I finally started packing a flat $20 bill in my sock after a bus station in Chicago ate my card
The ATM inside the terminal charged me $6.50 and then froze my card with no cash out, so now I keep a hidden $20 for snacks and taxis and I want to know if anyone else has a backup stash spot that has actually saved them.
That $6.50 ATM fee in Chicago is rough, and then freezing your card with no cash is just insulting. I keep a twenty folded up in my phone case, and it saved me last winter when a cab driver's card reader died on the way to O'Hare. Stashing cash somewhere boring like a sock or a phone case beats a wallet that can get swiped or dropped.