Credit Cards in Greece

I just saw a post on CC in England but not for the Greek Islands.

I noticed that most tour companies you pay in euros at the end of a tour.

Do restaurants and retail shops take credit cards?

Thanks in advance for your replies.:)

The answer is yes,throughout the EU and other parts of Europe most restaurants and retail stores will take credit cards. Some places have minimums of 5 to 15€ to do the transaction. This is because small establishments pay a set fee per transaction, so they lose all their profit on tiny transactions.

It is also easy to stop at an ATM and pick up some Euros at your first stop in the EU using your bank card. Generally lower fees than a currency exchange and handy to have some cash for street vendors, a cold drink, tips etc.

I just saw a post on CC in England but not for the Greek Islands.

 

I noticed that most tour companies you pay in euros at the end of a tour.

 

Do restaurants and retail shops take credit cards?

 

Thanks in advance for your replies.:)

No problems at all with a credit card ive used mine all over Greece. But for smaller tranactions i just use Euros as its easier and a few places that sell food such as street vendors prefer cash.

When we were in Santorini in 1995, we attempted to get money from an ATM with our debit card, and the machine responded with "Insufficient Funds". We raced to an internet cafe to ensure our account had not been emptied somehow, and the money was still there. We used a debit card from a different bank for the rest of the trip.

When we got home, we found out that the European ATM's had a 4-digit PIN limit. As our PIN was 6-digits, it would not work.

Not sure if this is still the case, but something to check if you plan to use an ATM in Europe.

Yes, ATMs in Europe require a 4 digit PIN.

steamboats

The only credit card I've had problems with is American Excuse, sorry, American Express.

It's always a good idea to let your bank card and credit card company know your itinerary and if you expect to make any big expenses. I know this isn’t always possible to know in advance. This will ease some problems you encounter. I remember, for example, we were in Madrid and went to purchase a train ticket to Barcelona. Our purchase was denied so I called the credit card company and asked why. We were told that the station where we were trying to purchase the ticket had a high incident of pickpockets. I explained what we were trying to do and they cleared our purchase of the tickets. Annoying at first – yes. But much better than being hit with purchases you didn’t make and try to clear it up afterward. I would suggest that you check to see if your credit card company has a 1-800 number or a number for international calls, just in case.

At the risk of being impolite, Greece is a cash based country where everyone who can avoid taxes does.

That's why credit cards are accepted at a smaller % of places then any other European country.

Harder to hide your income when accepting credit cards .

There are many places that do take cards BUT you will pay for this privilege as these are higher priced places.

Higher priced but not necessarily higher quality.

So yes places do accept cards but you're better off not using them.

BTW, MRCRUZIN advice is very good. Always notify your CC company that you are away from home.

I would suggest that you check to see if your credit card company has a 1-800 number or a number for international calls, just in case.

Keep in mind 1-800 numbers do not work if calling from Europe to the US. Ask for a regular number or a "collect call" number.

At the risk of being impolite, Greece is a cash based country where everyone who can avoid taxes does.

That's why credit cards are accepted at a smaller % of places then any other European country.

Harder to hide your income when accepting credit cards .

There are many places that do take cards BUT you will pay for this privilege as these are higher priced places.

Higher priced but not necessarily higher quality.

So yes places do accept cards but you're better off not using them.

 

BTW, MRCRUZIN advice is very good. Always notify your CC company that you are away from home.

Very interesting information @ Greece being cash based to avoid paying taxes.:cool:

Thanks everybody for all the good advice:) I wanted to cover all my bases "just in case" I wanted to buy something expensive or dine at a nice restaurant. We plan on using our ATM cards to get euros for tours and small purchases. We also plan to notify our bank regarding our travel plans, we have CC that don't charge conversion fees and also our ATM cards are 4 digits. So we are set. I know the restaurants in Italy take CC. You all mentioned retail stores in Greece but didn't say anything about Resturants in Greece,only mentioned street vendors. Do the restaurants take CC?

Thank you so much for your help and good information:D

Make sure your credit cards have a chip and pin capability also.

Cheers, h.

Sent from the nether world using magic

There are not many US cards with Chip and PIN!

The messages you get on ATMs are not always accurate. If it refuses your request just put in a request for less. ATMs have limits on how much they will give out per transaction.

If you contact your credit card company they can usually issue a chip and pin card for you.

After a trip to Europe where our signature cards were constantly declined, and we had to rely on my sister, who lives un the UK, to pay for most things, we contacted our credit card Co for our 2009 cruise and had them issue us chip and pin cards. This was before they were readily available in Canada.

They are now the norm in Canada as well as most of Europe.

Cheers, h.

Sent from the nether world using magic

Keep in mind 1-800 numbers do not work if calling from Europe to the US. Ask for a regular number or a "collect call" number.

That is not true for all 800 numbers. It is dependent on what the company that owns the number agreed to pay for.

There are not many US cards with Chip and PIN!

Many banks are now offering this in the US. Citibank just issued me a new card with Chip and PIN on it.

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One should keep in mind that all of Europe (and just about all of the world outside the USA) now uses the Chip/PIN EMV credit card. US issued magnetic strip cards may or may not be accepted by merchants/restaurants. In fact, until we recently were able to obtain a Chip/PIN card we used to always ask restaurants, before we sat down, if they could accept our US cards. There were quite a few times were we were told "No" and either had to grab more cash from a nearby ATM or just move on to a different restaurant.

As to US Chip credit cards, one must beware! Some US banks are issuing Chip/Signature cards that are not PIN enabled. These will work in many European places where they obtain a signature, but are worthless is other places such as train ticket vending machines, gas pumps, parking lots, etc.

Hank

Good information on chip and pin cards here:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1304271-usa-emv-cards-available-today-chip-pin-chip-signature-130.html

If you click on the link under "Who Issues Them?" you'll get a frequently updated spreadsheet on the latest offerings.

The ideal is to get a card with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. Also be sure you are getting a chip and PIN card, not just a chip and SIGNATURE card.

That is not true for all 800 numbers. It is dependent on what the company that owns the number agreed to pay for.

 

 

Many banks are now offering this in the US. Citibank just issued me a new card with Chip and PIN on it.

 

 

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The issuers for all the cards I hold that I've used for overseas travel have told me I cannot use the 800# and have provided me an alternate number to call collect. YMMV.

Also, while Citibank offers them, they also charge a 3% foreign transaction fee -- at least on all the cards for which I (as an individual) am eligible.

Most no annual fee cards seem to charge for foreign transactions. The only card I have that does not do this is my Holland America card from Barclay.

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Most no annual fee cards seem to charge for foreign transactions. The only card I have that does not do this is my Holland America card from Barclay.

 

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Not at all true! In fact, some of the best cards are no fee. One very popular example is the CapitalOne Master Card which is well known among frequent travelers for having zero foreign exchange fees and no annual fees. Another excellent card is the Visa Card issued by Andrews Federal Credit Union. This card is fee free, can be issued with credit limits up to $50,000, has zero foreign exchange fees, and is also a Chip/PIN EMV card (hard to find in the USA).

Hank