what kind of debit cards should I take to Europe?

Lisa, I'm not familiar with a Visa Check Card, so can't comment on that. I would definitely suggest taking two ATM cards, so that you have a "backup" in case of a problem with your primary card. I experienced that on one trip at a time when my cash reserves were somewhat depleted, so I had to use the alternate card for several days. The problem on that occasion was a "coding error" which occurred due to a change in the data system - the card worked fine after that was resolved. The Bank noticed my unsuccessful attempts using the primary card and successful attempts using the backup card, and they called to verify that it was actually me using the card. That was one call I didn't mind at 02:00 (one advantage of travelling with a Cellphone)! If they hadn't been able to reach me, they likely would have "frozen" both cards! Some Banks are reluctant to issue two ATM cards that access the same account, so you may need to have cards on separate accounts either at the same Bank or another. I also feel it's a bit safer to have two accounts, as all my travel funds aren't in one place (should the ATM card be compromised). When travelling I maintain a small balance in my travel account and transfer money into it as needed, either via Net Banking or just a phone call to my financial institution (they have a Call Centre, which is very convenient). Note that your travel funds must usually be in a chequing account with a four-number PIN. At least one credit card (preferably Visa or MasterCard) would also be a good idea for "unexpected expenses". Happy travels!

I only travel with one debit Visa card, since I only have once, but I also travel with 2 credit cards, and I know the pre assigned pin on one of those so I COULD use that at an ATM for cash, if I lose my debit card. It's not something I'd do otherwise, since the credit card charges interest of course, but it's good to know I do have an option in case my debit Visa is lost, or stops working, or whatever. Just have 2 ways to get cash, whatever those ways might be.

Your Visa check card will work fine in Europe. And yes, some who want extra protection carry a second debit card tied to a separate account. It's also not a bad idea to have a second debit card tied to your first account. Losing or misplacing your card is a far greater possibility than theft. Be sure to bring a major credit card or two for larger purchases. The consumer protection laws are a bit stronger for credit vs debit cards.

The check cards are accepted at any merchant that accepts credit cards, you should have no problems. But, it's not a good idea to use check/debit cards for hotels or rental cars. When you check-in/pick up you car a hold of several hundred dollars can be placed on the funds in you checking account until you return the car/check-out. Unless you have a lot of money in you checking account, you might run into some cash flow problems. Make sure to infrom your CU of you travels plans to your cards don't get blocked.

I have used a debit card for the past 15 years and it has always worked all over Europe. However, once in the early years, an ATM did reject it, and I did panic since I was a little low on cash and did not have a back up.. However, it worked just fine in the next ATM. I have found from time to time that it will not work in an ATM but is OK in the next one. I now have developed a practice of not getting too low on cash, using an ATM attached to a bank during open hours, and carrying a back up card. I have never had a problem with this approach. My primary debit card is from a credit union that charges no currency conversion fees and my back up card is my regular check account which does charge lots of fees. Within the first day or two on the ground I always used both cards just to be sure that both cards are working. However, I have never had to use the back up card. And the probability of your number being stolen in Europe is no greater than the US. Probably greater in the US because I am constantly giving my card to a waiter who disappears with my card for long periods of time. In Europe I tend to use mostly cash just because it is easier and more convenient.

Ken, a VISA Check Card is just a VISA debit card. Lisa, all of these posts have covered all of the key points you need to know about using an ATM overseas. I would like to re-emphasize Frank's suggestion to use your card when the bank/credit union back home is open. That way if you run into problems you can immediately call the financial institution. On my last trip I discovered that my credit union had blocked all of its debit cards for use outside the U.S. due to fraud. They neglected to tell me before my trip so I was really surprised when my card was rejected. A call to the accounting department cleared it right up, though. Be sure and note what number you need so you can call home to the bank/CU. A 1-800 number may not work overseas (and certainly won't be toll-free). Look on the back of your credit card and you'll see a direct dial number to use when outside the U.S. Be forewarned, however, that your financial institution may not be able to unblock the card. For example, my credit union could individually unblock its debit cards but could not do the same for its credit cards. It was an "all or nothing" decision on whether to block them. Consequently, my credit card was worthless on my trip. (Fortunately I had a backup.) Finally, I suggest having an ATM card at a different financial institution. I've just set up a Schwab Bank checking account because Schwab refunds ATM fees and is used to its customers traveling out of the country.

I always thought that the ATM/Visa debit card was limited to the amount that you can withdraw here in the U.S. Of course, the typical credit card has no such limitations. Where I'm going with this thought is using the Visa feature on your debit card to pay a deposit on a car or some advance cost on a hotel. I recall years ago that I tried using my Visa debit card to purchase something over $500 which is my withdrawl limit in the U.S. It was immediately rejected as being over my limit. For my 200E cash withdrawls in Europe, it has always been fine. Is this still the case? Just curious.

It is hard to cite universal rules about any credit or debit cards BECAUSE all policies - limits, fees, restrictions, freezes, etc. are solely determined by the credit card issue. I have a debit card that I have routinely taken out 500E and have never asked about an extension. Specifically asked last December if they had a ban on usage in any country -- NO. So if have restrictions on your card or limits, it was not put there by some unknown "they" is was put there by your bank. So talk to them.

The idea is to have an ATM (debit or check card) from 2 different accounts preferably from 2 different banks. This is because sometimes a bank can block an account either because it suspects fraud due to overseas transactions or there is just some temporary disconnection from the system for a short period of time (just when you need it) or you have gone over your withdrawal limit of the day which is often $500 or $1000 unless you ask for an increase. Tell your bank what countries and when you will be traveling. It is best to have a non 800 number with you when you travel so you can reach your bank if you have trouble. Credit unions are good because they don't charge foreign transaction fees, neither does Capital One and Schwab mentioned above is another. Most US commercial banks will charge several dollars per international transaction. It is also best to use a credit card (not a debit card) when handing your card to someone for a purchase or in a restaurant, hotel or shop where there is a possibility that fraud or unexpected charges can come into play as it may be harder and take longer to straighten out vs. if the same thing happened to a credit card.

A couple reminders to anyone traveling, especially throughout Europe - Call your credit card company(ies) and let them know you will be traveling when and where. Call your credit union or bank and tell them you'll be using your ATM card when and where. Ask your credit union or bank what your daily cash withdrawal limit is. If it seems too low (like $200) ask if they will raise the limit, even temporarily, for the duration of your travels. Make sure your money is in your checking account because, unlike my local credit union ATM, the European ATMs do not give you a choice of which account to withdraw from.
One other note: Find out how much your credit card company charges for foreign transactions likely 3% and maybe apply for one that charges less. That's what I did a couple years ago I got a CapitalOne MasterCard specifically for that trip.

oops
There are some dashes and other punctuation marks missing in my post above, don't know why they didn't show up, but I guess it is understandable?? :)

Any debit card works. If it has a Visa or MasterCard logo it will work in virtually any ATM in Europe (with your four digit pin). I personally don't purchase goods with my debit card. Normally I pay cash because I deal mostly with small businesses. When I deal with larger businesses, I'll use a credit card. My wife and I bring two credit cards and two debit cards (we both carry one of each). The credit cards are different accounts. The debit cards are different accounts at the same bank. If something happens with one account, we can transfer cash from the other (we're both signers on both accounts). Apart from theft (or other fraud) of your card, there is the possibility that the machine may eat your card. It can happen because of a short power surge or outage or your card may be inperceptibly bent enough to keep it from coming back out - so the machine swallows it. Banks aren't supposed to give your card back to you. They are supposed to mail it back to your bank. Your card can also get demagnitized in a number of ways, making it worthless. I always order new cards before a trip so the magnetic strip is fresh and it's completely unbent. If you report a lost card, you won't be able to use another card on the same account, your bank will cancel all cards and reissue new ones. An extra card from the same account won't help and since you're not home to receive your new cards, the account you were using is pretty useless (unless you can transfer money into another usable account you already have a debit card for).

I would suggest a slightly different course of plan for two people traveling than what Brad does. If I am reading Brad correctly, he and his wife each carry the exact same four cards. Let say Brad's wallet gets stolen (and he is foolish enough to have all four of the cards in the same place), he will need to cancel the four cards in his wallet, and all four will get reissued and mailed to their home stateside. However, in canceling his four cards it will also cancel all four cards his wife is carrying. Leaving both of them with no access to money. I think he would be better served carrying one debit card and one credit card each. The if one of them loses or has everything stolen they can finish the trip with the cards that the other one has. Or maybe each carry three cards with each having one that is unique from the other. This happened to my parents when my mom's pocketbook got stolen, every single card of in my dad's wallet was canceled as well. They were at home at the time and it was not a real big deal, but on vacation it could be a disaster.

I read Brad's post as saying basically they carry 4 cards on 4 accounts. My husband and I usually bring 2 cards on each of 2 checking accounts (plus credit cards) - one strategy I suppose we could use is for each of us to carry BOTH cards of the same account; that way if one of us somehow loses our cards, passports, etc., the other person still has cards for the other account. The reason for bringing 2 cards for one account is because sometimes, for whatever reason, one cards simply doesn't work - at THAT ATM, in France, on Tuesdays, whatever. Now, someone's gonna have to stick a knife in us to get our cards...and if a bus drives up onto the sidewalk, knocks me unconscious, and I'm stripped nude (pretty picture LOL) by a roving gang - frankly, I now have worse things to worry about than the theft of my VISA card... Lisa, just be aware that on occasion your ATM card, or credit card, may just simply not work on Tuesdays, in France, or in ANY ATM...no rhyme, no reason sometimes. But chances are, you won't have any problems...And use your debit card in ATMs only - if a waiter skims your debit card number at a bistrot one day after lunch, he can clean out your entire checking account before dinner. If he does the same with your credit card, it's just not the same kind of problem. As far as being paranoid - the only time I recall ever having a card cancelled, someone just got lucky and guessed my debit card number and used it for phone calls from truck stops all over the Southwest...because I watch my accounts online every day or so, I caught it early. We do the same in Europe, too... ...and ditto on everything above!

Ed, I think Brad does exactly what you suggest, which is advice I agree with. I would make one additional suggestion, though: Don't rely on both debit cards if they are from the same bank (even on different accounts). It might pay to open an account elsewhere just to have a different debit card available. Here's why (Which I alluded to in my post above): My wife and I have accounts at two separate credit unions. On our last trip we discovered that one credit union had blocked ALL foreign access through its debit cards so both our cards didn't work. (The other credit union's debit cards were not blocked fortunately.) We had called the first credit union to let them know we'd be traveling and were not alerted to the problem so it was a surprise. If this had happened at the start of a weekend or holiday period we'd have been in some trouble. As it was, it took a day to get the problem fixed, which was fortunate because most of the funds we set aside for the trip were at the blocked credit union. Next trip, I have a Schwab Bank debit card just in case.

"if a waiter skims your debit card number at a bistrot one day after lunch, he can clean out your entire checking account before dinner. If he does the same with your credit card, it's just not the same kind of problem." Eileen, a VISA or Mastercard branded debit card carries the same protection against someone emptying your account as credit cards do (at least mine from two different credit unions and one bank do). As long as the theft is reported promptly (or the fraudulent transaction is reported as soon as it is seen), the money will be replaced. Of course, it might cause a cash flow problem briefly, but you won't be out your entire account permanently. When my daughter's card was stolen, she had the money back within a day of when she reported it.

"When my daughter's card was stolen, she had the money back within a day of when she reported it." And in all but one of the 'anecdotes' I've ever heard of it took DAYS to get everything straightened out, and that was with the people affected going INTO their banks everyday until it was corrected. I don't want to spend my vacation dealing with that if I can help it. My own account went without my stolen funds for a week or so; luckily, it wasn't much money, but I had to wait until a new debit card was sent to me to use an ATM, etc.; I don't want to have to get a new ATM card while in Europe. The logistics - ugh. I never use my debit card online, either. Same reasons.

To back up Paul's suggestion, a further advantage of having separate accounts with debit cards at two banks and/or credit unions is the ability to withdraw funds up to the daily limit from each account when you have unexpected expenses, such as a B&B or hotel owner demanding cash payment. A lot of smaller places are quick to take your cc number for reservations but then refuse to accept a credit card when you are ready to check out.

Ok. So I opened another 2 accounts.. actually at my same credit union.. these are for traveling per the credit union. Found out the countries that they are blocked.. which is nowhere that I'm going. Found out the amout/day you can get out.. which they said we can actually change per bank customer if needed. (Luckily I have a friend who works at it so should be able to do easily). Have a visa credit card.. thinking about a Capital One. So- has anyone used one? Does it really charge no international fees? Have my plan to do as much cash as possible.. going to a bank's ATM when they are open when I need some.. we'll have 4 different accounts we can move $ back and forth to/from.. so hopefully one of those cards will work in the ATM.
Whew! Thanks!!!

I use a Capital One credit card, and it's true that it has no fees.

I too can vouch that Capital One has no fees.

Lisa, you probably won't have problems with any debit card, but with these precautions, you won't be left stranded if a problem should occur.

Yes, we carry four cards on four accounts, two credit card accounts and two checking accounts. The checking accounts don't have to be the same bank but you should be able to transfer funds between the accounts by phone or internet if one of the cards is lost/stolen. That usually means they have the same ownership, in our case both my wife and I are signers on each account, plus a transfer agreement that is in place prior to your trip (sometimes can be done online, sometimes you have to sign something at the bank).

We have been most satisfied with the Schwab "check card" with 0% ATM and 0% point of sale fees, as well as unlimited rebates of ATM-owner fees. See the lengthy chart detailing many ATM and credit cars at Wikipedia under Credit/Debit/ATM Cards and Foreign Exchange. Agree that a back-up ATM card tied to a different account/firm is worthwhile; same for two different credit cards/firms. We have never needed these redundancies but...

If you don't want to spread your funds among different accounts for debit card use and risk having too little in each account, use a line of credit at your credit union to bulk up your funds for the duration of the trip. Then, if no emergencies arise, you can repay it afterward with only a small interest charge.

I can't help but notice that some suggestions mentioned that the account for the ATM/debit card has to be a checking account. May I know why is that? Can't the savings account (that has an ATM card linked) be used to withdraw money from European ATM machines?

Stewart, I'm pretty sure it has to be a checking account. As I recall, European ATM's won't give you the option to withdraw from savings, they will assume checking. You may want to keep money in savings and transfer as needed into your checking account for withdrawal. Just know all your transfer options and the rules for how long before funds are available. It may be that an ATM card (wouldn't be a debit card) is specifically for a savings account but I'm not aware of that option. If so, make sure the syndicate on the card will be available in Europe.

If you have an ATM card linked to both a checking AND a savings account, European ATM's will always default to whichever account you have designated as the PRIMARY account. They will not give you a choice of account as most US ATM's do. If your ATM card is linked only to one single account, it doesn't matter if that account is a checking or a savings account. Your card will work in Europe. The issue isn't checking vs savings, it's primary vs secondary. But the other issue is that it's perhaps not wise to have an ATM/debit card tied to a savings account, because US banking regulations only permit 6 withdrawals per month from a savings account. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how my local bank (BofA) explained it to me. EDIT: But after posting the above, I found this statement on BofA's website: "Some ATMs limit your access to a primary checking account; therefore, ATM cards with only a savings account may not work at all locations."

Thanks Brad and Tom for the explanation. I don't have checking account. I only have savings account. So, based on your explanations, my ATM/debit card will only withdraw the money from that savings account then, thus I should be able to withdraw money from Europe ATM machine.

Be sure to notify your bank of your travel plans. We used our ATM card in Germany in 2007 and forgot to let the bank know. About 1/2 way through our trip the card stopped working. Another suggestion is to set up a separate bank account for you trip and deposit the amount of money have budgeted. That way if something does happen to your card, lost or stollen, you only risk losing that amount of money and not your entire bank account. On our last trip this past September, we were able to transfer more money from our primary account into our travel account using on-line banking. It worked great.