Which credit card is best to use in Europe?

Does anyone know what the best credit card/bank is for making card transactions in Europe? We will be there next month on the Brilliance. (Apparently some banks are adding as much as 3% to complete overseas transactions and this can be true even if you pay extra at the European merchant to have them convert Euros to dollars at the time of sale.

In June, we used our Midwest Airline Master Card (Juniper Bank) all over Europe and had 2% fees on all transactions. I do not know if this applies to Master Cards issued by other banks. It didn't make a difference if it was converted prior or not.

I heard some VISA's have or may be doing away with the fees - check with them.

And I've also heard that maybe American Express is fee free.

I've used Visa, MC and Am Ex all over the world with no problem. The only time any CC would be a problem is if you're dealing with a very small store. Some don't take CC at all and other's will only take either Visa or MC.

We contacted our CC company and let them know we were traveling in France and Belguim. It just gave them a heads up, espcecially with our daughter having our card and staying behind.

I have had no trouble using Visa or MC over seas. Watch out for the smaller towns as some cafes or pubs don't take CC. I found that American Express was not as widely accepted as the other two. Have fun.

We were recently notified by AMX that they will now add 3% fee like many other cards. I don't see any way around it.

I don't think you'll have any problems using a CC but yes, I think they all now charge a "conversion fee" of 2 - 3 percent. I now a while back we got a letter from CitiBank saying effective (I think it was April 1, 2005) they would be adding 2% surcharge to charges made in a foregin currency.

Unless you are going somewhere extremely rural, ATM's are everywhere in European cities. I found that it was cheaper to get my daily $300/400 dollars out of the local ATM's (they spit out in the local currency so don't get more than you need) and only used the CC for larger purchases like hotels etc. Make sure the symbol on your debit/ATM card is accepted internationally, you can check with the PAL /Cirrus system website.Hope this helps.

Does anyone know what the best credit card/bank is for making card transactions in Europe? We will be there next month on the Brilliance. (Apparently some banks are adding as much as 3% to complete overseas transactions and this can be true even if you pay extra at the European merchant to have them convert Euros to dollars at the time of sale.

If you use your ATM card instead of a CC you can pull 300/400 dollars per day in any city in Europe and save the CC fees. The money from the ATM is local currency Euros.

Does anyone know what the best credit card/bank is for making card transactions in Europe? We will be there next month on the Brilliance. (Apparently some banks are adding as much as 3% to complete overseas transactions and this can be true even if you pay extra at the European merchant to have them convert Euros to dollars at the time of sale.

The only way to withdraw cash from the ATM abroad is to use the credit card, not national ATM-cards. In shops in Europe, Visa and MasterCard are the best accepted, and at least Visa doesn't take anything extra when paying with the card. Only when you use the ATM, they take a fee.

Sorry but you are wrong!

Just got back from Florence Italy and used my Wells Fargo debit card in ATMs all over the place.

The only way to withdraw cash from the ATM abroad is to use the credit card, not national ATM-cards. In shops in Europe, Visa and MasterCard are the best accepted, and at least Visa doesn't take anything extra when paying with the card. Only when you use the ATM, they take a fee.

ATM cards most often work (to get money from an ATM not necessarily as a debit card purchase.) Sometimes in France vendors don't know how to use American credit cards because of the swipe/chip thing. All French readers can take the swipe, so if the clerk is willing to try something new it's not an issue. Most of the time one they see that your card has no chip they know what to do.

Which card is best? I dunno. The dollar is worth peanuts compared to the euro (or the British Pound) so everything in Europe is going to be really expensive. I find it's easiest to withdraw the maximum daily amount from an ATM then use my visa for bigger purchases. Call whoever issued your card before you go so you know the rules.

Also call the number on the back of the card to ask them what to do if your card gets lost or stolen while in Europe. You won't be able to call an 800 number from a European phone so what do they recommend? I've had this issue before but I can't remember how we fixed it.

Europe rocks!

I'm an American living in Europe... here's the scoop...

You can use your regular bank card at ATMs all over Europe. If you find a machine that doesn't work, go on to the next one you see --- you may find an occasional network that is not cooperating. They generally do not charge a fee to get money (like ATMs in the States) and you will get whatever translation rates your bank applies, but generally it is a good deal.

You can not use Discover in Europe (most places haven't even heard of it), and there are a lot of places that will not take American Express. Diner's Club is usable in some restaurants, but not many.

Your best bet is Mastercard and Visa if you want to charge. You will see signs for "Carte Bleue" in France and other countries and this refers to cards with a chip in them.... doubt you have one from the states although you might. Visa and Mastercard are taken virtually everywhere except small shops. And hardly anyone takes a check.... especially if it is in USD.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

Sorry but you are wrong!

 

Just got back from Florence Italy and used my Wells Fargo debit card in ATMs all over the place.

Ok then, I believe you, you must have a different thing from us. Our ATM-cards do not work anywhere else than in our own country. Only credit cards are good for using ATMs abroad, in the U.S. and in other countries in Europe. It would be really neat to be able to use the bank card abroad and not having to carry different cards with you..

I seem to remember reading some time ago that only 4-digit PINs are acceptable in Europe, when trying to make a withdrawal from an ATM.

Can anyone address that?

T

My debit card has the "Visa" logo on it but is a debit card primarily, I do have a 4 digit code for my pin and used it with no problem in Europe, I do not know the answer as to the # of digits that are acceptable as mine only has 4.

Good luck!

I seem to remember reading some time ago that only 4-digit PINs are acceptable in Europe, when trying to make a withdrawal from an ATM.

 

Can anyone address that?

 

T