use of credit cards

The use of a standard US credit card is not a problem in retail locations. Some, not all, of the automated ticket machines require the European chip and pin card. We tend to go nearly all cash in part because of the discounts that hotels give for cash. We just find using cash much easier but some prefer to use credit cards. Mostly personal preference.

VISA and MasterCard are accepted lots of places. Not true for Amex and Discover.

Check to make sure your credit card doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee (American Express does, and it's a big bite). Visa/Mastercard are accepted at most shops, restaurants, and hotels; you might encounter a chip problem at automated machines (at gas stations, for example), but not at ATMs (Bancomat is the most common). I would have some cash on hand just for emergencies (in case credit cards are not accepted or don't work) or for very small purchases.

FTFs are just about much ado about nothing. AE charges something like 2.5 percent. The fee charged by Visa and MC tends to be fractionally less, but is determined by the issuing bank. I've never had a cc that claimed to have no FTF (and I travel a heck of a lot more than most people) since I see absolutely no sense in having something else to keep track of - - but I strongly suspect that those institutions do something sneaky with the exchange rate since there ain't no free rides. Assuming that your bank or credit union charges no fee for cash withdrawals, you're still going to pay about one percent or so for the currency conversion (nothing is free). The difference between cash and cc thus ranges from nothing to maybe one percent - - a hundred bucks on a ten grand trip or fifty dollars if you split your expenditures evenly twixt cash and cc. Paying for large purchases/expenses with a credit card means having to carry less cash. The only real savings is just where Frank said - - using cash where it will get you a meaningful discount.

Sue,
We're here in Italy now. Regular CC's will do. Both my husband and I got the chip and pin cards and we have had trouble using them.

American Express is accepted in many places in Rome. At the TrenItalia ticket kiosks, you have to use a Chip&Pin, UNLESS you have an American Express, which they will still accept without a chip. So if you have an Amex, bring it at least for the train tickets. In small towns, it is easy enough to buy train tickets with cash at the local station. In places like Rome, where the train station is huge and mobbed, you would much rather prefer to go to a kiosk and buy your ticket that way, rather than waiting in the chaotic, huge line at the Biglietteria counter. My experience has been that in many stores, the clerk will often instinctively try to your card into their little reader, as if it were a Chip&Pin (because that is what they are used to); so sometimes you have to get their attention and show them that it is a normal swipe card; then they swipe it without problem. Make sure you call the card issuers before leaving and tell them what days you will be in Italy, so that they will not try to block your card for suspicious activity when you are here. Safe trip and enjoy!

Just for fun, I ran some numbers this morning using an Andrews Federal Credit Union GlobeTrek Rewards VISA credit card with pin and chip technology and no foreign transaction fees versus a Schwab Bank ATM card as to euro purchases. If my calculations are correct, in this example only, there is upwards of a 3% premium using the credit card over the ATM card.

Allow me to modify what I said. VISA and Mastercard are much more commonly accepted in Italy than is American Express. And American Express is much LESS accepted in Italy than it is in the US.

US Credit cards are accepted with no problem in Italy. Some retailers don't accept them, especially for small purchases, but that's not common. Happy travels.

I was unaware that the Discover card was accepted in Europe given that the Discover card network is not in Europe. I am not following how a no currency conversion fee credit card would be more expensive than a debit card. However, comparing a credit card with a debit card is not an apple to apple comparison.

Per the example above: the exchange rate for a credit card purchase is revealed on the credit union's website (see Military & Europe tab), which is significantly worse than the rate used for an ATM cash withdrawal using the ATM card. The latter rate is found at VISA.com. Both cards have zero foreign transaction fees.

Just because there are "no foreign transactions fees" does not mean there are no cost differences in the example I gave. The Andrews Federal Credit Union GlobeTrek Rewards VISA credit card uses a much different dollars/euros exchange rate versus the one used for the Schwab ATM card. The difference is almost 3%. Agreed that a credit card and an ATM card are not both "apples" yet both can be used to pay for travel expenses. Being a thrifty traveler, that's not chump change on a big trip.

Maybe we are discussing the same thing and may be not. But something is not clear. The difference in the exchange between one visa credit or debit card transaction is minor. Both are using the same network which is giving the same exchange rate with very small variations depending on time of day. Whether it is a card from a New York bank or a Colorado credit union, the exchange rate on the VISA network (PLUS) is the same. But after that is totally up to the card issuer as to the fees that are added. However, an old class action has forced all card issuers to clearly id all fees charged and listed on your statement. So if one card charges 3% more than it will be list on your monthly statement. You cannot say that one credit card uses a different exchange rate than another. One other thing - you never use a credit card to obtain cash at an ATM unless it is an absolute emergency and you have no other choices. A credit card is obtaining a cash advance (LOAN) and high interest rates and fees immediately kick in.

You must be misreading something but I cannot tell what without a direct reference. More simply put, the PLUS network establishes the exchange rate for VISA and it is always within 1% of the Interbank rate for that date and time. Makes no difference it is a debit card or credit card or present in France or Italy. It is always the same. If the credit card is 3% higher it is because they have added 3% in fees.

Bruce, are you assuming that the Euro exchange rate displayed on the "military and Europe" page of the Andrews FCU website is the credit card exchange rate. I don't think that is the case. Their credit card agreement states that they use the rate set by Visa plus 1%. It is documented here: www.andrewsfcu.org/media/doc/M101482_Visa_Credit_Agreement.pdf I suspect that the rate displayed on their page (www.andrewsfcu.org/military_and_europe/military_center.html) is either the rate for exchanging foreign notes or simply informational.

Nope...didn't assume...staff told me during a recent telephone call the exchange rate per the Military & Europe tab is the rate used for credit card transactions involving euros.

Hmmm ... That seems very odd. You can look up exchange rates on the Visa corporate site and it doesn't match what is listed on the Andrews page. I wonder if the bank staff knows what they are talking about. The fine print of the Andrews credit card agreement states that they use the Visa rate plus 1% and that is legally what they have to use. http://usa.visa.com/personal/using_visa/consumer_ex_rates_us.jsp

"I wonder if the bank staff knows what they are talking about. The fine print of the Andrews credit card agreement states that they use the Visa rate plus 1% and that is legally what they have to use." Agreed - I'd trust what is in the legal documents, not what some employee thinks or even what is posted on a website. The bank would be in extreme trouble with a lot of regulators, courts and customers if they ignored the legal agreements... Financial institutions use networks like Plus or Cirrus to handle foreign transactions. Those networks set the rates and they are consistent amongst the various issuing banks. Any rate differences from those network rates are extra fees or charges and have to be spelled out in the cardholder agreements. Typically, if not always, the exchange rate is posted and any extra fees declared on your statement.

Capital One has a free VISA with no Foreign Transaction Fees. However, they're "different" - paperless statements, etc. and it took them over a month to get me a card. Dave

We also use a Capital Card in Europe when we use a card which is in frequent. We have drifted to nearly a 100% cash when in Europe and only use a card the last couple of days when trying to manage our Euro supply so that we can a hundred or so left over. However, Capital One has a reputation for terrible customer service. You get what you pay for.

We go to Europe every summer for a month and just returned from 25 days in Italy. We use cash 98% of the time and do carry a cc to use if needed. Otherwise, we use a debit card tied to a checking account at a local credit union to get cash. I already have seen some billing arriving at the cu and the only fee is a 1% fee added by the cu. Our plastic all has magnetic bands - no chip and pins yet.
Many of the places we were in, particularly the smaller places, did not accept credit cards.

"Capital One has a reputation for terrible customer service.." Is this a statement based on personal experience? I've found they have excellent customer service. And I think not ripping off your cardholders with excessive fees counts for a lot.

I, too, thought Capital One had great customer service until this past year. Now I have had a chance to see first hand how terrible their customer service really is.Since you do not really want to hear the whole sordid story, I will say that we had a bad experience with a rental car in the Fall of 2011.while we tried to resolve this while in France, we had to file a dispute with Capital One upon returning home.What followed was the most ridiculous excuse for professionalism and customer service I have ever seen. After months of completely bungling the dispute we sent them a professional, but not too nice letter outlining their mistakes and we got a very nice call from a woman telling us she was management and would help us and to call her if we had further problems. We had more problems, called her, only to find out that she did not exist and neither did the phone number.I guess one never really knows about the quality of customer service until a dispute arises.