thing. It's an Endeavor thing. Don't complain about not being treated like a professional if you can't act like one.

 

What YOU do with your money is your prerogative, what I do with my money is mine. I do enjoy how passionate you are about tipping though. I tip my hat to you, sir.