London Charging - credit cards in Europe

[Shirley]

OK fellas, as a follow-up to my phone question, how about credit cards in Europe, the UK in particular?

From what I've read, Capital One cards are probably my best bet for avoiding transaction fees abroad, but what about chip and pin card versus typical American magnetic strip cards? Has anyone had any problems using an American magnetic card in Europe? I'd hate to get there with no fees, but get rejected because they demand a chip and pin card.

Any recent experience?

[govmentchedda]

I had no problems with my normal cards over there. Also, I was often given the option of paying in dollars or Euros. No idea why.

[BTTG]

I am pretty sure most restaurants and big retailers will take either type of card, chip or swipe, especially in continental Europe. You might run in to problems if you're at a smaller shop or a pub in the UK, where they only have chip machines. For those, I would always have £50-100 cash on hand, which is also handy for small stuff, since a lot of places will have £5 or £10 minimums to use a card.

[Pruitt]

I was in England 4 years ago, and I had no problems with my (Canadian) credit card.

Also, my bank had an arrangement with Barclays bank whereby I could use Barclay's ATMs without a transaction fee. I'd check with your bank before leaving. Otherwise, (as I recall) it was 2-3 pounds a transaction.

[DaveInSeattle]

Its also a good idea to call your bank or Credit Card company to let them know you are traveling overseas. It would suck for the folks at American Express (or wherever) to suddenly start seeing charges from England and think "hey, his card must have been stolen" and shut it down.

[govmentchedda]

Its also a good idea to call your bank or Credit Card company to let them know you are traveling overseas. It would suck for the folks at American Express (or wherever) to suddenly start seeing charges from England and think "hey, his card must have been stolen" and shut it down.

We called our bank & card company before we left, and had no problems.

[sancarlos]

Capital one card to avoid currency charges, that works for me. We also advised the bank and credit cards that we were going to France - important!

I had a problem at an automated toll both in my rental car, west of Paris last summer. None of my cards would work, because of the chip issue, until an attendant came over to help. It was a bit stressful, as I had several honking cars behind me. Also had the same issue once getting gasoline, but otherwise, the credit card worked fine throughout France.

[DaveInSeattle]

I had a problem at an automated toll both in my rental car, west of Paris last summer. None of my cards would work, because of the chip issue, until an attendant came over to help. It was a bit stressful, as I had several honking cars behind me. Also had the same issue once getting gasoline, but otherwise, the credit card worked fine throughout France.

I had the same thing happen to me....at a toll booth outside of Marseille in morning rush hour traffic. Was not fun....

[Shirley]

So, do chip and pin cards work in the States?

[Steve of phpBB]

Its also a good idea to call your bank or Credit Card company to let them know you are traveling overseas. It would suck for the folks at American Express (or wherever) to suddenly start seeing charges from England and think "hey, his card must have been stolen" and shut it down.

Like your credit card company doesn't already know where you are and where you are going? And who you are with?

When I called before my trip a couple of years ago to give them the heads-up, they said it wasn't necessary because I had bought my plane tickets with that card.

[Shirley]

Its also a good idea to call your bank or Credit Card company to let them know you are traveling overseas. It would suck for the folks at American Express (or wherever) to suddenly start seeing charges from England and think "hey, his card must have been stolen" and shut it down.

Like your credit card company doesn't already know where you are and where you are going? And who you are with?

When I called before my trip a couple of years ago to give them the heads-up, they said it wasn't necessary because I had bought my plane tickets with that card.

Yeah, I wondered about that - the flight thing. They have incredibly impressive algorithms to detect normal and abnormal purchases.

BTW, my plan for now is to get a Capital One card, probably the Venture card. Then, I'll make sure to have some cash handy as well in case I run into a chip and pin only situation.

Thanks, guys.

[A_B]

And now Alec Baldwin gets even richer.

[cerrano]

bump...

so with the impending trip to ireland, we're now looking into getting a card with no foreign transaction fees, low interest rate, bonus points. what have you guys been happy with?

[brian]

bump...

so with the impending trip to ireland, we're now looking into getting a card with no foreign transaction fees, low interest rate, bonus points. what have you guys been happy with?

Capital One's credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. I use their Venture card and like it. No annual fees and you get 1.25 percent back in rewards. Redeeming the points for travel expenses is pretty easy.

ETA: As a bonus, all of Capital One's cards as of this year have the chip technology so they're easier to use overseas.

[cerrano]

bump...

so with the impending trip to ireland, we're now looking into getting a card with no foreign transaction fees, low interest rate, bonus points. what have you guys been happy with?

Capital One's credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. I use their Venture card and like it. No annual fees and you get 1.25 percent back in rewards. Redeeming the points for travel expenses is pretty easy.

ETA: As a bonus, all of Capital One's cards as of this year have the chip technology so they're easier to use overseas.

is it a visa or mastercard? or does it matter? i just want to make sure it is widely accepted.

[brian]

bump...

so with the impending trip to ireland, we're now looking into getting a card with no foreign transaction fees, low interest rate, bonus points. what have you guys been happy with?

Capital One's credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. I use their Venture card and like it. No annual fees and you get 1.25 percent back in rewards. Redeeming the points for travel expenses is pretty easy.

ETA: As a bonus, all of Capital One's cards as of this year have the chip technology so they're easier to use overseas.

is it a visa or mastercard? or does it matter? i just want to make sure it is widely accepted.

Mine's a VISA. I've never had a problem and I can't imagine it wouldn't be accepted in a major country like Ireland or anywhere in the UK. I've used it pretty extensively in about a dozen different countries.

[P.D.X.]

It's Ireland, ffs. You'll be fine with either Visa/MC.

[Johnnie]

I wish I could have been more help in this thread. I use my USAA card everywhere. And I always keep Euro on me (or go to an ATM to get some if I'm running low) because, unlike America, cards aren't accepted everywhere.

[Gunpowder]

I had only one problem with mine (Visa with a chip but no pin) - in most places they will take your chip and make you sign, but to get on the train from Oslo to the airport the machine needed a pin. I had to use my debit card to get tickets from the kiosk.

So you should be fine but I'd take a card with a pin (doesn't need a chip) just in case.


Last year I took a Capital One card without a chip and had no problems with that either.

[Shirley]

bump...

so with the impending trip to ireland, we're now looking into getting a card with no foreign transaction fees, low interest rate, bonus points. what have you guys been happy with?

Capital One's credit cards have no foreign transaction fees. I use their Venture card and like it. No annual fees and you get 1.25 percent back in rewards. Redeeming the points for travel expenses is pretty easy.

ETA: As a bonus, all of Capital One's cards as of this year have the chip technology so they're easier to use overseas.

Yeah, I used my Capital One Venture card in the UK, France, and Italy last summer with few problems. The only issue was that everyone in Europe uses chip and pin cards and my card (like nearly all US cards) was not that type. That confused a few places (although pretty much all can handle swipe cards) and some automatic ticket machines didn't seem to want to take a swipe card.

I traveled to Switzerland and Spain for work a few months ago and had the same experiences. US cards work just fine in Europe and my Capital One card has no foreign transaction fees.

[brian]

Yeah, most American cards with the chip are still chip and sign like Sean said, though SOME banks are starting to rollout the chip and pin debit cards. I wouldn't know about possible foreign transaction fees on those though.

(ETA: Though it's very important to note that even the chip and sign technology is vastly more secure than the "swipe" method.)