Sagrada Familia - successful online purchase (probably good for both Canada & US)

Thank you for posting this helpful information.

Hi B.Fung, I am glad you were able to successfully complete your purchase.

However, you should understand why so many US/Canada-issued cards don't work in Europe. As has been explained repeatedly, US and Canadian payment cards still lag behind European security standards. While Europe mandates advanced features like EMV with dynamic authentication (DDA/CDA) and offline PIN verification, plenty of North American cards rely on outdated methods like static authentication (SDA) or magstripe fallback. If your card fails in Europe, the limitation lies in its configuration - not the European payment system.

Key differences:

• Authentication: EU requires EMV Chip and PIN with DDA/CDA. While some US/Canadian issuers now support this, many (especially budget cards) still use less secure SDA or even magstripe fallback.
• Offline payments: European terminals frequently process transactions offline, while many US cards require online approval - causing failures at transit gates, parking meters, kiosks, etc.
• Verification: EU cards prioritise offline PIN verification. Most US cards omit this, defaulting to signature or online PIN - which many automated terminals can't process (Germany being a rare exception where signatures are sometimes still accepted).
• Contactless: Since 2019, Europe requires secure EMV contactless (qVSDC/M-Chip), while some US cards still use less secure magstripe-mode NFC.

Common failure reasons:
Terminals rejecting magstripe fallback/SDA-only cards
"Online-only" US cards failing in offline environments
Your bank is blocking "suspicious" foreign transactions (1)
Limited acceptance of Discover/UnionPay networks

Summarising:

• If a card doesn’t comply with EMV + SEPA + PSD2 rules (standard across Europe for some years), European terminals may reject it.
• Some US/Canada issuers skip offline PIN, DDA/CDA, or SCA to cut costs, causing compatibility issues outside the US/Canada.

Travel tips:

• Use a true Chip & PIN Visa/Mastercard (not Chip & Signature)
• If coming from the US/Canada, notify your bank before travelling -more important than you think, due to (1) above!
• Carry a backup debit card and emergency cash
• Avoid Amex/Discover unless acceptance is confirmed -not widely accepted across Europe, mainly due to its high fees

Enjoy!

And since you guys seem to like statistics so much, here is some food for thought:

United States/Canada
~35–42% of global card fraud losses despite only ~20–25% of transaction volume.
$12+ billion annual losses (2024).
The majority (65–74%) of card-not-present fraud (online/phone).
Historically slower adoption of chip-and-PIN; a lot of cards still use chip-and-signature.
Higher magnetic stripe reliance, until recently, meant easier cloning.

European Union
Much lower fraud loss share relative to transaction volume.
Widespread chip-and-PIN and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) under PSD2 regulations.
CNP fraud is still dominant but is mitigated by 3-D Secure and mandatory two-factor authentication.
EMV adoption + regulatory enforcement = fewer in-person fraud cases.

And specifically, Spain’s credit card fraud losses are comparatively modest—around €1,121 per 1,000 cards, or €2,017 per 1,000 inhabitants monthly—placing Spain low-ranked in Europe for fraud vulnerability. Ah, and yes, as of today, credit cards are widely used in all sectors, even for small payments. In the past, some establishments would not accept cards for small transactions (under €10), but now, by law, they must accept them. In fact, many of us hardly use cash at all in our daily lives.

Most other major markets (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, much of Latin America) also issue EMV chip cards and these generally work fine in Europe. However, PIN requirements can trip up visitors from countries where chip-and-signature is still common (e.g., some Asian and South American banks, like in Argentina).

.... yep, this was my cup-of-tea, from my time working in the sector :)

Thank you so much for this! I was having trouble booking a Sagrada Familia ticket for first week of October and tried your method this morning (late afternoon Barcelona time) and it worked! Success!

@Enric, unlike the US, Canada has used EMV with Chip&PIN for almost 2 decades. The issues with the American system don’t apply to Canada.

Ha-ha, I wish. Yes, Steves had pointed out that the pin system of credit card had been used in Canada for many years. But there seems to be difference with different Canadian banks. I have zero problem when booking things online in Europe using my TD credit card thus far, but Scotiabank cards failed all the time. I’ve just done a Hola card booking in Barcelona (again, in Spain), Scotiabank no, TD yes. They both have pin on their credit cards. Go figure!

Summarising: (1) If a card doesn’t comply with EMV + SEPA + PSD2 rules (standard across Europe for some years), European terminals may reject it. (2) Some US/Canada issuers skip offline PIN, DDA/CDA, or SCA to cut costs, causing compatibility issues outside the US/Canada.

Still stands. @Evan, it's not "just" using EMV :) But again, it's not all Canadian banks (nor all US banks) that are not up to standards. There are a variety of reasons, some cost-related, but also politically motivated.

I have been using my Costco Visa card for all my European charge transactions. No international fees. Its worked in France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, and Montenegro. Never had any issues on line or while in those countries. They do require that I get a text or email to confirm/authorize the transaction. I will be booking my Gaudi reservations soon. I'll report back if I am not successful.

On the issue of Barcelona sites, I'll be there the night of Oct 11th (going to the majic fountain show that night), and Sun Oct 12, Mon 13, Tue Oct 14. I plan to do 1 day in and around Mt. Juic, 1 day for the Gothic area and 1 day for all the Gaudi we can take. I have tickets for a Flamenco in the Palau de Musica for Sun night. Happy to get any suggestions on which day to do what. Considering taking the train on one of the afternoons up to Montserrat. Thinking of leaving on a 12:30 train and coming back on a 5:30 train. Is that do-able?

Like you, we’ll be visiting Barcelona in early October. Good luck with the Gaudi’s church booking.

For flamenco show, we have booked the Tablao Cordobes, on La Ramblas. From what I can tell, it looks good. In recent years, we’d patronized shows in Granada, Madrid, and Seville, and hope this Barcelona one can measure up.

We also plan to follow Rick’s guidebook suggestion to visit Montjuic using the funicular (and bus #150, both are covered by the Hola transit pass), then walk downhill, visiting several sites including the Magic Fountains, all the way to the Espanya Plaza, where our hotel will be located.

But we’ll skip the hilltop Castle, only to do what Rick called cheapskate visit to the outlook spot outside the Castle entrance. It’s actually a good size plaza. Google it, and you’ll see quite a few tourists there. On a clear day (or even a hazy one), besides the city and its busy harbour views, maybe we can see Africa (ha-ha).

By the way, I hope the funicular in Barcelona is safe, God bless those victims and their families in the Lisbon accident (we rode that 7 years ago). Funicular is not very common in North America, but it seems every other city in Europe has one, or two. Naples has 4!

Hope we won’t get water-gun attack in Barcelona. It’s October, may get cold when wet. Maybe Rick should design something like a Canadian lapel pin or glued-on patch, so that we can wear it to tell the locals we are conscientious tourists, or at least we try.

Cheers!

@BFung....

I guess this is one of those language nuances...

In Lisbon, this is referred to as an "ascensor" (literally in English: an elevator)
In Barcelona this we call a "tramvia" (literally a tramway)
In Porto -in Portugal as well-, this is a "funicular"
In Barcelona, these: Montjuïc and Tibidabo are funiculars