Credit Cards and Currency for Travellers

I thought I’d jot down some credit card / money experiences from a trip to Italy. Seems it always comes up right before we travel. Which cards should we take, do we need cash, how much, where to exchange currency, etc. Again, this is specific to Italy, if you have other experiences in differing countries then please post.

Credit Cards: What works and what doesn’t work

Europe uses “chip and pin” where the card has a little electronic chip in it and there’s an associated PIN with it. To pay they insert the card into a device, punch in the amount, and then the customer enters their PIN to authorize. YOU CAN NOT USE USA BANK CREDIT CARDS LIKE THIS

USA Credit cards: Most credit cards now have a chip and they work flawlessly in Italy. The only difference is the USA cards are treated as “chip and sign” not “chip and pin”. Just means that when they process the transaction you have to sign the receipt versus punching in a PIN. It’s not a problem at all in Italy. Many basic credit cards charge a fee for foreign transactions like 3% in the case of mine so I upgraded to chase explorer which doesn’t charge.

Travel Credit Cards: We also have a Travelex credit card which is a true “chip and pin” which we can load up with money at anytime via their website and store various currencies on the card. We got this card years ago because we were traveling through different countries with different currencies. Works well but there’s a commission to load the card and the exchange rate probably isn’t optimal. Good option to have as a back-up.

Old USA credit cards: you know them as “swipe and sign”, no chip. There are places that will take them, saw a guy rent a car with one, but you’ll be dead in the water if that’s your only plan. Don’t do it.

Cash / Euros:

You’ll need euros for day to day stuff because many places won’t take a credit card for purchases under 15-20 Euro because I’ve heard there’s a “surcharge” on smaller transactions. Want a quick espresso and pastry or bottle of water, use cash. How much you need really depends as I prefer to use a credit card everywhere I can and then default to cash when required. I’ll usually start with a couple hundred Euro and then hit the ATM as/when required.

Exchanging currency:

We’ll usually get some Euros to start with at a place in the US like Thomas Cook. It’s not great, so I’ve heard, but it’ll make it easy if you need to immediately buy a bus ticket or get a bottle of water after landing. We REALLY had a hard time exchanging dollars for Euros at the banks in Italy, in fact, we couldn’t. They would only do it for their customers.

ATM card to the rescue: I have a BofA ATM debit/visa card (has a chip and pin) which works like a champ for getting cash from any of the major bank ATM machines (bancomat) and they’re all over. BankAmerica service charge of $5 and a fee from the issuing bank if not in BoA partner list and the exchange rate was good. Also, I’ve used the ATM card for purchases, it acts like a “chip and sign”. This really is an all around good solution.

My ATM debit/credit card from Citibank works for purchases in Europe and Chip and Pin only places like train tickets and gas pumps. It is nice to have. I have also tried it in restaurants and sometimes it is chip and pin and sometimes it is chip and sign but it always works. No foreign transaction fee.

Not sure why you would want to even attempt to go to a bank and exchange dollars to euros. It won’t even work here in America. ATM is almost always your best bet. Thomas Cook is usually a rip off.

George

You can also order euros from your bank. Takes a couple days to get them. The rate is not great but I’ll do that if I need a larger amount to pay cash for an apartment/house rental rather than trying to take all that cash out of an ATM when I’m over there. Most of the time I will just get euros from ATM at my bank’s corresponding bank in whatever country I’m in to avoid the bank charge.

B if A has a $5 charge for accessing foreign ATMs, no? Best debit cards for foreign cash are Schwab or Vanguard cards (or similar). Not only is my Schwab fee free, but they credit the other banks ATM fee for the first four each month, foreign or domestic.

I have done this also when paying for apartments. The rate is good. The odd thing (at least to me) is that they UPS me the Euros… [wow.gif]

George

Barry, if you use their corresponding bank which is different in each country then the $5 charge is waived. You can find a list on BoA’s website.

George, or you can have them sent to your local branch and just pick up which is what I do.

Maybe true but who wants to hunt for specific ATMs. You always want to access them upon arrival at the airport. On $60 or less it’s cheaper to use Thomas Cook than BofA at a non partner bank.

Also, it goes without saying, but a friendly reminder, check the terms and benefits of your CC and make sure it has free foreign transaction fees.

I could… but the bank told me they assume all the risk re: UPS shipment. So I figured why not. I don’t get to the bank very much anymore…

George

I always have leftover euros from the last trip so no rush to get euros. I also don’t go out of my way to find a specific bank but for example if I’m in the center of Beaune they are all close so easy to go to the partner bank.

A really useful post Brig

Good to see the Travelex credit card option for US folk, as we’ve been using a similar one here as a Euro cash card (FairFX) but at the time you had to be resident in Europe to get one (not sure why). I find them very useful, not just in Eurozone countries, but also if buying stuff off the internet and avoiding poor currency conversion rates. Ours does have a charge for taking money out of cashpoints, but a better exchange rate, so as long as we take more than ~ 250EUR out at any time, we’re better off. Even better, all other withdrawals have no charge so the better exchange rate really works well for that.

The Eurozone has also encouraged us to hold onto some euros after each trip, because be it Ireland, Italy, Holland or elsewhere, we’re likely to need euro cash within the next year or so. No changing cash back on return these days, or buying stuff in duty free just to get rid of the guilders, lira etc. You’re right that arriving with some cash really does make life simpler. I recall a remarkably obnoxious US lady moaning to a bus driver that Holland must be a “two bit country” for not accepting US dollars. Had she been less of a jerk, I probably would have bought the bus ticket for her, but her attitude meant she’d have to get the next bus. Getting some currency before leaving home would have avoided the problem for her. Always worth asking people who have recently been to europe, if they have any spare euros and swap them for equivalent in your own currency. Even €20 gets you most things you’ll need and most people are happy to make the exchange.

In Italy (and probably a few other countries) you may occasionally encounter a place where the credit card machine doesn’t work. In the past this was more common, and it was commonly believed it would work if they actually tried it, it being a way of avoiding the surcharge on the shop / restaurant. I can’t remember the last time we experienced this - maybe 2-3 years ago, but then often we’re using the cash card which may well avoid the surcharge. Credit card acceptance is much wider than it used to be, though don’t bank on it being accepted everywhere… especially if diners club! Cash for smaller items is definitely expected and I don’t think Italy has much in the way of contactless payment (but I might be wrong - it’s quite big in the UK now)

Most bancomats either detect an overseas card and switch straight to English, or offer the first option as a language choice. Always apply the same caution of concealing pin entry and being wary of bancomats that aren’t on the side of (or inside) a bank. Some are housed inside the bank lobby, and require you to put your card in a reader to open the door (but no pin number), once inside you use the machines as normal & there is usually a button to press to re-open the outside door.

Finally, a note on coins. Many Italian shops, bars etc. carry very little loose change, and us tourists are notorious for turning up with notes (often €50 ones), so do try to use the coins wherever possible (I’m rubbish at doing this and have a large bag of 1c, 2c and 5c coins (the little copper coloured ones)

regards
Ian

I have never bothered to get foreign currency in advance since the ATM was invented.

I do often have a few leftover euros, if going to Lindon via HEX, you need a euro coin to get a luggage cart (refundable) at Paddington.

Don’t forget to notify your CC company/bank of your trip plans. First time I went to Europe I didn’t and I spent the first few hours of our second day abroad getting my card turned back on.

That’s a thing of the past for some cards. For others you can do it on line. Main thing is not to bring just one and keep them in different places.

It’s very card dependent. You don’t have to call Amex or Chase but if I don’t call Citibank my card never works. One time even when I did call them they denied a relatively minor transaction at a grocery store.

George

Not for my Fidelity card, but as you say, I can do it on line now.

I used my USAA Debit and USAA Visa in Italy and Austria with zero problems. Also used an AA Citi Mastercard for some train tickets over the phone with zero issue.
USAA refunded all ATM charges (unlimited) and the exchange rate was the daily buy rate. We started with a few Euros from a local bank, but not sure i would even do this in the future as the atm’s are right there when you walk off the plane. Why pay the fee to carry a different into the country? The rate isn’t as good and they charged a $7.50 transaction fee on top. Even the coffee shop in the Airport in Munich took Dollars same as they took Euros.

No charge at a couple of banks. 3 euro charge at Unicredit for BofA ATM withdrawl. No biggie. FYI I have a “preferred” debit card, don’t know why or if it even matters.

Inside the airport will accept pretty much any currency that planes fly into / out of. Outside the airport then it’s local currency, so things like shuttle buses, taxis, buying a bottle of water, etc. will need local currency.

Have had no problems with Chase Reserve across Europe - London, Dublin, Barcelona, Stockholm, Milan, Vienna, Paris, Oslo, Brussels and Amsterdam. Chip and sign, which has thrown several retailers off, so I usually say “signature” when they try to hand me the machine. I’ve had a couple of tax drivers “have problems with their machines (Paris, Brussels),” so I travel with 100 euros, just in case. Transportation-wise, much easier to use Uber in most of these markets outside of airport runs, although I’ve had a few GPS issues in AMS.

AmEx has been a fail in quite a few places, and I’ve gotten stuck picking up dinner for colleagues using their corp cards. Be careful there.