I've read the articles and seen some of the posts about the Discover card not being widely accepted. Does anyone have recent experience with this? We are heading there this fall. We do have other cards, I just like Discover because the interest rate is way less!
Don't try it, Europe is not set up to accept Discover. MC and Visa are it, sometimes Amex. The Jennifer Coolidge ads are fun but they are only referencing the US.
If your Discover card has a substantially lower rate than MC or Visa, you need new cards. Everyone with good credit can get good rates these days.
Alternatively you could put your vacation money into a Charles Schwab account and their debit/credit card (Visa I believe) has all fees refunded to you.
I recently tried to pay for my British railpass renewal with my Discover, it was immediately rejected. Just like my Visa was immediately accepted. YMMV as they say.
You will just have a headache trying to use Discover in Europe, accepted here and there, but nowhere near common or dependably.
Just make sure your other cards have no Foreign Transaction Fee, that usually adds 3%, and interest fees can be avoided by paying the balance in total.
Also be aware of DCC, always opt to do the transaction in euros (in France and Germany) and decline any offer for conversion.
I’ve seldom seen a place that accepts it. Actually, I’ve never seen a place that accepts it, although a very few do.
It is not the card name as much as it the network that processes the card. The two big ones in Europe and US are PLUS and CIRRUS -- that translated to primarily VISA and MASTERCARD. My Discover card uses the PULSE network. Years ago I did see some places that took the Diner Club card along with Discover. BUT --- not frequent. I would leave it home and carry at least two or three VISA or Mastercards. And get their pin numbers so that you can use them as an emergency back up cash debit card at an ATM. Cash advances on a credit card is expensive but great if that is the only card working. Be sure to have a couple of debit cards.
. My diners club card is now affiliated with MasterCard network, not Discover. I think they changed that years ago.
Personally, I would just leave the discover at home. It’s really useless once you leave the United States.
I've never really understood why anyone carries the Discover card. Can someone give me a compelling reason to do so?
Capitol One bought Discover and ALL of their debits are moving to the Discover network off MC; not sure about the CC but I know for sure the debit cards are.
the ghost of Sears lives on
Thanks everyone for the replies. We have plenty of backup cards and cash. I like Discover because the interest rate is very low.
I like Discover because the interest rate is very low.
Now it makes sense. Thanks!
As a person who uses Discover a lot, both in the States and abroad, it is decidedly inconvenient in many EU places.
If you know what you'll buy ahead of time and can book while at home (e.g. hotels, airfare), Discover tends to work just fine. It also works with a lot of major chains in the travel industry as long as they aren't franchises of their U.S. brands. For example, Discover doesn't work at the Hertz (franchise) desk at GVA, but it does work at Enterprise (corporate). It also worked well with Sixt at GVA and MUC.
But for more situational stuff it's mostly a no-go.
I have a Visa as a backup credit card, but mostly use my U.S.-issued debit cards (both Visa and MasterCard) for day-to-day stuff. I also have a European account with a EuroBank affiliation but that's not used quite as much. And in quite a few places, cash is still king.