Using cash vs. credit card in Portugal

I think using credit cards in just about all major cities in Europe is pretty much the
way to go. In fact, I think you will get dirtier looks if you try to ask a cashier to break
a large bill (which is what you'll often get from an ATM) for a small purchase.

But, it's always good to have some cash if you are out in the boonies. Just go to an
ATM in the arrival airport and use your checking account ATM card (not a credit card,
that will count as a cash advance and you'll get charged mucho interest) to get some
euros, If you are in major cities you can always get more if you end up needing them.

Don't get too much to start, you could get stuck with Euros burning a hole in your
pocket at the end of your trip.

credit cards are everywhere

I was in Lisbon last month. Many places were cash only for small purchases.

I find it's best to always have some cash on you, just in case.

You will use credit card, with contactless, or tap, capability mostly. You should always have some cash, but that can wait until you get there, use your ATM card to withdraw a 100 euro or so.

We are currently traveling in Portugal and Spain, and in previous trips since the Pandemic, we used very little cash, however this trip, we have run into several restaurants that only took cash, plus we are using cash for things under 5 euro. However, we have been in towns maybe off the "A-List" tourist route and eating in smaller restaurants.

Should I be converting $ now or once I land?

I like to arrive in a new country already having the local currency so I don't have to worry about finding the "right" ATM, my card getting stuck, or someone watching me getting cash.

I have some left over from a previous trip. But for my first trip to Europe a few years ago. I got some Euros from my bank, Wells Fargo, ahead of time.

Portugal has more cash only places than some other countries, so you will need some cash.

Last September I ran into a number of cafes, small museums, and shops that were cash only, but they were not in Porto.

Most places automatically charged in Euros, but a couple charged in dollars before I had a chance to specify Euros. Fortunately they were small purchases.

Portugal has changed in the last few years so that CC’s are much more prevalent. You will likely find a Multibanco at the airport, so I’d wait until I arrived to get a few euros. But, most places you go will likely take cards.

I just returned from Portugal. Credit card use was easy in the cities I went to (Lisbon. Coimbra, Porto). But, I didn't buy anything in the smaller cities I passed through between Coimbra and Porto. I attended a local orange festival inside Convento de Cristo where vendors only took cash. Also, the bus from the Sintra train station to the Pena Palace ticket office did not accept credit cards for the 15.3 Euro bus fare. An impromptu taxi ride from Moorish Castle to downtown Sintra needed a cash fare. I used 100 Euro in cash incidentals in 2 weeks (some small bus fares, snacks, local vendors, flea market, Sintra bus, donations to the needy, tips to street performers, etc.). I had no problem using my ATM card at an inside large Bank ATM machine in Lisbon, my first destination.

We just spent 2-1/2 weeks in Portugal. We were surprised how many restaurants in the smaller towns (Ericeira, Tomar, Óbidos for ex.) were cash only due to “credit card machine not working”, including pricier places. We had to take cash out three times from ATMs following the instructions from a poster here (thank you!)
to make sure we avoided the exorbitant 13.25% exchange rate. Not a single ATM dispensed a large bill, just 20s and 10s.

Pappillon54

LOL, we ran into the same situation last September. My theory is that in low season when restaurants are less busy and staff have the time to deal with payments or wait for customers to run to the nearest ATM, the credit card machine "is not working" and cash is required. In the busy high season, the credit card machine probably works fine so that you can quickly tap and make the table available for the next customers.

My family just came back from our trip. I took out 100 Euros at the airport ATM and still had more than 60 Euros after 10 days.

However, I do want to caution everybody about Dynamic Conversion fee when using credit cards in some restaurants. Everybody knew to reject it when using the ATM, but it's also an option for a lot of the CC terminals too. When paying the restaurant meals, a few times after I tapped or inserted the card, the waiter/waitress took over the process by punching the keys for me instead of letting me do it. I assume they just wanted to help or wanted to speed things up, but every time when that happened, they chose to accept Dynamic Conversion, so I got charged an extra 4% or 5% of the fee on the bill. I only saw it when I got the receipt. After the first couple of times, at the next meal, I tried to proactively tell the waitress to not accept Dynamic Conversion, but my Portuguese was not good enough to convey this somewhat complicated concept and her English was not good enough to understand me. And while I was trying to get her attention, she was already punching the keys on the CC terminal, and I didn't want to make a scene by trying to grab the cc machine from her, so I just gave up. At the end of the day, a 5% fee on a 60 euro bill was only 3 euro. On the positive side, neither the waiters nor the cc terminals didn't even give me the option to add a tip, so I looked at the situation as I gave 5% as a tip to somebody.

So, after dining at a restaurant, if you can, try to take the cc terminal from the waiter/waitress when paying the bill so that you can make sure to select the right option, don't let them do it.

An update from our trip! 1st, thanks to everyone who provided info and tips.
We used our credit card majority of time except when we were making a very small purchase up to 10 euro.
I failed to check for additional fees on our receipts and it's a good idea to be aware of it.
We used the exchange machine a couple of times to get euro. The machines are conveniently spread out in most places.