Money: Debit or Credit

Welcome to the Helpline, Jenny. Use your ATM card to get [edit] cash when you need it. Here's an online article from Rick that explains why and other things you need to know about money on your Europe trip http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/moneytip.htm

When Kent says "daily cash" he doesn 't mean get cash out each day. Most of us get as much out as we can ,, usaully 300-500 euros, and put most in safe at hotel or in our MONEY BELTS, and then just carry a days cash around in our wallet or purses. This does two things, has a small amount of cash handy( no digging in money belt in public!) , and keeps fees down by minimizing transactions. Have your withdrawal limit raised a bit before you go( remember how many American dollars it takes to get 500 euros, LOL ) and you should only have to do three or four withdrawals . My bank btw has an account package that offers free foriegn withdrawals, so look into what your bank may offer.

Credit cards are best for bigger ticket items, hotels and nice dinner out, maybe a shopping splurge. I don't use them for light cafe lunches, ice creams, souvenir shops etc.

A lot of small places will not take credit or debit cards. It is best to make sure you have Euros. The ATMs are the best way to get Euros.

Also, if you are going to use a credit or debit card, many banks charge a 3% currency conversion fee. If you have a Capital One card they do not charge this fee (at least on mine).

Specifically, Capital One has a Money Market debit card that doesn't charge conversion fees or useage fees. And it pays you interest. You have to set up a Money Market fund with them and deposit money into it. It takes a couple of weeks to set up. (Or at least all this was true a year ago.)

The Capitol One Money Market is great. We opened last year, based on suggestions here, for our trip to Italy and it worked wonderfully. Not only didn't we get charged fees, but we earned interest on the money while it was in there. Now I only use my Capitol One credit card and money market card any time I travel abroad. Last trip was to Nicaragua and it worked wonders there too. Those fee add up and you can use the savings for a nice bottle of wine or daily gelato.

Just returned home from Italy on Tuesday. My credit cards charge between 1-3% for foreign transactions. So I used my debit card with no problems and took the maximum cash withdrawal each time to keep ATM charges to a minimum. I then made purchases with cash to reduce the potential for abuse of my debit card especially since it does not carry the same fraud protection as a credit card.

I'm heading to Italy and Switzerland in June/July, and have been looking at money options as well. We have both a Capital One account and Capital One credit cards. I had not heard of the Capital One money market before. What is the advantage of that over just using the Capital One debit? Is it worth opening the MM account if I already have a Capital One debit? I've also heard before that CO usually has a $300/day withdrawal limit. Is it difficult/possible to have this raised? Is that limit just for ATM withdrawals or withdrawals plus debit purchases?

Thanks!

One advantage of the CO Money Market account is that it pays interest. The limit can probably raised to more than $300 if you have enough in the account and your credit is good enough. More likely is a daily withdrawl limit from the ATM network.

1. Use debit for cash. You will need a lot of cash.

2. Use Visa to charge purchases. (Remember, Italy is a cash economy, don't assume everyone will accept the card. Always ask first, and expect the answer will often be No. Don't even try for small purchases. Ditto Pat's post)

3. No on the pre-paid cards.

You're running out of time to make sure you have cards with low fees/good exchange rates. Have you called your bank and CC card companies?