Credit cards and debit cards, 2 of each??

I'd say each should take your own Credit Card and your own Debit Card both linked to your shared account if you have one. That way, if one of you forgets one ATM Card back at the hotel, the other person can still access it with their card. A separate account as back-up is a good idea just incase your primary joint account gives you unforeseen problems. Maybe set it up beforehand that you can transfer between the two accounts by internet or telephone banking in an emergency.

Check with your Bank before you leave home about fees. That way there are no nasty surprises. See if your Bank lists associate bank locations on the Website so you'll know where the nearest one is while abroad. Keep your "Lost Card Number" handy in your moneybelt.

Some suggest calling your CC Company to let them know your travel dates and countries so they don't regard foreign purchases as suspicious. I guess it wouldn't hurt. (I don't call before every trip b/c I travel for a living and foreign charges would not be out of the ordinary for me.)

Sorry I don't know too much about US Bank Fees and who's the best as I'm up North in Canada. I'm sure someone here on the board will be able to help you out with that.

Enjoy Austria!

F/A

Something called the "network" (Visa, M/C, Plus, Cirrus, et al) handles the job of paying the ATM holder in Europe and billing your bank here. For that they get 0.6%. If they also get paid by the bank here in US$, they also charge 0.4% currency exchange. However, major banks in this country, those with foreign currency operations, pay the network in Euro, avoid the 0.4% fee, and then take 2 or 3% fee for currency exchange for themselves. Nice, huh. One of the benefits of our free market system.

So if you have your card with a small local bank, one with no foreign currency op, they have no choice but to pay in $ for the 1% total fee.

So, make your bank tell you what they charge for currency exchange. They probably will try not to tell you. Make them print it out from their Intranet.

I think it would be better to have cards linked to different accounts. If the bank freezes an account for some reason, a duplicate card won't help. Do inform your bank about travel plans in advance to help avoid those kinds of problems. Debit cards will work in ATMs, but you probably won't be able to make purchases with them.

A variety of card numbers. Debit cards are generally for the withdrawal of euros (in Austria). You will have a daily limit for these withdrawals (usually $400 altho you may be able to get your bank to temporarily increase this amount) so if you and your spouse have separate numbers, you also have separate limits. Remember, $400 is only going to purchase about 260Euros.

All credit cards work differently. We carry American Express just because it has the minimum exchange conversion fee - 1%. Problem is, not everyone accepts it so we also carry VISA. Some Capital One and some Visa cards issued by credit unions also have the minimum fee.
Whatever you decide to take, remember to make a copy of the credit/debit cards, passports, etc. and leave it home with someone you trust 'just in case.' Also, note on the photo copy the phone numbers to call in case of loss, etc. We've always done this. Happily, we haven't had to use them.

We carry three different credit cards and two debit cards tied to two different accounts. SO carries one credit card and one debit card and I carry the credit card and debit cards that we use daily plus the third credit card buried deeply in the money belt. In all of our travels have never needed more than one of each.

As mentioned earlier, make sure call your credit card companies and ask what their currency conversion fee is. For us, AMEX charges 3% for currency conversion, but Capital One charges nothing. We're obviously taking the Capital One card.

Is Capital One accepted everywhere? We were thinking of applying for one. We have American Express and Visa.

Hubby was told by a friend that you can rent a car abroad and not have to pay for insurance because AE covers it. Is that true?

Good question about the number of CCs and debit cards. I hadn't even thought to carry a different one from my husband.

My wife and I each carry a debit and credit.

Our debits are for two separate accounts but we're both signers. If one is lost or stolen, we contact the bank, transfer funds to the other account and use the other debit.

Our credit cards are from two separate accounts. It doesn't matter if we are both signers. If one is lost or stolen we contact the bank then use the other.

Carrying two cards for the same account doesn't accomplish the same thing. If you report a lost or stolen card, the account may not work and the extra card won't help.

Keep the phone numbers to report lost or stolen cards and card numbers in your moneybelt, so you can call the bank right away if something happens.

Eli Capitol One is a VISA card, It all depends on the fine print. Read it carefully, I believe that most cc insurance is secondary after your primary insurance. If you primary insurance covers you in Europe you are fine if not your need primary insurance. My son recent had a insurance claim reject by VISA because the card was not "properly charge at the beginning of the contract." No one seems to be able to explain the rejection but VISA is standing firm. The car rental company has no explanation either and finally split the cost with him. Given some of the horror stories posted in the past on this subject, I would not depend on a credit card company to provide insurance coverage.

do carry one MC and one Visa from diff accounts, and different ATM cards if possible. Re: insurance - may be best to just buy their full coverage if there is any doubt on who/what will be covered. The money belt is also key or those extra cards.

Eli,

As Frank stated, my Capital One is a Visa card, so yes, it's pretty much accepted everywhere.

As for the insurance, AMEX provides us with the insurance, but Capital One does not. It's only a certain coverage, not complete. I don't have the print out, but I think it covers most of what you need. But call and ask! Don't take anyone's word for it. Each card may be have different services. So what we did is book the car online (www.gemut.com)and they charged in US $, therefore, there was no need for currency conversion, so we booked that with the AMEX to get the insurance coverage.