Credit cards are the way to go

My credit card charges a 2.5% fee, but even at that, it only means $25 for every $1000 spent. To me that's worth the hassle of limiting cash.

Yep- pay with a card that has the lowest foreign transaction fee possible. If you do get a bit of cash, use your debit card to avoid cash advance credit card fees. And, avoid those infamous Euronet ATM’s— the bandits in a box that will rip you off with predatory fees like pirates on the high seas.
Happy Travels!

When traveling, we use the Capital One card for everything possible including rooms, restaurants and transportation. Only time we use an ATM is to get walking around cash. You would be surprised how little cash you can get by on a trip.

We used our Visa for a UK ETA earlier this week to get permission to transit through England. When we charged our second UK ETA on the same card 5 minutes later, Capital One kicked our card offline on a fraud alert. I am having to jump through hoops to get the card cut back on--including sending them a picture of both sides of my driver license. Still have not got it straight. FYI

In relation to fees, for most cards with no added transaction fees (Out of network, Foreign Transaction fees, etc) Debit and Credit Cards will see about the same mark-up about 1%. That is the adder that the network (associated with Visa, MC, or AMEX) charges to handle the transaction and convert the currency. Whether your card delineates that fee, or just tells you the total is another matter, but you can't avoid it. Sometimes, with changing exchange rates, the 1% can be hard to see when comparing the amount on your statement to day rates.

And yes, anywhere, always do the transaction in the local currency, avoid DCC. The rates can vary from a few percent, up to 10% or more.

Transactions made on the same day with credit cards were in the range of 1.10 USD/CHF, while ATM withdrawals on the same day after fees were in the range of 1.11 USD/CHF.

We use our Capital One Venture card, loaded in our Apple Wallet, and have a Capital One 360 account debit card for ATMs while traveling. The 360 account has no transaction fees, and we load it, if necessary, online from our brick and mortar bank’s checking account.

Gosh, last time I was in Switzerland there were 2 CHF to 1 USD.

avoid those infamous Euronet ATM’s— the bandits in a box

I'll never hurry past another Euronet ATM without laughing at the thought of eluding the greedy pirates lurking inside!! :-)

@toby I guess it has been a while, like 40 years?

I have found using my credit cards that, when checking my statement later on, the exchange rate pretty much matches the average exchange rate for the day, while my now rare withdrawals on my debit card run about .3 of 1% over the rate.

And then there is the added bonus--my CapOne credit card gets 1.5% cash back and my Amazon Chase Visa 2% back on restaurants.

We used Euronet ONCE, as we were not paying attention. This was at the Copenhagen airport 10 years ago. We stopped up our cash and went on our way. That night at dinner we were at a cash only place, so we happily paid. Only to find out that that Euronet machine gave us a mix of currencies, Denmark, Sweden, and something else, I can't remember right now. Needless to say we were not happy, so off to another ATM so we could pay for dinner. I know this is not a common occurrence, but was a good lesson for us!

Credit cards or ATM cards (I know the difference in risk, but thats a personal choice) really are the way to go. No argument at all. I live off my US Bank Credit and ATM cards in Europe. Literally I live here and use nothing else.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to say EuroNet is a good deal, but there is a definition for SCAM, and pay-for-service/convenience doesn’t meet the definition. Do they bank on people being too lazy to read the screen? Sure, but that still falls short of scam.

If you find yourself in Budapest and for some reason need cash in a hurry it can be inconvenient finding a bank ATM. Not as many as there were even 5 years ago. For me it’s a 10 minute walk each way to a bank. I guess with everyone over here using credit cards, ATM cards and bank transfers cash really isn’t in that much demand and those ATM locations are not free so with less use and no fees to cover the rent, they are disapearing.

So, what do you need the cash for? Professional Services Tips mostly (for tourists .... for locals there is another reason). Tips here are not taxable so the service providers prefer them. Saves them 27% or in some instances 66%. So if you like the guy it’s a nice thing to do (and it is a tipping culture, all be it a very low-key tipping culture).

So that EuroNet machine is right there. Hmmmmm, we all know the exorbitant fees! Do we really? Who can tell me the fee out of a EuroNet in Budapest, Hungary? Last time I used one it was 930 fts, that’s about $2.35. On how much? On any amount. I played the game about a year ago. 10.000 ft ($25) the fee was 930 ft, 80.000 ft ($200) the fee was still 930 ft. So high on the small withdrawal, but not too bad on the larger withdrawal.

So, if the six of you are standing outside the best restaurant in town and you know Arpad is going to take care of you and is going to treat you like a king again, and you know the bill will be at least $200; and all you have in your pocket is a 100 ft coin, is it really so bad to go to the EuroNet 20 feet away and paying $2.35 (maybe a little smaller tip to offset some of the fee)? Not saying. Just throwing it out.

It is when you’re in a country using the Euro as in Hungary, but the Euronet ATM gives you Romanian Leus and Bulgarian Levs along with some Euros—
to draw a parallel situation with what happened to Mikliz97 in Copenhagen.
Just saying.

It is when you’re in a country using the Euro as in Hungary

I don't understand that. Hungary isn't on the Euro. But, no, there is no excuse for a machine to spit out the wrong currency. But someone would have to convince me that was EuroNet policy as opposed to some sort of royal screw up.

@toby I guess it has been a while, like 40 years?

That sounds right, 80s for sure.

You guys just don't get it. It's not how much you paid for where you stayed, it's where you stayed and how much it cost. In Germany, at least, staying somewhere where you can pay with a credit card will cost you more than staying somewhere that only takes cash. A willingness to pay cash opens up a plethora of less expensive alternatives, mostly privat Zimmer (rooms in a private home) and Ferien Wohnungen (vacation apartments).

Due to Covid, my partner's health, and my cancer diagnosis, I haven't been to Europe in seven years. However, on my last trip, we stayed 6 nights in two places that took credit cards for payment and 14 nights at three places that only took cash.

At the places that took credit cards, we spent 546€ for 6 nights, 91€/night. At $1.18/€, that was $107.38/night, double occupancy.

At the 3 places that did not take credit cards, I spent 679€ for 14 nights, 48,50€/night, or $57.23/night, double occupancy, about 53% for cash v. CC.

In Germany, at least, unless you want to pay more, credit cards are not the way to go.

a lot of things can change in 2 years - or 7 years - or 40 years

Well, I have encountered the discount for cash (or upcharge if you like) at a few German hotels. Others cash or credit same price.

Speaking of that, I had some maintenance done on my car yesterday at the dealer, and they added 3% for paying with a credit card, then I took my wife out for pizza and had to add 3% to pay with a credit card. Maybe we are turning into Germans.

I agree with Lee for Germany. No place I stay and half the places I eat only take cash. Trip in 2023 was for less than 120 euro per day for my wife and I - total, not each

A couple of hotels I've stayed at in Italy offered discounts for cash. One in Rome gave us about an 8% discount which worked out to about €25 savings for the one night we stayed. They also provided a receipt so as far as I know it wasn't tax dodging.

At a stay in Venice we were offered a 15% discount for cash. This was 2017 so I don't recall the exact numbers but it was going to be about €300/ night with credit card but I brought enough cash with me for our 5 night stay and saved about €275.

When the discount is that big, you wonder if this is a tax dodge.

Additionally, use a card with tap-to-pay directly or via your phone. Your credit card data can't be stolen at the point of sale with tap-to-pay.

While Amex is not widely used in most of Europe, does anyone know if it is in my Apple Pay, will that go through > It's been hard to tell when we "tap" on the buses (Amsterdam, Italy) and we have had to juggle our visa debit going thru the turnstiles... I can't correlate if Amex in the Apple Pay form, will always be accepted if Apple Pay is allowed. My Amex has no fees.
Thank you !

Research no transaction fee credit and debit cards to use when traveling out of the country. Also NEVER NEVER use Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) when withdrawing money from an ATM.