Credit cards in Europe

[drafj7]

Do most restaurants and stores in Paris and London take credit cards.

Thanks.

[curiouscat]

Visa and Mastercard....

 

Not so much Am Ex or Discover

 

CC

[Wine-O]

Do most restaurants and stores in Paris and London take credit cards.

Thanks.

 

Yes, both MasterCard and Visa. Some/few take American Express. Visa seemed to be the more prominent card. Some of your smaller mom/pop places will only take cash, so be cautions. They will have the logos on the windows outside on what credit cards they take.

 

We were at Heathrow transferring planes to Italy and the small concession took my credit card for drinks & snacks.

 

Most of the European credit cards have a chip, so when you make a purchase at a shop/store, it goes into a machine and you type in your pin. They will provide you a slip to sign.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Wine-O

[Michidoeme]

Most of the European credit cards have a chip, so when you make a purchase at a shop/store, it goes into a machine and you type in your pin. They will provide you a slip to sign.

 

You don't have to do both. It is either one or the other if card has chip :

- you give in your PIN (no slip to sign), or :

- you still get a slip to sign (or sign electronically)

 

I use mostly American Express in Europe, but as said before, certain places do not take it because too much fee charged by AMEXCO, then I use VISA. Also bank card (MAESTRO) is accepted everywhere where payment by card is possible.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Michidoeme

[brian_uk]

Do most restaurants and stores in Paris and London take credit cards.

Thanks.

 

It is very rare these days certainly in London to see anything but Cards used when paying bills.

 

Brian

[Wine-O]

You don't have to do both. It is either one or the other if card has chip :

- you give in your PIN (no slip to sign), or :

- you still get a slip to sign (or sign electronically)

 

 

Yes, I guess my post was a little confusing. The OP is from the U.S. and will most likely not have a credit card with a chip, so will have to sign the slip. :)

Edited April 9, 2014 by Wine-O

[Biker19]

Make sure you tell your bank you are going overseas - they might block your card otherwise.

[daisymay1960]

Strangely we are civilised over here , and using cards is pretty much the norm :rolleyes:

 

As said before we use chip and pin but I have seen the swipe facilty on the machines , and in fact have had to use the swipe facility in Europe , cant remember if its still so tho

 

There will be very few places that only take cash , but there my be smaller places that put a spend minimum on the cards , normally around £5

[Wine-O]

Strangely we are civilised over here , and using cards is pretty much the norm :rolleyes:

 

As said before we use chip and pin but I have seen the swipe facilty on the machines , and in fact have had to use the swipe facility in Europe , cant remember if its still so tho

 

There will be very few places that only take cash , but there my be smaller places that put a spend minimum on the cards , normally around £5

 

Yes, we Colonists are not quite civilized yet. :rolleyes::D:D

[Chunky2219]

Yes, we Colonists are not quite civilized yet. :rolleyes::D:D

Don't feel bad. I'm sure chip and PIN will get there eventually.

 

 

.

[lucinjo]

One other thing you should know. Most credit cards charge a "foreign transaction fee" of somewhere between 2 and 4%. It can save you considerable money to get a credit card without this fee. If they don't tell you prominently "no foreign transaction fee" the Credit Card almost certainly charges one. This can also apply to foreign vendors (hotels and airlines) when booking online from the US. Check the fine print to see what bank they process through.

We got a no fee card with a moderate limit that we specifically use for foreign travel.

[gdpups]

After the Target fiasco it's been reported conversion to chip and pin is on the way in the US. From what I've read the only time you will have problems in Europe with the chip but without the pin is if you are trying to purchase tickets from a machine for say the train.

 

When I went to Europe last summer I did research and did get a card with a chip and pin, but very few companies offered it at the time. A friend is traveling to Europe in June and just asked AMEX and was told cards with chip and pin are available with them, you just have to ask for it.

 

If you do get a card with a chip be sure you research how to keep it protected, there are scammers out there with devices that can read the info off the chip, so you need a special sleeve or I've read to at least cover the card with foil.

[Wine-O]

One other thing you should know. Most credit cards charge a "foreign transaction fee" of somewhere between 2 and 4%. It can save you considerable money to get a credit card without this fee. If they don't tell you prominently "no foreign transaction fee" the Credit Card almost certainly charges one. This can also apply to foreign vendors (hotels and airlines) when booking online from the US. Check the fine print to see what bank they process through.

We got a no fee card with a moderate limit that we specifically use for foreign travel.

 

Visa and MasterCard normally charge 1% conversion fee only. I think the foreign transaction fee would only apply to debit cards used in ATM's.

[orchestrapal]

Yes, I guess my post was a little confusing. The OP is from the U.S. and will most likely not have a credit card with a chip, so will have to sign the slip. :)

 

Why would you say that? Our Master Cards and Visa cards have had chips for years. There are many places in Europe as well as Great Britain where non-chip cards are no longer taken. What is hard to get in the US is a Chip £ PIN card.

[ORV]

Visa and MasterCard normally charge 1% conversion fee only. I think the foreign transaction fee would only apply to debit cards used in ATM's.

 

Mike, the conversion fee and the foreign transaction fee are 2 different things altogether. The FTF is a fee many credit card companies charge because they can. There are fewer cards that DON'T charge a FTF than do. Definitely not just an ATM debit card thing. Odds are most people will get charged this.

 

The conversion fee on the other hand is converting from one currency to another. Generally you won't see this as a line item on your bill like you will the FTF. At least on my cards I never see it. It's buried in the transaction amount. You are more likely to see this on an debit card ATM transaction.

[terrierjohn]

 

If you do get a card with a chip be sure you research how to keep it protected, there are scammers out there with devices that can read the info off the chip, so you need a special sleeve or I've read to at least cover the card with foil.

The scammers only operate when you are using your card for a purchase or at an ATM, and you would need to remove any sleeve before use, so I think someone has been hoodwinking you on this.

The recommendation is that you always put your other hand over the keypad so no hidden camera can see your PIN, which is the only way scammed info from the card could ever be used fraudulently.

[Christine Frances]

The scammers only operate when you are using your card for a purchase or at an ATM, and you would need to remove any sleeve before use, so I think someone has been hoodwinking you on this.

The recommendation is that you always put your other hand over the keypad so no hidden camera can see your PIN, which is the only way scammed info from the card could ever be used fraudulently.

 

No Hoodwinking at all!!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_identity_theft

 

We have a protective cover for our passport as they now have chips imbeded and also special covers for our credit cards. Someone just has to stand beside you to read the info

[ghstudio]

Visa and MasterCard normally charge 1% conversion fee only. I think the foreign transaction fee would only apply to debit cards used in ATM's.

 

The standard fee the buyer, you, pay is 3% not 1% and it generally applies to all transactions that enter the system outside the US...irrespective of currency. I say this because some foreign stores, services...e.g. Hertz...offer to help you by converting your charges to US dollars (at a favorable rate to them) and then you still pay the 3% on top of that because the charge, even though in dollars, comes from the UK, for example.

 

Never allow anyone to covert funds for you abroad before you charge something...get it charged in their currency. However (there's always a however), if you have bargained for something, or if you have been quoted a price in US dollars, then make sure they charge you in US Dollars. If you let them convert it back to their currency, it was just a sneaky way for them to make more money on the conversion.

[upwarduk]

Make sure you tell your bank you are going overseas - they might block your card otherwise.

 

I told my bank and still had my debit card blocked by Winn Dixie, in the Keys about a month ago.

They did however accept my credit card, but I had to sign & put my PIN number in.

I didn't like the way restaurants took my card away & then brought it back with chits to sign. In the past this has led to it being used for fraud.

In the UK, a machine will be brought to your table, when you say you want to use a (chip & pin) card to pay. You just put your PIN number into the machine and a receipt is produced.

I very, very rarely use cash.

[softail]

Do most restaurants and stores in Paris and London take credit cards.

Thanks.

 

I always use my Visa Credit card and never have any issues at all until my last trip in October. I wasnt able to use it at most locations in Istanbul because i dont have a pin and they required one. So at that point i used my debit card that does have one and it worked fine. Had no issues with it in Italy/Greece/Spain/Malta/Egypt/Cyprus/Sicily/France/Germany/Austria/Denmark.

[steamboats]

Although most of the hand held devices reading a credit card to use the chip here in Europe you quite seldom have to use a PIN. You still sign a slip. And those hand held devices can still be used with the magnetic strip of your card (they can slide the card on one side of the device).

 

PINs have to be used at all machines which are not manned meaning: gas station where you pay at the pump or ticket machines. In shops and restaurants I was only once asked for my PIN (in France) and when I replied I don´t know it I was able to sign the slip.

 

steamboats

[upwarduk]

In UK I NEVER sign, I ALWAYS use my Pin.

[softail]

Although most of the hand held devices reading a credit card to use the chip here in Europe you quite seldom have to use a PIN. You still sign a slip. And those hand held devices can still be used with the magnetic strip of your card (they can slide the card on one side of the device).

 

PINs have to be used at all machines which are not manned meaning: gas station where you pay at the pump or ticket machines. In shops and restaurants I was only once asked for my PIN (in France) and when I replied I don´t know it I was able to sign the slip.

 

steamboats

 

All i know is at the restaurant in Istanbul they were using a hand held device and neither my or the other couples Visa cards would work because we didnt have a PIN. So had to use a debit thad had a PIN. Now at a carpet store and also a ceramic store my GF used her Visa twice and it worked fine and she has no PIN for it.

[newgrange]

In Ireland, the UK and anywhere I have been in Europe for at least the last ten years, I have never had to sign. Chip and PIN all the way.

 

Like upwarduk, I would have reservations about letting anyone take my card away. It's leaving yourself wide open to skimming and fraud.

[Wine-O]

The standard fee the buyer, you, pay is 3% not 1% and it generally applies to all transactions that enter the system outside the US...irrespective of currency. I say this because some foreign stores, services...e.g. Hertz...offer to help you by converting your charges to US dollars (at a favorable rate to them) and then you still pay the 3% on top of that because the charge, even though in dollars, comes from the UK, for example.

 

Never allow anyone to covert funds for you abroad before you charge something...get it charged in their currency. However (there's always a however), if you have bargained for something, or if you have been quoted a price in US dollars, then make sure they charge you in US Dollars. If you let them convert it back to their currency, it was just a sneaky way for them to make more money on the conversion.

 

That's not the case with my credit cards and debit cards (ATM card). When I use my Visa or MasterCard Credit Card (USAA), I get the interbank rate for the charge, and Visa/MasterCard charges 1% for the foreign conversion fee. So, when I get my statement, I get two line items - one for the charge (the interbank rate), and the other for the 1% conversion fee. Your credit card may be charging you more, but that's up to the bank you deal with.

 

For my Debit Card (ATM card) to withdraw money from a European Bank ATM, my bank, TD Bank, charges me no ATM fees, no conversion fees, and no foreign transaction fees. I get the interbank rate for the day of transaction.

 

Now, there is another fee that you may be referring to. It's called Dynamic Currency Conversion, better known as DCC. This is when the merchant converts your purchase on the spot from the local currency (Euro/Pounds) to Dollars. This adds about 3% to the cost of the purchase for the merchant doing this conversion. You should always demand that the merchant charge you in the local currency, and let Visa/MasterCard do the conversion. So, if you see a credit card transaction converted into dollars, you should ask the merchant to do the transaction in the local currency, or it will cost you 3%. They are supposed to ask you, but they don't. It's a big scam, and I was suckered into in Ireland back in 2002 before I learned about it, and I understand it is moving onto the Europe mainland.