Just an fyi for anybody that may be flying into Krakow airport and taking the train into town. I tried an ATM at the airport thinking I would need cash for the train into town. But messages popped up on the ATM showing high fees and poor exchange rate so I cancelled the transaction. I asked the helpful TI in the airport about the train into town and she said I could just pay on board with a credit card. So that's what we did. The conductor came by on the train, and I just tapped my card and paid. btw, we found in Krakow that tap and pay by card was by far the most common way to pay (even for pay toilets!). Only occasionally did we find a merchant that was cash only. We really enjoyed Krakow. Have a great trip!
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7266 posts
Bob, your report about paying for the train is welcome.
I want to add that, in Poland, I found that ATM and POS credit card terminals frequently used alarming language to steer you towards Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). This is quite deceitful, because DCC always costs more than having your credit card company do the conversion.
It was quite common for me to have to click something like "Accept transaction with unknown conversion fee!", when that really meant "Leave it to the VISA network ... "
Posted by
near San Francisco
4587 posts
The ATM messages trying to steer you to use their conversion process are becoming comically desperate.
"Are you really really really sure you want to .... let your bank do the conversion at whatever their [implied-to-be-awful] rate may be instead of us?"
Yes, I'm sure!
Posted by
TX, USA
4053 posts
Thanks for the heads up! I will be there in a couple of weeks. I will already have cash, but I love tap and pay.