Someone currently in the Algarve told me that they are having difficulty using their normal travel credit card . They don't know if it has to do with the geopolitical situation or the fact that they are not in a city.
Has anyone been having problems using credit cards in Lisbon or Porto?
I had no trouble using my Visa in Lisbon last March, but for some places, purchases under €5 were cash only. So, not a bad idea to have a little cash.
No troubles at all, but we were not in the Algarve or Lisbon. A few shops only took cash, but not many. I did come across one fuel station near Fátima that only accepted cash.
I have watched some travelers who don't distinguish between their "credit cards" and "debit cards" have difficulty even in major cities when trying to use a US debit card... then to discover that their credit card worked fine. A distinction and a difference.
How is difficulty defined? Is the card being declined when used? Or is the merchant saying they do not want to take the card?
Beyond that are these large purchases or small? What brand of card (If Discover for example, then yeah, big problem, Visa? Should be no issue).
Also, they probably should call their card company and check if a hold has been placed on the card.
I can say, it has nothing to do with politics, or the fact that they are out of the city. Paying by card is common all over Portugal and the Algarve is a heavy tourist zone, not a remote mountain village.
Used my card in Lisbon and the Algarve (Tavira) last year, with the exception of a few restaurants that took only cash, and some small purchases where I did not even bother, I had no issues.
There were credit card signs at every place we went to in the Algarve. Sometimes, the restaurant will say their machine is not working and ask for cash. FWIW, I got the impression that when business was slow, like in the off-season, the restaurant may be inclined to wait to get paid in cash. I saw more than a few restaurants send one of the guests to a nearby ATM to withdraw cash to pay for their meal, making the rest of the party wait at the table. I believe, rightly or wrongly, that during the high season, when it is more important to free up tables as quickly as possible, the credit card machines worked perfectly.
