Albania - are credit cards accepted in more places now?

When I was last there in 2021 I don’t recall having any issues with credit card payments. I did rent a car but can’t remember if I had to use cash to buy gas at the pump.

I'm glad you asked about this. Albania is definitely on my radar, but I much prefer to use a credit card to pay for things. In particular, I prefer tap and pay. It does sound like they're primarily a cash country though.

I was there in September 2020 I used a credit card for most everything, except when I couldn't.

I think it depends on where you go. I was there in 2023 and it was mostly cash for me. Two of my 7 hotels took a card - but I also don’t stay in chains or higher end hotels. Most of my meals were cash also, as were the minivan busses I used from town to town. I don’t know about gas, since I haven’t done that yet - but I hope you will report back, as I am hoping to return in 2027 and travel by rental car.

Do a trip report, please!

My hotels i am certain were CC. Most of the meals too. But I was traveling with an Albanian local that enjoyed good food. The beauty of the trip was in part i could do it 4 and 5 star for 3 star cost in the west.

The additional complication in Albamia is that ATM fees are very high. Money-change booths were a lot less expensive; I paid anout 1% on the two occasions when I changed money. ATM fees were more like 7% as I recall, though they might be lower, percentage-wise, for larger withdrawals.

A nice thing about Albania is that euros are sometimes accepted at very close to the official exchange rate.

Its usually a 500 to 800 LEK flat rate per transaction. In a week I might have to pay that once. For me, I'd write it off as a travel cost for the convenience of having a little local cash in my pocket.