American Express or Cash

I don't have an American Express card. I know that card isn't accepted everywhere, but there's no reason not to use it when possible unless it has high overseas-usage fees (I assume you're correct that it doesn't).

The fees charged by your other credit card for use in Europe are likely to be lower than what you'll pay if you obtain euros in the US before leaving home. There will be some combination of less-than-ideal conversion rate and service charge at your bank. Some credit unions and online banks have accounts with no-fee ATM cards. That's what most of us use, once in Europe, to get the cash we need--which is less and less every year, it seems.

Please don't get a large amount of cash in the US and take it to Spain. There's always a risk of theft or loss. Get a small amount of euros before leaving home if you need to do that to be comfortable, maybe 100 euros or so. Get additional money as you need it (it probably will be very little) from bank ATMs.

You can compare the fee charged by your Visa card to the fee an ATM may charge you to see whether one of those deals is better than the other. I'm willing to spend the time to find ATMs that don't charge fees, but on a shorter trip that may not be a good use of your time. I've seen ATMs charge flat fees (making a small withdrawal comparatively costly) and others charge fees that are a percentage of the withdrawal; there may be some ATMs that charge both types of fee. If have enough time to set up a Capital One 360 account (that's easily done online) and receive the ATM card, that would be a smart move.

Do not under any circumstances perform any financial transaction in Spain (ATM withdrawal or payment) in US dollars. Do everything in euros to avoid being charged a great deal extra via a poor conversion rate.

You'll find smaller establishments will be unlikely to accept American Express, the fees are just too high. I've given up using my Amex abroad, I now use an alternative bank (Mastercard) that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. I rarely use cash in Spain now other than a €1 coin for supermarket trolleys.

Bringing a large amount of cash is not a good idea (I'm being very gentle here...). Don't do that.

Amex cards are accepted in some places, but there are plenty of businesses that do not accept Amex. Amex cards are not a reliable way to pay for everyday items. You need a Visa and/or MasterCard for that. Get one that does not charge foreign transaction fees.

You should never travel with just a single source of payment (a "single point of failure" that can leave you literally and figuratively up a creek). Have at least 2 separate credit cards and 2 debit cards per person (not tied to the same account).

Have you checked the website of the hotels you are staying at to see if they accept AMEX? Did you make reservations online, secure it or pay a deposit with a CC? Did you do it with AMEX or the Visa?

Do you not have an ATM bank card? Just find a real bank (like DeutschBank), go inside and use the ATM. Who cares if you pay a cup of coffee's worth fee for the convenience and safety. Do not carry your entire trip wad of money euros around with you as you travel. That's a really really bad idea.

In Spain, we typically used our Amex card and our iPhone's Apple Pay which was also linked to that. We had a couple other cards as backups. Amex has grown in popularity in the past decade. I would withdraw a few hundred at a bank ATM and spend it down on incidentals as the trip wore on.

You should add Mastercard to your portfolio.
There was a time when the entire Visa network in Europe went on holiday.

I'm heading to Seville, Malaga, Ronda, Cordoba and Granada next week.

The well intentioned suggestions for a new/different card not helpful for the subject trip.

the Amex is the only card that doesnt charge foreign transaction fees. My question is how widely accepted is it?

Not as widely as the Visa you have, but probably at the larger establishments you encounter.

The better way to get cash is from an ATM there, not a bag of euros you bring with you.

Actually, it's sometimes possible to get a new card approved, expedited, and have it in hand in just a few business days, so "next week" is not necessarily impossible(depends on when next week...Monday versus Friday makes a big difference) - maybe try a local credit union (of course, you need to get off the dime and deal with it immediately....OP has not come back yet, so that option will quickly fade with the passing of time).

Also, ASBV is in Canada, and I think we may have had a Canadian poster or two tell us no-fee credit cards aren't much of a thing up there. (I could be mis-remembering, though.)

Correct, I am in Canada and there are not many options (only 2 - Amex or Visa) when it comes to no-foreign transaction fees for credit cards (or even credit cards as it). The credit unions are very limited and don't offer credit cards so all cards are from the 6 major banks. To those saying just get a new card, I would rather not as every time we apply for a new credit card or cancel one, it negatively effects our credit rating. Plus it would have to be the Visa which has a $150 annual fee (not worth it just to avoid the 2.5% foreign transaction fees which are on my current Visa for those times AMEX is not accepted)

As for bank cards, last time I was in Portugal (2019) my bank card didn't work even though it has the Plus sign in the back. When I called my bank they were not helpful and just said it should work but multiple bank machines kept telling me not accepted (even though they too had the Plus sign) hence why I don't want to rely on it this time around.

I have booked the rental car and hotels and paid for them upfront using AMEX. I also double checked that they accepted AMEX in person. I know AMEX is not widely accepted however, I got it as it provides travel/medical, baggage, flight and car insurance and the points I collect from it are enough for 2-3 free flights a year.

We are planning on bringing about $700 Euros cash which majority will be kept in our money belts with our passports) We both have pacsafe bags and again divide day cash and cards between us both.

Make sure to let your bank and cc companies know that you are traveling to Spain including the dates of travel. Maybe that’s why your debit card didn’t work in the atm? I am guessing here. In our recent travels (Norway, Scotland, Ireland and Italy) we used very little cash. Europe is becoming cashless for the most part. 700 euros is a lot of money to be carrying around.

The OP might want to look into Costco membership and their associated CC affiliation. Not sure how that works in Canada, though. US Costco and Citibank is free of foreign transaction fees.

The Costco credit card here is through one of the major banks and its 2.5% foreign fees.

Think about it this way -- You're spending thousands of dollars on this vacation. Airline tickets, hotels and a bunch of other stuff won't have any foreign transaction fees. We're talking about paying 2.5% on maybe $1000 of "incidentals" where you can't use Amex.

...That's $25 on a multi-thousand dollar trip.

ASBV,

My Costco card is with Citi, it advertises no foreign transaction fees - but I can't stand Citi and wouldn't be surprised if the claim is misleading.

I've used Amex for some hotels, and fewer restaurants, but mostly for rental cars in Europe. I had one small fender bender, in France, and they were outstanding to work with.

Generally a Visa or MC with tap pay capability is your best bet. I have been asked for a signature often when using my tap pay. It shouldn't be needed but I think a lot of clerks are told to have US customers (and they'll likely mistake you for a US customer) sign (they're used to non-tap and non-chip and pin cards). Humor them and sign; as far as I know, it's never shown up as two transactions on my statement.

As for cash. Avoid any "ATM" with "EX" in the name. These are actually exchange booths, disguised as bank ATM's and charge exorbitant fees. These days, it's hard to find an actual bank ATM in any airport and sometimes the main tourist squares have been taken over by these exchange machines. If it doesn't have a bank, banc, or banco in the name, it's probably not good. Also, if it asks if you want to use your credit card, it's not a normal ATM. A normal ATM asks if you want to use checking or savings and won't give you a credit card option.

Finally, restaurants (and other vendors) regularly ask whether you want your transaction in local currency (euros) or (in your case Canadian) dollars. It's presented as a convenience. Always choose local currency or you will be charged an extra foreign transaction fee on the sale.

Hope you have a great time. We're flying to Madrid Sunday from Dulles. We just got up here and are staying with a friend in Northern Virginia. We had discussed Spain as a destination last time we were up. Amazingly, they aren't only flying to Spain on the same day - but they're on the same flight. After that our paths diverge but I'd have a hard time convincing anyone we didn't coordinate with them - small, funny world.