I didn't have that card last time I traveled (2014), but it's my main one now. Will be in UK, France, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium.
Any other discussion of payment methods are welcome, I haven't researched that yet. A link to a good thread or source for current best practices would be appreciated.
https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/international-use/
IMHO a Capital One CC is great for travel. No foreign transaction fees.
I take 2 cards minimum, one VISA and one American Express which is surprisingly well-accepted. I also take 2 debit cards but didn't even really use either on the last trip.
I do all my online purchases of train tickets, museum tickets, etc on the American Express card as it never gets turned down whereas I've had difficulty at times with the VISA card.
I've got both loaded into my Apple Wallet which I used for everything but 2 purchases on my 3+ week trip to Italy in October. The 2 instances where I had to pay cash were bar tabs in hotels (Monterosso al Mare and an agritourismo).
Discover is not widely accepted. At one time if they accepted the Diner card then the DC was accepted. Don't know if that is still true or not. Personally I would leave the Discover card at home. The VISA and Mastercard are widely accepted. We take three VISA cards and three debit cards but two debit cards are at the same credit union with two different accounts. We also have the pin numbers for the VISA cards as a emergency back up if debit cards. But have never encountered any problems using debit and credit cards in Europe.
I think Rick has been quite clear in saying the Discover card is rarely accepted in Europe or the UK. We've never had trouble using our Visa or Mastercards.
Merchant fees for Discover Card are higher than most so it's not the small merchants' preferred card in the US. I don't know about in Europe since all my cards are VISA.
I can’t remember any merchant accepting it in Europe. I’m sure some do, but I’ve never run across one. My wife and I each take 2 different cards, but the one we use most is a Capital One Visa with no foreign transaction fees.
It is very very rare to see a Discover logo on a list of accepted cards in the UK. There are now a few places which do but very rare - so rare as it is reasonable to say don't bother to look here.
I've never seen the logo in Germany or France but honestly wasn't looking.
Discover is not widely accepted. At one time if they accepted the Diner card then the DC was accepted.
This is still the situation in the UK. Some ATMs also accept it
The only reason I know of the Discover card is because I used to use a company one on visits to the states. And I worked in Swiss banking for over three decades! So I very much doubt it is widely known about or used by the general public here in Europe.
I have Discover as well as four others and I bring all five along with one debit card and cash. I have Master Card, Visa and American Express. I have too many but I got them taking promotions from the airlines and I have heard that if you cancel any, it can hurt your credit rating.
I believe Discover is still not well accepted but I think they are working on it. They have great customer service so i suggest just calling them directly.
I just noticed that this discussion is from February. Maybe it can still help the OP or future travelers.
