Starbucks, traveler's checks, and me

Not that I would give a traveler's check at Starbucks, but some people obviously do, because there's a new policy in effect come Monday.

I stopped for my regular Tuesday afternoon tall cup of coffee and quickly noticed the sign over the cash register. Come the 25th, no more personal checks or traveler's checks. The former I understand. The latter? I had to ask. After all, traveler's checks, as I convinced many a clerk over our travels last summer, are as good as cash.

Not in the eyes of Starbucks. They are now being counterfeited. Well, now, isn't that a set-back for the traveling public. I guess the world really is coming to cards, credit, debit and otherwise. So I paid with my black $25-a-year, 10%-off-all-purchases Starbucks card (I think it's paid for itself by now and I'm on gravy), and left.