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.