Using Capital One Credit Card and Apple Pay in Norway

I don't use Apple Pay or Google Pay (I have an Android phone), but I used a chip-and-signature credit card all over Norway last year without issue. I was using a no-fee United mileage card; CapitalOne is my backup, but I never needed to use it. I'd be shocked if you had a problem with a train ticket machine. As it happens, I bought my ticket into town from a human being because she offered to sell it to me when I asked a question about the ticket machine. (I think there were two machines, and I wasn't sure which one to use for the ticket into Oslo.) I subsequently tapped my way through the country. I imagine hotels required a signature because the cost for multiple nights was probably over the tap threshold, but it was such a non-issue that I don't remember.

One thing that might be useful to know is that if you buy a regular train ticket into the city (not for the airport train), it's good for city transportation in Oslo for a good while--maybe 2 or 2-1/2 hours after purchase. That can be helpful if you are staying some distance from the train station, because parts of Oslo are hilly.

If you need additional train tickets once you're on the ground in Norway, you should be able to buy them online or via an app if it's not convenient to go to a physical train station. Some tickets will be cheaper if purchased early.

Some people use cash, saying no one uses cash is exaggerating. But Visa is accepted more or less everywhere, but if you don't have a pin you might have trouble using it when buying things from machines.

I traveled around Norway, Denmark and Sweden last summer and used my Capital One card. Never had cash. My card has tap to pay and that was the very common way to use a card everywhere I went. The PIN should work for more then just cash advance but I actually don’t recall needing to enter my pin - maybe I did, but not enough to remember it. I didn’t need to buy train tickets in Norway because I rented a car. But, I did catch a local bus a couple times and could use my card. In Denmark, purchased a train ticket from kiosk with the card. Even just stopping in a qwik mart for a $2 soda, no cash - just tap to pay with my card; easy peasy!

We just returned from Norway and only had a little cash and 4 Visa cards for purchases. We COULD NOT purchase online bus tickets. A friend there told us, only American Express is working for these online purchases. When I called the credit card company, they said it had to do with extra security being involved from a third party in Estonia because of the war between Ukraine and Russia (I have not verified this). It was a nightmare for us to get to Oslo for our return flight. There had been a huge amount of rain and roads were washed out. People were finding alternate routes for their destinations and many of the busses were booked up when they arrived at the station. We missed two busses to Oslo the last one being at midnight. Our only alternative was to book online but we could not. PayPal was not even an option when I tried to book a ticket. After several hours and spending the night at a stranger's apartment (he took us in when he saw us and all of our travelling paraphernalia on the street at the closed police station in Odda at 0200), we called our friends in Herand and had them book our tickets using their credit card. Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!

Good heavens, what a terrible experience, signmakersal!

I was in Norway in July 2023. I used both Capital One MasterCard, Citibank Visa, and ApplePay in Oslo and Bergen. I also purchased Oslo - Bergen train tickets using PayPal. We didn't take any buses, so I can't comment on signmakersal's experience. I wonder if ApplePay was available online? I had researched and thought that was an option for Oslo's buses, but can't confirm.

As to the specific question of card on Vy train from airport - we choose to take the Flytoget in. A bit more expensive than the train, but not significant. If you are senior age, register your card with Flytoget to get the discount. It is a simple "tap and go" with a cashless card - I know I used the Visa card for that. If you travel in London with a contactless US card, it is exactly the same process. That's the reason I went this route rather than slightly cheaper train - fewer details (as in buying the train ticket) and convenience, as well as a very comfortable ride and one more train per hour.

Adding - I've used ApplePay extensively in Europe and Asia. I've never had it rejected, although that doesn't mean it isn't possible.

I haven't been in Norway since last summer (when I had no card problems), but I'm past the two-month mark on a trip to Stockholm, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In all countries except Sweden, I've bought bus tickets online, generally without credit card issues. I use a Chase Visa card. One of my back-ups is a CapitalOne card, but I haven't needed to use it on this trip.

I did have one online purchase (don't remember whether it was a bus ticket or something else) that wouldn't go through on the Chase card, but PayPal was an option, so I used that.

When we were in Norway early this Summer, we used Apple Pay for nearly everything. There was not one time where Tap and Pay wasn’t the expected payment option, even in smaller towns. We did have trouble paying for train/bus tickets ahead of our trip while in the US as I believe I read the Norwegian system doesn’t readily accept US credit cards. We also were not able to get tickets through the VY app with US CC’s. Only PayPal worked. But, while in Norway, Apple Pay and Visa worked everywhere.

We are on our way to Oslo right now on the overnight ferry after being in Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm, and Copenhagen. We have a Barclaycard MC and have only used that on my iPhone Apple Pay so far. We haven’t been to an ATM yet and have no cash but a few Euros and US currency. I installed the Ruter app and set up an account with my credit card so I hope we can use that for any bus or metro tickets. We are only in Oslo for two nights, then Norway in a Nutshell to Bergen, 2 nights there then home. I’m hopeful we can continue just using the tap and pay with the MC in my Apple wallet. We have not needed to use the pin. Hope that helps. I read somewhere that you can’t use Apple Cash, just Apple Pay to clarify.