Credit card acceptance in Europe?

Credit cards are widely accepted in Europe, although some places don’t take Mastercard or American Express. However, you may get discounts, particularly at small hotels, for paying with cash. Family run businesses such as restaurants may also require cash rather than credit cards, as this lowers the fees they must pay. To be certain it’s always wise to ask before conducting your transactions.

It varies drastically between countries, but the following is true as a generalisation.

• Most shops, restaurants and hotels take plastic (credit and debit). Street food stalls it varies by country, market stalls rarely.
• Expect to pay cash for small items, €20, €10 or less (or equivalent in other currencies).
• If they take cards, they take Visa and Mastercard, but not American Express, Diners club or anything else, unless it is an expensive place.
• Unmanned machines, such as fuel stations, road tolls and train ticket machines, are usually "chip and PIN". If you don't have a PIN, expect problems.
• Always have cash on you, just in case there is a problem with your card.

A couple of points to add:

• A lot of credit cards in the US have the chip, but you have to ask for a pin. Do so well in advance as they don’t give you a pin over the phone, they will mail you one. Mine from Chase took a couple of weeks to get to me.
• Inform your credit card company that you will be traveling and where. I don’t know how many times I had a card put on fraud alert (most recently in Amsterdam in April) because I forgot to call, even though my card company told me I no longer had to do so.
• If you use your card, make sure you understand the foreign transaction fees, better yet, get a card that doesn’t charge them. Those fees can add up quickly.

Have a great trip,
Sandy

When traveling, I put everything possible on my Capital One Visa. I use a credit union ATM for minor amounts of walking around cash, but I mostly use the credit card. I don't use my Wells Fargo ATM card because $5 & 5% per transaction are excessive.
Note: I do keep a second credit card with me as a backup. I also keep two ATM cards. I do call my card companies prior to leaving to tell them the countries I'm traveling in. Some care, and note the countries in their computer. Some card companies, especially if PIN and Chip, don't care if the card's going to different countries.

Also if it is a chip and sign card pleade make sure the back is signed! Absolutely scary how many i see that arent.....

From what I understand it varies greatly by country. I haven’t been to Germany in years but apparently it is very cash-heavy, not as much credit card. Parts of Scandinavia are almost cash-free, almost everything is done by card.

In Italy, Spain, and Greece - where I travel most - credit cards are widely accepted but maybe not quite as common as in the US.

Hi,

For France, Belgium and Spain you should not have any problems paying with a credit card. But in Paris I saw the SNCF machines did not accept an American credit card for buying a train ticket. The little decal on the machine states that in French and English.

True about Germany, there is where you would have more of a chance to pay in cash since only cash is accepted. Likewise in Austria. There are three restaurants I find worthy of being recommended in Vienna, good, not pricey, etc but all three take only cash. In Germany and Austria I rely and pay mostly in cash.

Inform your credit card company that you will be traveling and where. I don’t know how many times I had a card put on fraud alert (most recently in Amsterdam in April) because I forgot to call, even though my card company told me I no longer had to do so.

CapitalOne does not accept calls to notify of foreign transactions anymore. What they will do is send a text or email at the first foreign charge (which will go thru at point of sale) then you confirm that the purchase was good by replying to that text or email and then you are good to go in that country for the rest of your stay.

Note that even without cellular service you will still get your texts, if not immediately then when you log onto WIFI. I've never understood the partial cellular service one gets in Europe, but if it's free I'll take it! For example iPhones have a lot of France (Normandy, Provence) pre-loaded as background maps so you get free live GPS positioning on maps without service. Even received a voice call in Stockholm in June without having service, and no charge later (?).

But in Paris I saw the SNCF machines did not accept an American credit card for buying a train ticket.

I think a debit card with PIN will always work in Europe in these automated kiosk situations.

The article is up-to-date. It may include elements of old habits but it's still very relevant for you to know you can't count on using cash in the same way you do at home. You also may need to buy different things than you do at home, like city bus tickets. (Last time that I went to San Francisco, I found myself needing $1.75 in exact change for each one.) Most descriptions for specific businesses and transport systems in Rick's guidebooks will say if they happen to be cash-only. I recommend taking a significant cash withdrawal at your first ATM and then spend it as slowly or quickly as your plans require. If your supply runs down, then restock. If it doesn't, you can pay cash for all or part of the last hotel or meal for which you might otherwise have used a credit card.

I’ve never had my MasterCard denied wherever CC’s are accepted in Europe. Sometimes a business will have a Maestro logo exhibited. Maestro is a debit card that is owned by MasterCard.

According to Nerd Wallet they are both equally accepted in Europe.

"CapitalOne does not accept calls to notify of foreign transactions anymore. What they will do is send a text or email at the first foreign charge (which will go thru at point of sale) then you confirm that the purchase was good by replying to that text or email and then you are good to go in that country for the rest of your stay."

CapOne has never contacted us about that first (or further) foreign purchase on our Mastercard since they gave us thecChip (before then we gave notification). Although I do believe a couple of purchases here in the US did trigger a call over the years.

About Capital One: Pre-trip I tried to buy Alhambra tickets online, and Capital One denied the purchase. I called them and then they approved it, and then the purchase went through. I would hope to avoid this while we are traveling because it's quite stressful.

This makes me a little skeptical about their algorithms because I had charged a flight to Spain on the very same card.

There are lots of establishments in Germany, be they small hotels, Pensionen, restaurants, train station eateries, etc where you show them your credit card you will be told that only cash is accepted. If you have not seen that or experienced it in Germany, you haven't traveled widely enough there.

I have seen this happen to Americans and other foreign tourists where upon presenting their credit card to pay, they're told to pay in cash. If they did not have the cash on hand, go out to the ATM. Likewise in Vienna at three restaurants I know of, if you want their names too, restaurants frequented by tourists and locals.

In Germany just because a certain establishment accepts plastic, that does not mean your plastic will be accepted...plain and simple. I'm referring to their accepting only the EuroCard, which only Germans have and is a MasterCard. That happened one time too in Dresden in 2009. I presented the MC to pay, was told only the EuroCard was valid. So, I paid in cash. The guy said no, ie. no use arguing even though MasterCard is the EuroCard. He'll refuse it.

Bottom line is relative to other European countries, Germany and Austria are countries where it is still a cash society. Germans have also told me as much.

About Capital One: Pre-trip I tried to buy Alhambra tickets online, and Capital One denied the purchase. I called them and then they approved it, and then the purchase went through. I would hope to avoid this while we are traveling because it's quite stressful.
This makes me a little skeptical about their algorithms because I had charged a flight to Spain on the very same card.

This can happen sometimes. The algorithms are not perfect, but there is no mechanism to set a travel notification anymore so there's nothing you can do in advance of travel. Note that an online purchase without the chip presented will be treated differently than an in-person purchase with chip reader.

At this point with years of foreign travel behind me Capital One won't deny foreign purchases online, I just get the email/text to confirm later.

Bottom line is relative to other European countries, Germany and Austria are countries where it is still a cash society. Germans have also told me as much.

My experience also in both countries, even at large restaurants in touristy areas. But this is outside the OP area of travel.

On buying tickets from a DB machine, that can done by cash or using the American MC or Visa credit card as long as one does not mind indicating the PIN which is required before the transaction can be completed. But , you don't want to give your PIN, then that credit card option is no longer an option, is it? You pay in cash.

GENERALLY speaking I find that credit cards are widely accepted. It varies tremendously from country to country but the only places I have found that they sometimes are not accepted are grocery stores, street markets (obviously), automated road toll booths, and train ticket kiosks. That said, in some countries these locations are no problem at all. I am finding that lots of places are starting to use very simple card systems, like Square, that make it easy for vendors of all kinds to take plastic. It also seems that the further north you go in Europe, plastic is more widely accepted.
My general rule is always carry cash just in case.

It also seems that the further north you go in Europe, plastic is more widely accepted.

Not really, plastic is more widely accepted in Italy than Austria or Germany as noted. Maybe a doughnut is a better analogy, plastic widely accepted at the sides but not in the middle?

True about Germany, there is where you would have more of a chance to pay in cash since only cash is accepted

I've managed perfectly well on all my trips to Germany by using my debit card. There were times when I used cash, similar to those occasions when I would use cash at home (in a pub, small purchases in a shop/market etc) and whilst there are places where only cash is accepted I never knowingly encountered any.

I haven't been to Scandinavia since 2010. At the time they were like the debit card commercial where everything stops when someone pulls out cash. It was noticeable. I imagine they are even more predisposed to plastic now (maybe near field systems?).

I was in Germany earlier than that and did use cash regularly then, but that may have changed. I still used cash regularly in Spain in 2012.

My last four trips have been to France, over the last two years. I never noticed any aversion to plastic, whether at a sight, in a restaurant or grocery store. It wasn't as noticeable as Scandinavia but there never seemed to be any problem using a card for even small purchases. I do like to have some cash available, especially for tolls or if my card doesn't work - which is likely to happen, at least occasionally, in France.

We ran into problems in France when we only had one card with a PIN, and for whatever reason, the gas station pump wouldn't accept it. Our other cards did not have PINs. So I wouldn't say that you don't need a PIN in France, especially if you rent a car.

Tom_MN - I was thinking more along the lines of Scandinavia where plastic is king!

We arrived in Lisbon yesterday and had lunch in a small local restaurant near our hotel. They did not accept credit cards. Luckily I'd already changed money. I think we'll be sure to have at least 50 Euros in cash on hand all the time for such situations.

"...a small local restaurant....They did not accept credit cards." That sort of experience chances are you will find more often in Germany than in France. That has been my experience.

The UK figures for 2017 was that the percentage cash payments across the board were down to 34%, a reduction from 61% ten years earlier. Over 77% of all UK retail spending was by card. Contactless payment amounted to 15%, used by approximately two-thirds of adults. The most frequent form of payment is by debit card.

In automated gas stations in France, you need a real chip and pin card. Most US cards are chip and signature (even though you have a pin). I got a chip and pin from Andrews FCU just for that. It worked 3 of 3 times on my last trip in June. I'm getting rid of the card anyway because the credit union is too difficult to work with (like a bank in the 1970's). You can use any form of payment when the station is attended. Many stations have a cashier booth that is attended limited hours, others are fully automatic and never have an attendant who can accept payment. If nothing else, the rest areas on the toll roads always have attended gas stations. They charge more for gas, so they're only a last resort for me.

I'm getting rid of the card anyway because the credit union is too difficult to work with (like a bank in the 1970's).

I agree that Andrews is difficult to work with, but hopefully I won't have to deal with them very often. Just use their card and pay their bill. It's still very useful for the principal purpose I got it several years ago: unattended gas stations and train/tram machines. So I keep using it.

On our first trip to France with a rented car we stopped for gas on a toll road in route from Beaune to the Loire. With our limited French we had a very difficult time with the pump's credit card function. I asked the attendant in the booth ( I greeted her in French), she seemed to speak some English but when I indicated difficulty with the pump, she ignored me. This was frustrating and soured my mood until a darling older French woman noticed and I recall her slowly making her way to the pump in her heels, hose and clutch purse. She said she had never used a gas pump but was happy to try. She guided us through the process (chip/pin) and chatted with us until her driver came to collect her. At that time, we were fortunate that we even had a chip/pin card. Since then, we have been more careful to understand all aspects of car rental and credit card use.

We have learned our lesson and try to avoid self service, attendant-lless small gas stations. Avoid trying to fill up your tank on a Sunday.

Trenitalia kiosk did not accept Visa Chase card today, but Capital One debit card worked fine and asked for pin. However, no problems using credit card at Trenitalia ticket windows, you just sign the receipt.

Most kiosks we’ve seen locally in smaller stations do not accept cash, only credit cards, but only chip and PIN. And ticket windows are not necessarily open, even though trains are still stopping at station.

And FYI, we bought a 50% off dog ticket at kiosk today. Previously, I understood that dog tickets had to be purchased at a window. Learn something new everyday.

This past week in Venice, Rome and Naples, we did run into minimum spends being required - often 10 euro. I'm always happy to buy extra pastry or gelato, but if you don't want to bulk up your small purchases, it's good to have a bit of cash on hand too. I didn't notice any place that didn't accept a card at all, though I usually tend to use cash for my smallest purchases.

I was in Austria last December (2018) and had no problems using a regular chip-and-signature Capital One credit card at self-service ticket machines of the ÖBB and Wiener Linien. The machines did not even ask for a PIN. In Austria, there seems to be less credit card acceptance at smaller shops and cafes compared to the United States. The Christmas markets were mostly cash. But , many stalls accepted Visa and MC. I only had to use an ATM twice over two weeks.