credit cards, atms, traveler's checks - oh my!

[happy cruzer]

I'm spoiled. I put everything on a credit card. Haven't used an atm, checkbook, or cash in a very long time.

 

I will be in Spain and France early next year, not in major cities most of the time.

 

I am going to check on my credit card for fees and exchange rates. I also think I will purchase some traveler's checks in euros here in the US.

 

So what is the most common way of paying for:

a rent car

a hotel room

a meal at a restaurant

a taxi

gasoline

 

Any and all advice from experienced European travelers is welcome.

 

Thanks

[jools44]

So what is the most common way of paying for:

a rent car Credit Card

a hotel roomCredit card

a meal at a restaurantCash or credit card

a taxiCash

gasolineCash or Credit Card

 

If I were buying the above thats what I would use. :)

[Hlitner]

I would generally agree with the previous post with one caveat. If you are going to use some of the smaller inns out in the countryside (these are often the best places to spend a few nights) you should be careful to check in advance that they take credit cards. There are still some inns and B&Bs that do not like plastic and this is also true for some restaurants. As to cash, we always use our ATM cards. We also carry some travelers checks for emergencies, but these things are getting hard to cash and we haven't used one in years. ATMs are the greatest invention for travelers since the airplane.

 

Hank

[Amaranthine33]

a rent car - credit card

 

a hotel room - credit card

 

a meal at a restaurant - depends on the restaurant (big restaurant and big bill - credit card........big restaurant and small bill - cash.....small restaurant, cafe, pub, taverna, etc. - always cash. I use the same

 

philosophy when shopping for souvenirs or clothes)

 

a taxi - cash

 

gasoline - cash

[sea-explorer]

 

So what is the most common way of paying for:

a rent car credit card

a hotel room credit card

a meal at a restaurant credit card..but yes, cash maybe if in the sticks.

a taxi cash

gasoline credit card.

 

Thanks

 

I agree with everyone.:)

 

As frequent visitors to France, we use cards, (debit & credit) for most things apart from localised shopping. (A supermarket shop we will use a card, ....a coffee or loaf etc will of course be cash.

 

I wouldn't bother with travellers cheques though, they have become fairly obsolete these days & you would perhaps need a bank to cash them. Use ATM's, unless your bank charges excessive amounts for overseas transactions.

 

We however, tend to take the cash with us, simply because of these charges. It is easier for us however as we are in the UK & perhaps don't need to carry too much actual cash for our shorter visits.

[whogo]

Forget the euro traveler's checks. You will pay about 5% to buy them. They are difficult to cash; there may be a fee, shops and restaurants will refuse them. What do you do with the leftovers? You will pay more than 5% to convert them back to dollars.

 

Assuming you live in the USA, you could take no fee US dollar traveler's checks as an emergency back up to your ATM and credit cards. Your cruise ship should convert the checks to foreign currency without bother. A couple of posters have reported exchange costs of about 5% on RCI and Celebrity.

 

You are wise to check you plastic's exchange costs. Get reacquainted with your ATM card and plan on using it for foreign currency. More details are here:http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm .

 

Similar information and comparisons of credit card/atm fees are here:

http://flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange

[KT32]

The last time I took traveller's checks to Europe was 1992 and even then they were a hassle to cash.

 

ATM's are everywhere, literally. Between a credit card and a bank card you should be more than covered.

[jlooneyb]

What about a ATM card linked only to a savings account?? We have heard that they are hard to use, if not impossible. A few of us on our roll call all got the Capital One Money Market acct that is a savings account. It has no Visa logo on it, just the Plus sign. It has no transaction fees, that was a big reason we got it.