is American Express credit cards accepted a lot?

No.

millicent, I don't use American Express, but from what I've seen it's not too popular in Italy except at larger Hotels and posh stores. Most merchants seem to prefer Visa and MasterCard. I've heard that the commission charged by AmEx is higher than the others, and that's one reason why merchants don't favour it. Happy travels!

Either apply for a Visa card or just use your debit card. Donna

No, it is random at best except for the high end places. Use cash. Europeans like cash and often you can get a discount. The only time we have used credit cards on our last couple of trips is the last day or two when managing the cash reserve that we want to take home.

In my experience, I had no issues with acceptance of American Express in a number of countries, but then I only use credit cards for hotels, dinners over 50 euro at larger restaurants, and major purchases. Some years ago, it was a much different story, when the only American Express cards were the "Pay as you go" type cards, but since the introduction of Blue and Delta going to American Express as their preferred card, Marketing and acceptance has changed drastically. I will however state that I never travel with dependence on only one credit card. Ideally I will have a couple different credit cards, maybe even two different debit cards (or at least one of the credit cards with an ATM cash advance option) since you never know what you will run into.

Millicent, when I moved to Europe years ago I had an AMEX Platinum card. Prior to my move, with my business demands, income level, required services, huge billings (like 92 hotel rooms for a group for one night - that was a lot of points!) and frequent airport travel, I needed a card with that level of support, authorization, and flexibility. The AMEX Platinum met my demands. In the USA, the vendors paid the fees, and prices were were no different for me whether I used this card or not. Due to some of the size of my purchases, the AMEX card provided a level of security to me - and to the vendor. I used it daily, had huge billings, and paid it off monthly - when my expense checks came in. One card I literally wore the numbers down from usage! Yet when I moved to Europe, I never pulled it out of my wallet and I actually downgraded my card to reduce the annual fee. I still have it - it's my security blanket, but in Europe the fees are paid by the vendor - and ALSO THE USER.

As a result, fewer vendors take the card because of the higher costs to them and I find myself NOT using the card because I can get similar services for free. I have a CapitolOne Mastercard I picked up before moving to Europe. No fees, no annual rate, no currency conversion fees, NOTHING. Whatever I pay in the store or at a hotel - there are no add-on's later. When I use a US credit card in Europe, it's my credit card of choice. Why should you pay extra fees when you don't have to? Because we travel so much, these fees would be quite high each month. Nowadays there are many other cards available that offer no-fees, no currency-conversion expenses, etc. I strongly suggest you get one before traveling. For some information on Credit Cards and other things you might do before heading out on your trip, you might read this article. Good Luck!

Millicent, I use the Amex card for making reservations online, but I usually pay by cash or another credit card. If you have a debit card from your bank, you can make sure your daily withdrawal limit is high enough to allow you to pay as you go. Ron is right, most places don't want to accept the Amex card (you should always ask if they take it, even if they have the Amex logo on their door).

We always use a Capital One credit card, while traveling. American Express is rarley accepted any where we have been. We have had no problem using Capital One in Europe, Canada, Australia, or Tahiti. They don't charge transaction fees either. There are various choices depending if you want to earn cash back, points or airline miles.

Ladies and gentlemen: This post is 8 months old. Please let old posts die of natural death. After a few weeks is time to let go.