Which Charge Card for Europe?

[daisysmom]

I have noticed on several websites for tours etc that Mastercard isn't listed but Visa is. I don't have a Visa card anymore just MC and Amex. I will get a Visa if it is the most widely used but prefer not to. Does anyone have any experience with MC not being accepted? Our cruise is the Western Med so it would be the major cities. I do know that I will be required to pay cash for some of the private tours but if I decided to shop I would use my card. Thanks

[Cruise Junky]

I don't think there's many places that take Visa but don't take MC. AMEX might be an issue as vendors have to pay higher rates. I didn't experience any issue with my MC in Europe.

[cberge]

Get a Visa card...really much easier to use there.A lot of places do not like AMEX as they cost them to much,and MC while usable is not always the card of choice in a lot of places.

[Globaliser]

Does anyone have any experience with MC not being accepted?

I don't think I've ever come across this, or indeed with Visa not being accepted by a place that takes Mastercard. The only card that is sometimes not taken, IME, is Amex (as reported by many other people).

 

But then I don't normally travel even as far as the office without spare cards of each variety. I would barely notice if one card is declined for any reason, whether by the merchant or because something's gone wrong in the processing. It's always useful, whether at home or abroad, to have some spare credit cards that you don't normally use, just in case something doesn't work properly with your primary cards.

[cruise52]

If you can, check out getting a Capital One card. Last year we cruised to Europe and used the Capital One Visa card. At that time there was no charge - 0% fees charged for transactions. To my knowledge they were the only credit card company that did not charge transaction fees for charges in Europe. My understanding is most other companies do. We are going on Eastern Mediterranean cruise this year and I am hoping this is still the case. Good Luck.

[Ephraim]

Since I don't have a Visa and I've never had a problem in Europe, I guess that it's not really an issue.

 

Could be the fact that it's NOT called MasterCard in Europe that is misleading you. A lot of Europeans call it EuroCard. And in France, Visa is commonly known as Carte Bleu (Blue Card).

 

In any case, you will have trouble with some cards in France because they use the chip already and automated machines require it. You will need to have transactions manually processed at wickets or cashiers.

[kit9172]

I just read on a site which lists cc fees and capital one is the only one that does not have a fee. Get that one as it will save you at least 3 % on transactions.

[DavidandPaula]

We had no problems with our motley collection of cards last July either on the cruise or in London and Rome pre/post cruise.

 

I have a debit Visa card plus various Visa and mastercard Credit cards. Paula had a similar collection plus some pre deposit Visa cards for GB Pounds and Euros.

 

We did notice a lot of places with signs saying they would not accept Diners or Amex, we also see that a lot in Australia when we are on holidays locally.

 

In most ports we found cash in the form of Euros was all that was accepted but in Istanbul they would take anything at most places. The rate of exchange on the ship was so bad that we would try to stock up early in the day or just before returning to the ship if the next ports currency was the same. We went ashore in Turkey with US Dollars and did not need to convert any currency. In the Grand Bazaar for the bigger purchases they took us to a money convertors to use our cards.

 

David

[daisysmom]

Thanks for the responses. David I completely forgot that my debit card is a Visa so that will work out as long as I remember to fill up the account!! How did Paula get the deposit Visa card for pounds and Euros?

[Softball20]

As other posters have mentioned, be sure to check with your bank on their foreign transaction fees. Some do charge up to 3%. We went to Europe last year and got a Capital One card for that very reason. I did a lot of research, and they were the only card that did not charge such a fee. Note that this is not a currency conversion fee as most places will charge when you exchange money, it is simply a fee on every foreign transaction. Also, be sure to let you cc companies know where you will be traveling so you don't run into any problems with the transactions being approved.

[Crusin6]

If you can, check out getting a Capital One card. Last year we cruised to Europe and used the Capital One Visa card. At that time there was no charge - 0% fees charged for transactions. To my knowledge they were the only credit card company that did not charge transaction fees for charges in Europe. My understanding is most other companies do. We are going on Eastern Mediterranean cruise this year and I am hoping this is still the case. Good Luck.

It too hope that is still the case as I am planning to use Capital One. If however, I find out they are charging then I am going to call ALL of the credit cards I have and find the best one to use. If I have to pay fees I might as well get my points!:D

[twoputt.plusone]

I saw this thread yesterday so I called my cc company this morning. They charge a flat $5 fee for cash withdrawals and add 2.5% to the exchange rate for all charges. At that point, I figured I had nothing to lose and told them about Capital One, asking if they would match it. Nope! :( Now I have to decide if it's worth the hassle of applying for a new cc, knowing that I'd only use it overseas. So far, I haven't decided.

 

2P.P1

[CorgiGuy]

Hi all,

 

Here is a web site which might be helpful to some. Copy it into your IE browser & check it out.

 

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

 

It list a number of credit & ATM/Debit cards by financial institution, along with transaction fees charged for each.

 

Of course, I would still avise contacting the financial institution directly, to verify their policy hasn't changed.

 

Stay well,

 

CorgiGuy

[photographia]

CorgiGuy, this is an awesome site! Thanks so much for posting it!

[NAS-KARR]

I cut up my AMEX~ ~ ~too much of a pain. Go VISA.

[DavidandPaula]

Thanks for the responses. David I completely forgot that my debit card is a Visa so that will work out as long as I remember to fill up the account!! How did Paula get the deposit Visa card for pounds and Euros?

 

Paula works for the ANZ Bank here in Australia. It was just one of the options available so she threw a couple of thousand dollars each into the 2 cards, Euros and GB Pounds. During the cruise she was able to transfer a bit more by going into her Internet banking account. When we returned she transferred the balance back to her account and closed them. They have the advantage of getting the exchange rate current when you put the money in. She put in a small amount then kept an eye on the exchange rates and transferred the bulk of the money at the right time.

 

My debit visa card is for my credit union which I deposit my salary into and do all my bill paying and shopping. Has the nice feature of no transaction fees for most Visa transactions I do.

 

As long as the card has the 4 digit PIN then it should be okay, plus I gave our itinerary to the card providers.

 

David

[CorgiGuy]

CorgiGuy, this is an awesome site! Thanks so much for posting it!

 

Glad you found the site useful!!!!

 

PS: If you ever plan on going to Alaska, I did quite a bit of research before our land/cruise trip in 2006.:p

 

Stay well,

 

CorgiGuy

[cruise52]

Keep in mind that while some banks here in the US (Bank of America) don't charge transaction fees here at home when using your Visa/ATM card, they usually charge 3%, or more, when using your ATM/visa card, either as a charge or as a debit when outside of the US. This is what I was told by BofA last year. For that reason, I used my Capital One Visa card for all transactions when overseas and then paid it when we came home. There were NO FEES (outside of actual charges). I did use my BofA debit card to take cash out and was charaged 1.5% each time - it does add up. The reason I did not use the Capital One to withdraw cash as there would have been a fee of 3% for cash advance, since my Capital One is only a credit card. This year when we take our cruise, I plan to get enough cash so as to hopefully avoid these fees. I hope this info is useful.

[cruise52]

Correction to previous post - I think BofA charged me 3% for cash withdrawals, not 1.5% - can't be sure, but I remember it was a lot after I added up all my trips to the ATM for cash.

[PIC-2 psychologist]

This upcoming Mediterranean cruise and additional time in Barcelona and Venice has led to an expansion of my personal financial competence in a variety of ways. I researched my cc's and looked into ATMs and their fees. Current conclusions (tell me if I'm wrong please!):

(1) NEVER take a $$ advance from a credit card (like the blank checks they send you all of the time). You pay unbelievably high interest from the moment you get the money (if you need to borrow money this way, it should be for basic transportation or food, not international travel).

(2) Capital One has said to me that if I maintain a $5,000 balance in my newly opened checking account for which I have debit cards, I will get euros and they will reimburse all ATM charges. There will be no currency conversion charge.

(3) Finding out that Discover is not in Europe (started in UK and had major problems) and my other cards charge 1% and 3% also obtained Visa cards from Capital One (with 4-digit pins) so for major restaurant costs or purchases sent directly home I can charge to card and pay when returned home when purchases arrive. Capital One assures me that they will not charge a currency conversion fee.

(4) Although I have read at a nearby posting that this USD/euro imbalance is temporary, for those of us headed to Europe in 2-4 months we will just bite the bullet. The cruise as a vehicle is paid in USD, allows multiple ports without the security hassles of airports. We are taking a US habit to Europe and are trying "VRBO" (vacation rentals by owner) apartment rentals providing kitchen, washing machine, views and the chance to actually shop in markets and eat only one meal out in Barcelona and Venice each day while touring on our own.

Good luck to all readers. Any advice?

David

[daisysmom]

Thanks for the advice on Capital One. As a Canadian I thought it was just an American card. After reading your posts I did a search and we can get a Canadian card that has no fees of any kind and gives air miles. I shall certainly get one. My bank is HSBC and in other travels - South America and the far east their ATM's were in every city I needed one and they didn't charge any fees to withdraw cash. I am hoping it will be the same on this trip. It does have the Cirrus logo so at least I will be able to get cash if there isn't an HSBC available. We start off in London so I am going to buy enough £ and €'s to at least pay taxi fares etc. I can only imagine what the line would be like at the ATM's in Heathrow.