Credit Cards in Europe - PLEASE READ UPDATE IN POST #19 BEFORE POSTING HERE

[rrali33tt]

Do most vendors/retailors take Amex in Germany, France and England? I just called to get a replacement card with a chip in it to use abroad but was wondering if Amex is accepted in less places like here in the U.S. (some smaller mom and pop shops dont take Amex).

I don't want to travel with much cash. I will probably get $500 in euros to bring with me. Is that enough? too much?

I have so many things to do over the next two months wedding then ABD honeymoon! just trying to get all my ducks in a row. We both have never been to Europe so don't know what to expect.

 

[starry_solo]

Do most vendors/retailors take Amex in Germany, France and England? I just called to get a replacement card with a chip in it to use abroad but was wondering if Amex is accepted in less places like here in the U.S. (some smaller mom and pop shops dont take Amex).

I don't want to travel with much cash. I will probably get $500 in euros to bring with me. Is that enough? too much?

I have so many things to do over the next two months wedding then ABD honeymoon! just trying to get all my ducks in a row. We both have never been to Europe so don't know what to expect.

I did not see a lot of AMEX signs when I was in Germany and France (in 2009) and England (2013). I did, surprisingly, see Diner's Club signs. The main ones I saw were Visa and MasterCard.

You should bring at least 250 in each currency (England uses the pounds) and make sure you get small bills. Spend the change as quickly as possible as you cannot exchange the change for USD when you return.

If you have an ATM card, you might consider bringing that (if your bank does not charge foreign transaction fees for withdrawals).

 

[Cousin Orville]

Amex in Europe is hit or miss. Some retailers and restaurants accept it, but I'd consider bringing a Visa card w/o foreign transaction fees. I carry both with me.

 

[lovetotravel]

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[lost*in*cyberspace]

Do most vendors/retailors take Amex in Germany, France and England? I just called to get a replacement card with a chip in it to use abroad but was wondering if Amex is accepted in less [fewer] places like here in the U.S. (some smaller mom and pop shops dont take Amex).

I don't want to travel with much cash. I will probably get $500 in euros to bring with me. Is that enough? too much?

I have so many things to do over the next two months wedding then ABD honeymoon! just trying to get all my ducks in a row. We both have never been to Europe so don't know what to expect.

AMEX is not as widely accepted in Europe as Visa/MasterCard; try and bring a Visa/MC which doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee. The US AMEX with a chip is a chip and signature card, not a true chip and pin card. There are very few banks in the US which issue true chip and pin cards; I have one from USAA.

Be sure and give your bank and credit card companies a call before your trip to let them know you'll be traveling.

You will need euros and pounds. No need to bring these with you; you can withdraw them from ATMs easily using your debit card with a 4 digit pin.

 

[Tozzie]

Don't get 500 euros, you will not get a good exchange rate, I try to bring 100 in euros or when I went to scotland and london pounds then I use the ATM's I get a bette exchange rate that way.

I bring my Amex as a back up but if you can and if you want another credit card get a Capital one Visa or Mastercard as capital one does not charge foreign transaction fees.

The pin on your ATM card can only be 4 digits (I have never heard of a bank wiht more than 4 digits but apparently they exist) and it can't start with a zero.

Also bring some USA cash, you can always lock it in the safe at the motel, reason being you don't know where the guides are from. On my Italy trip one was American and coming back to the US the day the trip ended in fact he was in our boat to the airport and one was Italian, I tipped one in US cash and got euros from the ATM for the other. I know people say you can tip them in euros or cash but it is more convient for them (at least in my opinion) to tip them in the currency of where they live.

 

[carpenta]

I just returned from Germany and many shops only accepted Visa and MasterCard.....refused my American Express...... We tipped at all our eateries as well as the bus driver and local tour guides. In my life it brightens up my day when something nice and unexpected happens and hopefully those who received the "extra" had an little joy in their working day. I don't understand why some spend thousands of dollars on a trip, buy bags full of goods and then get weak in the knees when they may part with a few dollars in the form of "tips". Our driver that picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel said it was the first tip he had received in ten years of driving for ABD.

 

[sayhello]

OK, folks, let's play nice. I haven't given anyone any infractions at this point, but I will if things start getting un-civil. I know that tipping is a hot button topic, but I think we can stop talking about it here. If anyone has any further comments on using a Credit Card in Europe (the original question) please feel free to reply here. Otherwise, I hope this off-topic discussion is done here. I will delete any more comments on this thread about tipping. If you really want to discuss tipping, please start a new thread. But if that gets heated, I'll shut it down!

Thanks, all!
Sayhello

 

[Woodview]

To Sayhello,

Back to topic Credit Cards.

Mastercard & Visa are the ones to use.

In 99 per cent of transactions your PIN no is required .

You place Your Card into machine which is placed in front of you

AND YOU remove Your Card when your transaction paper ( You Hope )

is printed. Your Card SHOULD never be out of your sight.

Most transactions in supermarkets are now done by ATM cards.

Cash is used for items less than € 25

 

[Tozzie]

To Sayhello,

Back to topic Credit Cards.

Mastercard & Visa are the ones to use.

In 99 per cent of transactions your PIN no is required .

You place Your Card into machine which is placed in front of you

AND YOU remove Your Card when your transaction paper ( You Hope )

is printed. Your Card SHOULD never be out of your sight.

Most transactions in supermarkets are now done by ATM cards.

Cash is used for items less than € 25

Again, this is your experience, I just came back from 9 days in Italy, used my swipe card all over and didn't have one issue using it at all. I only recently recieved a renewal card that has a chip but no pin and they rest are all swipe and signature. I have never had an issue using the swipe card.

 

[carpenta]

Again, this is your experience, I just came back from 9 days in Italy, used my swipe card all over and didn't have one issue using it at all. I only recently recieved a renewal card that has a chip but no pin and they rest are all swipe and signature. I have never had an issue using the swipe card.

I also just returned from Italy (April) for 9 days and Germany (June/July) for 10 days and used my U.S. credit cards and no problems. Now don't get me started about that VAT tax refund........

 

[alagille]

I also just returned from Italy (April) for 9 days and Germany (June/July) for 10 days and used my U.S. credit cards and no problems. Now don't get me started about that VAT tax refund........

Oh, please do! I don't know what I'm supposed to do for the VAT. Can someone explain? Or link me to another thread.

 

[tiggersam00]

I used my CC's in Ireland and UK last summer with no issue. 1 thing I also did (and was soooooo glad I did) was buy a travelex Mastercard with a chip and Pin Number from Travelex. They have a store front in a local mall by us so I picked one up there, along with a few hundred euros and pounds, but you can have currency and their chip/pin mastercards mailed anywhere in the US. AAA has a similar service through Wells Fargo but they only issue an AMEX. The card they have is basically a debit card, you can have up to 8 or 9 currencies on each card, it is free to get and the exchange rates are very fair. They will also buy back unused currency after your trip (I wouldn't know anything about that with my shopping addiction ...)
I had my purse stolen while in London (phone, credit cards, cash...) and had to cancel all my cards while in London which was a total nightmare... Thankfully, I had my travelex card, super easy to cancel, no liability for any unauthorized charges (which would be hard to do since it requires a PIN anyways) AND best of all they give you a backup card just in case your card gets lost/stolen while traveling. Our other card was in the hotel safe so once I canceled the current card the backup card was activated and ready to use That was the only card we had left that worked, so we were enormously grateful for it!

So easy! We will be doing that again this trip for sure

As far as VAT, there is a kiosk at the airport, you will need your reciepts, VAT form from the stores, passport and I believe your plane ticket. It was easy to fill out and turn in. If the line is too long you can mail in the VAT forms from home. The refund comes back on your CC or via check. It was fine even with new CC numbers as well, took about 6-10 weeks but one day my account had a few extra $$ in it

Hope that helps!

 

[sayhello]

I used my CC's in Ireland and UK last summer with no issue. 1 thing I also did (and was soooooo glad I did) was buy a travelex Mastercard with a chip and Pin Number from Travelex. They have a store front in a local mall by us so I picked one up there, along with a few hundred euros and pounds, but you can have currency and their chip/pin mastercards mailed anywhere in the US. AAA has a similar service through Wells Fargo but they only issue an AMEX. The card they have is basically a debit card, you can have up to 8 or 9 currencies on each card, it is free to get and the exchange rates are very fair. They will also buy back unused currency after your trip (I wouldn't know anything about that with my shopping addiction ...)
I had my purse stolen while in London (phone, credit cards, cash...) and had to cancel all my cards while in London which was a total nightmare... Thankfully, I had my travelex card, super easy to cancel, no liability for any unauthorized charges (which would be hard to do since it requires a PIN anyways) AND best of all they give you a backup card just in case your card gets lost/stolen while traveling. Our other card was in the hotel safe so once I canceled the current card the backup card was activated and ready to use That was the only card we had left that worked, so we were enormously grateful for it!

So easy! We will be doing that again this trip for sure

As far as VAT, there is a kiosk at the airport, you will need your reciepts, VAT form from the stores, passport and I believe your plane ticket. It was easy to fill out and turn in. If the line is too long you can mail in the VAT forms from home. The refund comes back on your CC or via check. It was fine even with new CC numbers as well, took about 6-10 weeks but one day my account had a few extra $$ in it

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the info about the Travelex MasterCard! That's very good to know!

Sayhello

 

[alagille]

As far as VAT, there is a kiosk at the airport, you will need your reciepts, VAT form from the stores, passport and I believe your plane ticket. It was easy to fill out and turn in. If the line is too long you can mail in the VAT forms from home. The refund comes back on your CC or via check. It was fine even with new CC numbers as well, took about 6-10 weeks but one day my account had a few extra $$ in it Hope that helps!

Will I need to keep ALL my receipts? Is this pertinent only to non-food items? Are services taxable? TIA!

 

[tiggersam00]

Thanks for the info about the Travelex MasterCard! That's very good to know!

Sayhello

This card really did save the day for us, you can also reload it from a computer if you find you are running low on funds while abroad

Will I need to keep ALL my receipts? Is this pertinent only to non-food items? Are services taxable? TIA!

Whenever I bought something I just asked if they had a VAT form at the store. Some stores gave us the form with the receipt, and a few of the bigger name stores took the VAT off the bill at the point of sale. It was pretty varied, but basically just non-food items and services do not qualify. Any souvenirs should be fine. The lines at the airport to turn in the forms were pretty quick, but again if they are busy you can do it from home when you get back

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I just got back from a two week trip to Scotland, and I was so excited to be able to use my new chip and pin card. I'd had a chip and signature before, but now I have two chip and pin cards. Well, long story short, apparently the card readers can tell if it's a US card and most will automatically print out a receipt to sign. I was only asked for my pin 3 times My friend was making fun of me because I'd been so excited to use it, and it worked basically the same as hers, LOL.

 

[edinburghlass]

I just got back from a two week trip to Scotland, and I was so excited to be able to use my new chip and pin card. I'd had a chip and signature before, but now I have two chip and pin cards. Well, long story short, apparently the card readers can tell if it's a US card and most will automatically print out a receipt to sign. I was only asked for my pin 3 times My friend was making fun of me because I'd been so excited to use it, and it worked basically the same as hers, LOL.

I have a new contactless debit card which allows you to pay for goods up to £20 on three transactions a day. You just "wave" the card at the machine where the wireless symbol is and it prints out your receipt. I get inordinately excited when I use it

Debit/credit cards are accepted most places now though some small shops will request a minimum spend of £5 and of course cash is welcome everywhere. Most of our big supermarkets now have foreign currency desks where you can change dollars if stuck along with post office counters and large department stores.

One extra thing peculiar to Scotland is we have our own bank notes and sometimes you can have trouble using them in England so check your notes before you leave Scotland.

It's all a ploy to get you to spend all your money in Scotland

 

[sayhello]

OK, since some people obviously did not read my post, and there does appear to be an interest in discussing tipping in Europe, I have moved all of the tipping related posts to another thread:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3301156

Please continue the discussion there (NICELY!). NO MORE TIPPING DISCUSSION ON THIS THREAD!

I'm leaving the rest of the thread as is, since there's some very good discussion going on of using credit cards in Europe.

Thank you,
Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

I have a new contactless debit card which allows you to pay for goods up to £20 on three transactions a day. You just "wave" the card at the machine where the wireless symbol is and it prints out your receipt. I get inordinately excited when I use it

Debit/credit cards are accepted most places now though some small shops will request a minimum spend of £5 and of course cash is welcome everywhere. Most of our big supermarkets now have foreign currency desks where you can change dollars if stuck along with post office counters and large department stores.

One extra thing peculiar to Scotland is we have our own bank notes and sometimes you can have trouble using them in England so check your notes before you leave Scotland.

It's all a ploy to get you to spend all your money in Scotland

What do you mean by Scotland has "your own bank notes"? Do you mean that the actual bills for pounds look different that "Standard UK" pounds? What do we need to look for? Thanks!

Sayhello