Greek woes leave newlyweds penniless in New York

Newlyweds Valasia Limnioti and Konstantinos Patronis’ long-planned dream trip to the US ended in New York, where their three-week honeymoon turned into a nightmare when their Greek-issued credit and debit cards were suddenly declined and they were left penniless.

“We were hungry, and I cried for two days,” Limnioti said. “I felt homeless in New York.”

The couple skipped a few meals before spending their last dollars on dinner at McDonald’s. Strangers from two Greek Orthodox churches in the city’s Queens borough came to the rescue, giving them survival cash until their flight home to Greece last night.

The couple’s US adventure started after their June 6 wedding in Volos, Greece, a port city several hours north of Athens.

Their coast-to-coast US trip that took in Los Angeles and a Caribbean cruise “was the dream trip of our lives”, Limnioti said.

They had saved for a whole year to pre-pay for flights and hotels, with enough cash left for both necessities and pleasures. Two Greek banks issued them cards before the trip — a Visa credit card and a debit card. In Greece, they generally pay in cash, which is preferred by businesses, but they were told to have cards for the US.

“Everything was all right — then ‘boom!’ in New York,” Limnioti said.

Their midtown Manhattan hotel asked them to pay a $45 surcharge.

That’s when their cards bounced. They paid with their dwindling funds.

Within days, the couple ran out of cash and “ couldn’t withdraw any money — zero”, Limnioti said.

On Tuesday, in despair, they reached out to the New York-based Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, which contacted the churches in Queens’ Astoria neighbourhood.

The honeymooners were offered about $350 (€315) from the St Demetrios Greek Orthodox church and another nearby one, St Irene Chrysovalantou.

Limnioti said relatives in Greece told them other Greeks abroad also were left penniless, including some patients in US hospitals who cannot pay for medical care.

She said she’s speaking out “because we Greeks are a proud people, and I want the world to know that we are not in this situation because we’re lazy or did something wrong”.

Their financial woes won’t be over once they get home.

Limnioti, 36, is unemployed after the small business for which she worked failed. Her 39-year-old husband still has his job as a helicopter engineer for the Greek military.

But in every sense, the couple’s honeymoon is over, with a financial sword of Damocles looming over their country.

“There are only three things saving us now: Our families, our friends, and our God,” Limnioti said.