need for a credit and debit card

Better rate at ATMs with a debit card than with a credit card. Big caveat- make sure you know the terms of your card.

Just to expand on the first answer, you will use your debit card to get cash out of ATMS in the country you are visiting. If it's UK it'll be British Pounds, if it's France, Italy, Ireland, etc it'll be Euro. If it's Switzerland it'll be Swiss Francs. Most places you will want to pay for small items on a cash basis so you will need more cash on hand than you might have at home. This is where the better exchange rate comes in, in that the money is given to you in the local currency and debited from your account back home.

You will not want to get cash out of ATMs on your credit card as that is a cash advance.

Where are you planning to travel to? (Assuming you are going to Italy since you are on that forum but wanted to make sure.)

You weren't planning on travelers checks were you? They are not used any more and many banks will not cash them.

If you were going to bring a debit card for getting cash out of an ATM. I don't bring a debit card - we each bring one credit card. But I bring my Euros with me from home...I think I'm in the minority on this. A lot of people on this site get them from ATMs as they travel.

When using a credit card to get foreign currency at either an ATM or a bank, it will be treaded as a cash advance by 99% of card issuers. This almost always incurs high interest rates. More and more places in Europe today want cash payment especially small businesses. You should read "Travel Tips - Money" found elsewhere on this web site for lots of good information. We have gone to Europe for 13 of the last 14 years for a month each time and seldom find a use for a credit card except when paying for a hotel when we could not get into a B&B or when we purchased a rug in Turkey. We do take two credit cards and two debit cards from different financial institutions so that we have a back up if one is disabled. We make sure that all of the financial institutions are notified of when and where we will be traveling so that they do not think that use in Europe is fraudulent. We do not get foreign currency here in the US before leaving but rather use an ATM at our arrival airport being sure to use a bank's or one in our cards network. We have never had a problem doing this but then we have always arrived in Europe during the morning or mid-day hours.

One other point based on the second post. Where you are traveling does matter. A lot of the places I've traveled in Europe do not take credit cards. They are much more cash-based cultures.

cryer37 noting your other question concerning where to buy euro, and inferring that you may not be aware that most savvy travelers do not take all their traveling cash (dollars or euro or whatever) with them. Nor do they take traveler checks. They get the majority of cash over there, from ATMs like people do here in US, using a debit card. Generally Europeans do not use credit cards for almost every transaction the way people here in the US do. Many places will not take credit cards for small purchases, and the common swipe and sign cards we use in the US do not always work in Europe (where they use chip & PIN cards). So the prudent traveler takes a credit card for major things like hotels and large purchases, and a debit card for getting cash for small purchases. check out the Money Tips under Travel Tips on the link menu on the left side of this webpage, where Rick explains it better.

When I answered I had not seen your other thread about purchasing Euro. I travel solo and while I am comfortable carrying a few hundred Euro I am not comfortable carrying enough Euro for my whole trip, thus my use of local ATMs as I travel. I do scope out an ATM before I use it.

The sole purpose of carrying a debit card to Europe is to obtain local currency. As I said in answer to the other question, The cheapest and most convenient way to obtain local currency is via a debit card at a bank owned ATM. It doesn't get any simpler. Now I also think it is very smart to carry two debit cards tied to two different accounts and three credit cards. It is called back up with a properly worn money belt.

Europe is much more cash oriented than the US. Second, you can often get a 5 to 10% on your hotels by paying cash. In Europe we pay about 95% of our bills via cash. Easier and never worry about your credit card being compromised.

An ATM card is not necessarily a Debit card. My Bank of America ATM card was only used at ATM machines and was not a Debit card. My Wells Fargo Debit card works at ATM machines and for merchant debit transactions. See:
http://www.americasaves.org/blog/804-atm-card-debit-card-credit-card-what-s-the-difference

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-machine-atm-tips

Using your debit card at an ATM takes dollars directly from your bank
account at home and gives you foreign cash. You’ll pay fees, but
you’ll still get a better rate than you would exchanging cash dollars
at a bank. Ideally, use your debit card with a Visa or MasterCard logo
to take money out of ATMs.

Merchants in some countries, such as the Nordic/Scandinavian, seem to be more accepting of credit cards than those of other countries.

If you are thinking of getting a debit card just for travel, I'd like to suggest Charles Schwab investor checking. No atm fees and no foreign transaction fees. I use this when I travel and it is great. I also like having a special account to save up my travel money in.

It depends somewhat on to where you are going. In some parts of Europe you can do quite well with only a credit card, but in other countries (Germany, for example), you can charge everything, but you will pay a high price for only going to places that take cards.

Try to use cash from a debit card if you can.

The only problem I have with taking along cash for you whole trip is that:

1) converting dollar to euros over there is more expensive than using cash from an ATM, and
2) converting it over there is even worse.

I don't have as much of a problem as others on this site with the idea of carrying a lot of cash. Yes, if you lose it, it is a problem, but if you carry your debit card in the same place, losing it is nearly as bad. Either way you have no money and no way to get more. Really!

Meanwhile, Sweden wants a cashless society and many banks there have no cash! I am happy that cash is still preferred in Italy.

Finland like the rest of Scandinavia is a pretty advanced financial society. We did bring about 150 EUR cash from prior trips but spent almost two weeks in Finland using credit card transactions. (Our hotels were pre-paid). The Finnair Bus and Helsinki taxis accepted our chip and signature credit card as did restaurants and of course shops.

Even small towns a 6 hour train ride north of Helsinki accepted credit card payments for bus service, supermarket purchases, meals, sports supplies and even for the sports center swimming pool. I did need to use cash (a 0.50 coin) for the train car luggage locker, but it returned the coin when I returned the key and opened the locker. We came back with about 100 EUR left for the next trip without having to visit an ATM in Finland.

The Helsinki VAT Refund kiosk pays the VAT refund by crediting your credit card.

I used to take all cash (euro) with me for my trip (89 days since Schengen clipped my wings and I got a grownup job), but now I use a debit card.

Lee, if your debit card is lost or stolen (mine was), not only are you protected from most fraudulent charges, but the bank will cancel the card and issue a new one. The hiccup will be getting the PIN, often sent separately to your home address. When this happened to me, I called the bank, they Fedexed the new card to me in Italy, but I had to have the friend who picked up my mail open the PIN envelope and email me the number since my bank did not permit me to choose the number. FedEx for the card took three business days.

We met a couple in Prague from Canada who had carried all their travel cash with them in a money belt; several thousand dollars worth of Euro, Czeck money and Rubles. They had it all stolen from a locked locker in Budapest. I have on occasion carried a few thousand in cash and always felt rather nervous about it until I had used it for its purpose e.g. the travel agent in China or the apartment in Italy. By using an ATM you not only get the cheapest money, you also are not carrying worrisome amounts of cash.

As Emma said, if you are going to Sweden and you have at least a chip and signature card, you will never need cash so you will never need an ATM card. I didn't go to the ATM once while there and loved just using the chip and signature card. Best rate, no fees, etc: Capital One Venture card. Swedish vendors would rather you use the card for 50 cents than give them cash. I loved it!

I keep a couple hundred euro at the end of each trip to use as "seed money" upon return to Europe. I never use airport ATMs and wait until arriving in the city center to get more money from an ATM using my debit card. The seed money is useful for bus tickets to the city from the airport and immediate expenses before finding a bank ATM. Be sure to read debit card terms as well as credit card terms - there are significant differences in fees among institutions. Two debit cards and two credit cards meet the needs since I use my debit card for purchasing train tickets, credit card for longer hotel stays, and mostly cash for meals. One of the debit cards is purely backup since it charges a 3% transaction fee.

Valerie, how much cash do you bring from home? Does it usually include unused cash from past trips to Europe?

Personally I do not feel comfortable going to Italy without enough euros to last at least one day. This will be the first time I need euros. It also is the first time I need to buy almost everything with cash instead of my credit card. So the idea of going to Italy with no euros in my wallet scares me even if the hotel has an ATM.

Traveling Woman, I take anywhere from €30-100, whatever is left over from the last trip. How much you want to have with you depends. €30 will get me a coffee or snack, water, and a bus/train/taxi (combination) to my hotel. This works for me in Milano, Roma, Frankfurt, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels. Public transportation from the airport to the train station is key, though; a taxi from FCO to Roma Termini or a central hotel is close to €50.

So I will need 100 euros for the first day because a taxi to the hotel is expensive. We have no interest in carrying suitcases at the train station.

Ya, I always try to have a hundred Euro on landing. The day time taxi from the airport in Rome to central Rome is fixed at 48E for four people and luggage. I think it is 60E at night.

But I bring my Euros with me from home...I think I'm in the minority
on this.

You are very much in the minority - maybe a minority one - it is an expensive way to go. BUT if you are comfortable doing that then that is what you should do. Myself, I would be very uncomfortable with that much money on me. And there is the unpredictable nature of how many Euro do I need? If I run out, what are my options for more? And if you carry a bunch home, there is the cost of converting back to dollars.

Frank, the only people who need to convert euros back to dollars are those who have no chance of returning to Europe. Many people save their euros for future vacations knowing they will go back to an EU country someday or maybe visit another member nation. I will certainly do that if I have any euros left to bring home.