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Discover Card use

Discover is telling me they are accepted in Rome. They have no foreign transaction fees so I would like to use my card on an upcoming trip to Rome. Will using Discover be a problem in Rome?

Posted by
5188 posts

Kathy,

You may want to delete the duplicate post with your name as the title.

I just checked this website: https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/help-center/account/international-use.html

The info on above website explains that your Discover Card will be honored only in businesses that have the Discover logo displayed.

If I were you, I'd apply for a Visa or Mastercard since these are accepted worldwide.

I have a Marriott Rewards Visa card with Chase Bank and it does not charge foreign transaction fees and I get points for Marriott Hotel stays!

Posted by
7010 posts

Kathy, there have been several threads on this in the recent past, do a search above. The consensus is that it's not universally accepted like a VISA or MC. Although you may find scattered places that will accept it, don't count on it and be sure to carry another cc just in case. When I took my DC to Europe I found no one that took it and luckily I had a MC as a backup and ended up using that everywhere.

Posted by
5188 posts

I agree with Nancy, make sure you take another credit card preferably Visa or MC.

Also take 2 debit cards and only use ATM's attached to banks & during business hours just in
case the ATM machine decides to eat your debit card (this happened to me in Greece--fortunately bank teller retrieved it for me)

I almost always pay cash while in Europe and prefer to use my cc only for extended hotel stays and some large ticket items.

Posted by
23178 posts

Yes !!!! Discover will be a problem in Rome. Leave your Discover Card and American Express at home. It is Mastercard and Visa card.

Posted by
506 posts

I have Discover and have talked to them about the use in Europe. Like here not everyone takes Discover, but Discover told me that they use the Dinners Club logo in Europe. I highly suggest that you call Discover because their fraud department is unreal. They almost ruined my whole air reservations on line with United because after they charged the tickets, I went to charge the seat upgrades and they stopped my card because they thought it was being used fraudulently. Bank of America has a no fee travel Visa now, we have one and Capital One also has a no fee card.

Posted by
3387 posts

I would echo the advice above. There are certain establishments, albeit very few, that accept Discover. If you are wanting to use it for lodging you'll need to check with each specific place to see if they take it. I have seen very few restaurants or businesses that accept it.
Just take a Visa or Mastercard and forget the Discover Card. It really isn't worth the effort of trying to determine where you can use it. If you're trying to earn points then use it for your airfare but don't count on it for your expenses while in Rome unless you want to take the time to check beforehand.

Posted by
11613 posts

The first clue that there may be a problem is their saying that Discover is accepted in Rome. Where in Rome? There are thousands of vendors, not all take Discover. On booking.com, more hotels are accepting Discover, but it's still a long way from being universally accepted.